UDFA Central

[Direckshun]

The Chiefs signed 'em for a variety of reasons.

Some of them have legitimate shots to make this team. Ah, who are we kidding? LOADS of them could make this team. Others have been signed to be warm bodies for training camp. Others have been undetermined as of yet.

I know virtually nothing about most of these players. So with your help, if you would be so kind, I am going to explore and try to find as much information about these guys as possible, not just what they've done, but what kind of players they are. As I learn more legitimate information about them, I will add to the thread and tack the information onto this post.

Help if you'd like. This may just be a personal hobby of mine, but it's the offseason.

So tell me: What do you know about any of these players?

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2008 UDFAs the Chiefs have signed.

RB Kalvin McRae (5-9 203) Ohio
900 carries with less than 10 fumbles during this career, 44 starts as Ohio's all time rushing leader with well over 4,000 yards, never missed a game due to injury, willing blocker and one of the most durable RBs in this Draft. McRae's problems stem from his measurables, he's not paritularly big, and he only has 4.7 speed. Fundamentally sound and comes with a lot of game tape, but just doesn't seem to have the God-given abilities needed to excel in the NFL.
RB Dantrell Savage (5-8 182) Oklahoma State
Savage's numbers, and there are many, speak for themselves. His size is diminuative, unfortunately, and his Combine 40 isn't very sexy (only 4.5), but his in game speed makes him look 4.4ish, and despite his size, he's a lot harder to bring down than advertised. He possesses great burst and as good an array of jukes and darts as any low-rounder taken in the Draft. Among the better shots to make the team.
FB Mike Cox (6-0 252) Georgia Tech
Cox has a lot to offer as your team's typical fullback. He worships the other players on the team, he only wants to go out and use his exceptional NFL-ready body to hurt people, he's highly regarded as a blocker, and he's a decent checkdown. He's high character, big body, and low ability. Cox's lone problem is that he's too one-dimensional -- he offers nothing as a runner, and there's little use for a pure blocking FB in Gailey's scheme.

WR Jabari Arthur (6-4 219) Akron
Arthur is your typical UDFA gamble: he's a freak of nature size-wise with reputably good hands and an outstanding senior season to place up his otherwise humdrum college career on stilts. His speed isn't promising (4.65), but if the Chiefs see enough upside with a prospect this raw, it's not out of the question that he land a spot on the practice squad. Considered very high character.
WR Luke Swan (5-11 191) Wisconsin
If you were looking at genuine height/weight measurables, you might assume Swan must be a deep threat speedster. Not so. He's actually a very compact receiver with incredible toughness, and a frame that could add 20 more. But despite his underwhelming size, he has built a reputation for being one of the nation's best pure route-runner: his cuts, spot-finding, deceptions, and fluidity all get rave reviews. It's just hard to see if that can overcome his physical shortcomings.

OT Ian-Yates Cunningham (6-3 296) Virginia
Kcchiefs.com has him down as a tackle. Yet Cunningham played both LG and RG at Virginia (alongside our first-round tackle). The stats don't really bear him out; he's smallish, he's light, he's not particularly strong, and he only projects to guard, so he doesn't have the versatility that the Chiefs are looking for, though he is durable. His frame does seem to have some room for another 15 pounds, so the Chiefs are probably looking to see if he's got the promise to occupy the practice squad for a year.
OG L.J. Anderson (6-3 292) Central Florida
Anderson is one of the few players where I have to scratch my chin and wonder what on earth the Chiefs were thinking. Why waste your time on this guy? Are we really this desperate for camp bodies? It's not that Anderson isn't talented, he probably is. He helped Kevin Smith break every rushing record under the sun. But he's an undersized, agile zone blocking guy, and has no place in a smashmouth offense the Chiefs are trying to install.
OG Edwin Harrison (6-3 314) Colorado
Attractive to the Chiefs because of his versatility; he was good at tackle, then became exceptional at guard. Seems to have the sheer size necessary to play in Gailey's smashmouth system, but does he have the strength? He's raw, but he's quite intelligent, graduating after five years with a double major in communications and economics.
OG Chris McDuffie (6-4 330) Clemson
Out of all the players listed here, I give McDuffie the #1 chance at making the final 53-man roster. A massive bowling ball of a blocker from Clemson's strong running game, McDuffie's size and power skillset give him a huge advantage over the Chiefs' perilously thin OG competition. It woudn't even surprise me if McDuffie won a few reps with the first team. He's strong, he's nasty, he's got upside... Biggest problem here is how raw he is, considering that he hasn't played that much. He's not a great athlete, but I don't think he'll need to be.

