CaP'N GRuNGe Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 LB from Oklahoma. Just went in 6th round to Vikes. My Sporting News mag projects him as 2nd best OLB and projected first round? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giants56 Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 I was wondering the same - I had seen him mostly projected 3rd round at the latest. When I saw he was available thought the Giants mights take him in the 4th. I'm guessing there may be a character flaw we do not know about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted April 29, 2007 Author Share Posted April 29, 2007 I was wondering the same - I had seen him mostly projected 3rd round at the latest. When I saw he was available thought the Giants mights take him in the 4th. I'm guessing there may be a character flaw we do not know about. Unpossible. The Vikings did intense background checks and eliminated all the bad seeds from their board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giants56 Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 Rufus Alexander OLB | (6'0", 228, 4.69) | OKLAHOMA Scouts Grade: 66 Flags: (B: BULK/SIZE) Lacks size/bulk for position Selected by: Denver Broncos Round: 6 Pick (Overall): 2(176) View by: Round | Player | NCAA School | Position | NFL Team | Flag | All Ranked Players | NFL Draft History You are signed into Insider and have access to the exclusive draft content below. Strengths: A playmaking WLB prospect with good quickness. A ball-hawk with natural instincts. At his best in space and makes plays from sideline-to-sideline as a run defender. Plays the game hard and is a reliable wrap-up tackler. He diagnoses plays quickly and does a great job of working up the field. He makes a lot of plays in the backfield. Shows adequate upfield burst vs. the run and when turned loose a pass rusher. Weaknesses: Is undersized with marginal strength. Also lacks adequate top-end speed for his size and position. Has room on his frame to add bulk, but must do so without losing quickness. He looks to avoid contact too frequently. At times he will take some poor angles and leave his defense vulnerable. He gets engulfed by bigger blockers in the phone booth. Needs to do a better job of using his hands to get off blocks. Displays decent range in coverage and knocks down a lot of passes, but he does not possess good ball skills. Overall: Alexander was redshirted in 2002 and had off-season knee surgery. He then appeared in one game in 2003 and made two total tackles and forced one fumble. In 2004, Alexander started 10 of 12 games, finishing the year with 74 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception, three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. He started all 12 games in 2005 and earned consensus first team All-Big 12 honors after making 102 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss, five sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and nine pass breakups. Alexander again started all 14 games in 2006, earning a first team All-American (coaches) selection, his second straight first team All-Big 12 honor, and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award, after recording 118 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, one interception, and four forced fumbles. Alexander is one of the toughest prospects in the 2007 class to evaluate. He was a playmaking WLB at the highest collegiate level, which makes him appear to be more athletic and physical than he really is. After studying him closer, though, Alexander is undersized with marginal strength and below-average foot-speed. In our opinion, Alexander is worth nothing more than a late first-day pick and could easily slip to the second-day of the draft. * Player biographies are provided by Scouts Inc. But it says he was drafted by the Broncos here?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted April 29, 2007 Author Share Posted April 29, 2007 Rufus Alexander OLB | (6'0", 228, 4.69) | OKLAHOMA Scouts Grade: 66 Flags: (B: BULK/SIZE) Lacks size/bulk for position Selected by: Denver Broncos Round: 6 Pick (Overall): 2(176) View by: Round | Player | NCAA School | Position | NFL Team | Flag | All Ranked Players | NFL Draft History You are signed into Insider and have access to the exclusive draft content below. Strengths: A playmaking WLB prospect with good quickness. A ball-hawk with natural instincts. At his best in space and makes plays from sideline-to-sideline as a run defender. Plays the game hard and is a reliable wrap-up tackler. He diagnoses plays quickly and does a great job of working up the field. He makes a lot of plays in the backfield. Shows adequate upfield burst vs. the run and when turned loose a pass rusher. Weaknesses: Is undersized with marginal strength. Also lacks adequate top-end speed for his size and position. Has room on his frame to add bulk, but must do so without losing quickness. He looks to avoid contact too frequently. At times he will take some poor angles and leave his defense vulnerable. He gets engulfed by bigger blockers in the phone booth. Needs to do a better job of using his hands to get off blocks. Displays decent range in coverage and knocks down a lot of passes, but he does not possess good ball skills. Overall: Alexander was redshirted in 2002 and had off-season knee surgery. He then appeared in one game in 2003 and made two total tackles and forced one fumble. In 2004, Alexander