After a disappointing showing by [autotag]Kyle Hamilton[/autotag] in the 40-yard dash both at the NFL combine and at his pro day, some have come out and said that is a real concern among league scouts. How does it impact where he ends up getting drafted?
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Early returns in mock drafts don’t present good news for the former Notre Dame star. Earlier this week CBS had Hamilton going 10th overall to the New York Jets. Now the USA TODAY has updated their mock draft and have Hamilton, who they had going second overall a few short weeks ago, now going seventh to the New York Giants.
“Is a safety a luxury for a team picking in the top 10, especially one as cap-strapped as the Giants are? Perhaps not when the player in question is Hamilton. At 6-4 and 220 pounds, he is the closest thing this class has to a do-it-all defender. While he can make his mark as the rare defensive back comfortable matching up with even the largest and most athletic tight ends, his true value might be as a deep safety who punishes any quarterback brave enough to test his range.” – Michael Middlehurst Schwartz, USA TODAY Sports
What it keeps coming back to with Hamilton for me is that his film shows that he’s obviously a freak of a safety. You can go ahead and argue the positional value of a safety, but do you really think the majority of teams that passed on Ed Reed or Troy Polamalu are proud of their selections because those guys were “just safeties”?
If Hamilton does fall significantly however, my hope is that it at least means he’ll be drafted by a contender instead of a bottom feeder.
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