[e16bball]

No one has mentioned Manny White or Jared Newberry, and that's interesting to me, because I think they are both more likely to succeed than the widely-loved McCune. Don't get me wrong, I am excited about McCune's tools as well, but it's important to remember that all they are is tools. He still has to learn how to use them, and it's just really up in the air as to whether he has the ability to do that.

White is exciting to me mostly because he was featured in an article I read. Apparently he has been very impressive in the shift to H-Back, and is a better blocker than Cooley out of that spot. I think he is a definite possibility to be the short-yardage back, certainly much more likely than Nemo, who has gotten some love here. If he can work on his route-running and hands, he could be a very nice little H-Back from the 4th round.

Newberry intrigues me because of his intelligence. Judging solely from last year, it seems that this is crucial in Gregg Williams's defense, much more so than physical tools. Neither Pierce nor Marshall was physically gifted compared to other players at their positions, but they got by on their ability to place themselves (and in Pierce's case, other players) in the right spots at the right times. It's very possible that Newberry will be the next to step in with a high level of play.


All the same, I would say McCune has the best chance to be a real stud. I think he is an all-or-nothing guy. These two I just talked about will very likely be solid players.