started 10 of 12 games, finishing the year with 74 total tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception, three forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. He started all 12 games in 2005 and earned consensus first team All-Big 12 honors after making 102 total tackles, 17 tackles for loss, five sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and nine pass breakups. Alexander again started all 14 games in 2006, earning a first team All-American (coaches) selection, his second straight first team All-Big 12 honor, and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award, after recording 118 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, one interception, and four forced fumbles. Alexander is one of the toughest prospects in the 2007 class to evaluate. He was a playmaking WLB at the highest collegiate level, which makes him appear to be more athletic and physical than he really is. After studying him closer, though, Alexander is undersized with marginal strength and below-average foot-speed. In our opinion, Alexander is worth nothing more than a late first-day pick and could easily slip to the second-day of the draft. * Player biographies are provided by Scouts Inc. But it says he was drafted by the Broncos here?? They didn't update the pick for the draft trade earlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goopster24 Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 Sarge, where are you? Give us some info about this guy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Ryan Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 Sarge, where are you? Give us some info about this guy... I compare this guy to Lance Briggs. But his youth was tragic. This kid lost both his parents already, and his brother is in prison. He was sent to live with another family as a Middle school kid. Some think that is baggage, but I disagree. he was the heart and soul of the Sooner D. I think he becomes a solid pro, but will have to be surrounded by talent like Briggs was early on or he will get left behind. Dude is definately round 3 talent. Why he slipped is a mystery to me. I wish Dallas would have plucked him, though I understand why they didnt. They are loaded with front 7 personel on defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goopster24 Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 I compare this guy to Lance Briggs. But his youth was tragic. This kid lost both his parents already, and his brother is in prison. He was sent to live with another family as a Middle school kid. Some think that is baggage, but I disagree. he was the heart and soul of the Sooner D. I think he becomes a solid pro, but will have to be surrounded by talent like Briggs was early on or he will get left behind. Dude is definately round 3 talent. Why he slipped is a mystery to me. I wish Dallas would have plucked him, though I understand why they didnt. They are loaded with front 7 personel on defense. I remember watching him thinking this guy will be one of the top linebackers in the class. I think the Vikings got a steal, although I don't know if they have the people on defense for him to succeed like Sarge said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 I compare this guy to Lance Briggs. But his youth was tragic. This kid lost both his parents already, and his brother is in prison. He was sent to live with another family as a Middle school kid. Some think that is baggage, but I disagree. he was the heart and soul of the Sooner D. I think he becomes a solid pro, but will have to be surrounded by talent like Briggs was early on or he will get left behind. Dude is definately round 3 talent. Why he slipped is a mystery to me. I wish Dallas would have plucked him, though I understand why they didnt. They are loaded with front 7 personel on defense. Sarge obviously knows what he's talkin' about here. Minnesota got a steal. Alexander's already been written up as one of my 2nd day IDP Sleepers - article forthcoming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesVikes Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 To top off what is already mentioned about Rufus, it sounds like he'd be a solid special teamer as well. I have the Sporting News Draft mag and I am disappointed in all of those magazines this year. Sporting news does have info on more players than some others so that's why I picked that one. I was absolutely shocked to see their weekly magazine had not updated any of the info from their magazine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziachild007 Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 I agree with those that think Alexander was a steal. He was a weekly guest on Sirius radio "Moving the Chains" and seemd to be a very personable young man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBSux Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 Another great pick by the Vikings. I think he slipped because he might be a classic tweener and those guys usually don't pan out. I don't mind taking these kind of guys late in the draft so I love the pick and like someone else mentioned, he will be a nice addition to the ST's. This kid is a class act. The only time he has got into trouble with the law was when he tried stopping a fight. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2627506 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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