Eight in the Box

Doug Green Posted On April 27, 2015

williams

Welcome to the debut of Eight in the Box. This weekly article will give you a quick-hitting look at the IDP world. This may change and evolve as we move along, but for right now, the purpose of Eight in the Box is to take a look at eight (duh) players or issues you need to know about to win your IDP leagues.

Since we’re starting here in the off-season, the focus will be on players you are looking to acquire (or maybe dump), either through the draft, free agency, or via trade. Once the season kicks off, it will shift to players that have favorable matchups and bye week fill ins.

Now that the basics have been covered, let’s get down to it.

There’s a reason Eight in the Box is debuting this week. I love drafts. The NFL draft, online drafts, in person drafts, mock drafts, startup drafts, and rookie drafts, they are all a good time to me. With the 2015 NFL Draft starting Thursday night the first Eight in the Box focuses on eight defensive players you need to have your eye on in the draft.

Leonard Williams, DL, USC

Williams gets the DL tag for this article for one simple reason – depending on which team drafts him, he will either be a 4-3 defensive tackle or a 3-4 defensive end. In my mind, it doesn’t matter which way that goes, but it may for your league and could alter his value a couple of spots. He’s still the safest player in the NFL Draft for my money and if he’s not the first defensive player off the board, chances are good he’s the second.

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Randy Gregory, DE/OLB, Nebraska

If Williams is the safest player in the draft, Gregory just might be his opposite. The pass rush specialist went into the combine as a potential top ten selection, but a failed drug test and some bad interviews later, Gregory is in a free fall. I wasn’t crazy about his tape to start with, adding these factors would scare me off, but someone will take him, probably in the first round – just which team that is could drastically affect his value.

Marcus Peters, CB, Washington

Peters is the bad boy of this draft class. He has athleticism and talent to burn, but was kicked off the team this past season. Allegedly he had run-ins with a teammate and an assistant coach. It’s apparent on tape that Peters plays with an attitude and does some woofing out on the field. His talent could land him at the back of the top ten. His attitude could land in in the back end of the first round.

Shaq Thompson, OLB/S/RB, Washington

Those Huskies are just so dang intriguing. I did a full breakdown on Thompson earlier, but the short version is the position he is drafted at is almost more important than the team that takes him for his IDP dynasty value. Most, including Thompson, will contend his best position is outside linebacker, but he has the skills to play safety at the NFL level as well.

Carl Davis, DT, Iowa

Yeah, yeah. What’s up with all the defensive tackles Green? Just hear me out. Davis generated a ton of pressure in the middle of the Hawkeyes line and could slide outside to a 3-4 end in a pinch but I wouldn’t want him doing that full time. The most common place I’ve seen him mocked to is Detroit in the second round, which to me is an odd fit if they are moving to 3-4, which the addition of Haloti Ngata would indicate. A place like Jacksonville would make more sense, but that early in the second seems awful high for him. He could be a player who someone slides up for, though.

Bud Dupree, OLB, Kentucky

All the analysts on ESPN and NFL Network love this guy and he will undoubtedly be a talking point during Thursday’s first-round coverage. What’s less settled is where he will land. Some are trying to push him into the top ten, while others project him in the 15-25 range. I think he still needs some development to deserve a top ten spot. so while I think the latter is more likely, teams do weird stuff every year and he could find his way in the first ten picks.

Landon Collins, S, Alabama

He’s far and away the best safety in this class, but you’d probably have just as much luck with a dartboard as your method as an actual projection for a team. Those that really need a safety (cough, Chicago, cough) are too high to get full value from their pick and those in the middle of the first aren’t really in the market, so he could slide. I’ve seen Collins anywhere from Chicago at No. 7 (admittedly in an early mock) to Philadelphia at No. 20, to completely out of the first round. Outside of Gregory, he is the most talented wildcard up for debate.

Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, CB, Oregon

He was my No. 1 corner prior to tearing his ACL just before the inaugural College Football Playoffs began. His size is a concern at 5-foot-9 and 192 pounds, but he was blazing fast before his injury. He might slide into Day 3, but his ceiling is high when he gets healthy.

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