Derrick Dockery signs with the Bills

[#56fanatic]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

If you watched any games the past few years you would see pulling wasn't exactly his strongest asset.

Just check his Scouts Inc profile:

2006 Scouting Report - Scouts Inc.
Grade: 68 | Key
Alert: None

Comment:
Dockery is a big, massive offensive guard who has good size and strength for the position. He has good overall athletic skills and enough versatility to play both OG/OT. In the running game, he is a road grader who best fits a zone-blocking run scheme. He has the ability to come off and get movement in the running game. He can bend and maintain his pad level with good balance and control on both reach and cutoff blocks. He knows how to use his size to position and wall-off between ball carrier and defender when getting position in a short area. He can come off and get movement off combination patterns but struggles at times with his balance and control when maintaining his position on the second level. He can short pull and connect but struggles to play under control off long pulls and in open space. He needs to improve his overall consistency and ability to finish late in games in the running game. In the passing game, he can bend his knees, slide and plays with a wide base off a short set. He matches up better vs. power rushers rather than quick inside edge rushers. He has good long arms and can extend out with a strong stab and punch. He does have some stiffness in his hips, which restricts his ability to adjust vs. quick double move inside rushers. He can drop his hips and anchor vs. power but will get top heavy and overextend vs. speed and quickness. Overall, Derrick is still and young ascending player with a good upside to develop into a frontline starting NFL player. He has shown steady improvement with his technique and footwork over the last few years.

Out of all that, I would say the plus side HIGHLY outweighs the fact he struggles pulling. Do you think he has reached his highest potential? I dont think so. Every offensive lineman will have something that sticks out as far as something that can be improved on. no question. my biggest point is the last sentence of that statement. young ascending player with good upside to develop into a frontline starting NFL player. he has shown steady improvement with his technique and footwork over the last few years. Look, I dont think he was worth 16 up front, I wont argue that. But do you think we could have met somewhere in the middle? maybe showed him we REALLY wanted him? I would maybe feel better about it if we would have at least pushed a little harder. I never even heard what we were offering. And going by how quick he jumped at the Bills, I would imagine our offer was not even in the ball park of "OK, thats a start, lets see where we can go from here"

I know the 16 million up front for a player that COULD develop into a front line starter is a lot, but like I said he is NOT a fool for taking it, I think we could have been a little more aggressive like we are with outside FA's.