DT Derek Lokey (6-1 287) Texas
A classic tweener, Lokey has the body of a three-tech, but the skillset of a two-tech. Typically, when you have a 280-290 lbs. defensive tackle, he needs to be shifty, fast, penetrative, disruptive. But Lokey doesn't fit this profile; instead, he's strong as a bull (38 reps) and slow, with minimal sack numbers (3) from his career at Texas. Lokey is a run stopper, and while that may work out on the college level, he'll need at least 20 more pounds to effectively play that role in the NFL, and his frame doesn't have room for that.
DT Maurice Murray (6-3 334) New Mexico State
The Chiefs are trusting their DL coaching to find a diamond in this gigantic rough. Murray's got the humongous body of a NT, but he's faster than guys 50 pounds lighter than him (5.1 40!) and would probably be a lot faster if he lost some weight. He has the power to drive a pile back. This all seems to warrant a Draft pick, but Murray just put up lousy numbers against less-than-impressive competition. In other words, he needs to be completely retooled, a pure project.
DE Johnny Dingle (6-1 265) West Virginia
Dingle was originally recruited by the Florida Gators but academic issues are rumored to have forced him out. He found a college in West Virginia, and it paid off. Dingle has an inconsistent motor, but when he's on, he's incredibly disruptive. He's the perfect size for Cover 2 DE, if a little on the slow side (5.0 40). He's got a discernably impressive ceiling; I believed him to be worthy of a Draft pick...
DE Jason Parker (6-3 258) Arizona
Parker has slimmed down to 258 to compete for a spot on the Chiefs roster, and he's going to need it. There is a rotational DE spot up for grabs and a couple reserve spots as well. He has the look of a flash-in-the-pan guy, a guy who worked his tail off just to warrant consideration from a pro team. He doesn't boast statistics that blow you away, or good measurables. But his work ethic has been noted, and he is nothing if not an ascending talent.
DE Jonal Saint-Dic (6-0 253) Michigan State
Saint-Dic may just be a flash-in-the-pan guy, you can never tell. He almost registered as many sacks last year as he had all his previous years combined. That's exactly what the Chiefs will be exploring. 250 lbs soaking wet, he is undersized even for the admittedly undersized nature of the Cover 2, with iffy 4.7 speed. But if he can replicate his crazy sack numbers from last year, he may be in the running as a pass rushing specialist/special teams guy.

MLB Weston Dacus (6-1 232) Arkansas
Dacus doesn't come highly regarded, but you can't help but get excited at MLB prospects. Dacus brings with him several of the tools a Cover 2 MLB needs: great speed (4.6 40), dependable tackling, and great range. Dacus wasn't considered a stud at coverage, however, so the Chiefs are probably trying him out to see if he's worth a practice squad spot to teach him this particular skill.
OLB Steve Octavien (6-0 238) Nebraska
“Anytime there are questions about injuries,” the former Nebraska linebacker said, “you fall off everybody’s board real quick.” If you don't know anything about Octavien, and just watched him play in 2007 as Nebraska's defensive MVP, you'd wonder very curiously how a guy with an NFL body and 4.67 speed wasn't drafted. The reason is clear: Octavien, while possessing a nose for the ball and natural leadership qualities, has suffered many injuries over the course of his career.
OLB Lerue Rumph (6-2 224) North Carolina State
Wondering why the Chiefs signed an undersized linebacker? "I'm really close with Herman Edwards' family and his son Marcus is my best friend," Rumph said in a 2007 article. It's not hard to see a lot of the Cover 2 linebacker agility in Rumph, who admits in the same article that he's more finesse than he is power. Rumph made his mark at North Carolina State, and like Morgan and Tyler and all NC State prospects, he's physically gifted but incredibly raw.

CB Maurice Leggett (5-11 188) Valdosta State
Oddly enough, as the Chiefs have scooped up a plethora of UDFAs, very few of them come from smaller Div II schools. Not much information is available on Leggett, but he does hail from Valdosta State, a perennial powerhouse in Division II football. He put up relatively decent numbers last year, 30+ tackles, 5 INTs, but nothing that blows up a stat sheet. He is not highly regarded on many Draft websites, one website even calling him the 101st best available corner in the 2008 class.
S Khayyam Burns (5-10 186) Arkansas State
At Arkansas State, Tyrell Johnson attracted all the attention at safety. He had a nose for the big play and he was fairly prolific with interceptions. But Johnson had the perfect counterpart with Khayyam Burns. Burns wasn't a big play guy, but he was the tough work, lunch pail guy. While Johnson put up the prettier INT stats, Burns was putting up elite tackle numbers in the Sun Belt, including many games with double-digit tackles. Doesn't have great speed, only 4.6ish.
S Ron Girault (5-10 204) Rutgers
Girault was an iron-man who never missed a game at Rutgers, but got injured not too long ago. Mainly, I would assume, because he put on 20 pounds to gain a more NFL-ready frame. His numbers for Rutgers are, of course, impressive but they don't blow the doors off. No doubt the Chiefs love Girault because he's a special teams ace who sacrifices his body to block kicks, which he's earned recognition doing. When he recovers, that's how he'll have to make this team.

K Connor Barth (5-11 193) North Carolina
I'm not as high on this kid as the buzz, and it has been considerable, is making him out to be. The reasoning for me is fairly simple: he kicks low. That's why his kickoffs tend to be impressive, but it's also why so many of his kicks get blocked. By all accounts, Barth has a great head on his shoulders, so it's possible he can retool his mechanics. But for a kid that kicked in nearly 50 games in college, he's worth a shot if he's resilient to pressure.

[kepp]

Originally Posted by Otis Day

DE Johnny Dingle (6-1 265) West Virginia
Dingle was originally recruited by the Florida Gators but academic issues are rumored to have forced him out. He found a college in West Virginia, and it paid off. Dingle has an inconsistent motor, but when he's on, he's incredibly disruptive. He's the perfect size for Cover 2 DE, if a little on the slow side (5.0 40). He's got a discernably impressive ceiling; I believed him to be worthy of a Draft pick...


"Why, Johnny Dingle. You looked like somebody just walked over your grave."

[blueballs]

Posted on Sat, May. 24, 2008 10:15
Jeff Flanagan KC Star

Dingle hopes Chiefs will see beyond his height

Dingle There’s a reason West Virginia defensive end Johnny Dingle didn’t get drafted, he figures.

NFL teams weren’t quite sure if he had a natural position.

“I guess a lot of teams looked at me as a linebacker,” Dingle said. “At least at the next level they looked at me that way.

“We played a lot of 3-4 defense at West Virginia. But I played down a lot, so I looked at myself as an end.”

The real issue is Dingle’s height, which was listed in college as 6 feet 3. But he admits he’s really 6 feet 1 and about 265 pounds.

Not many defensive ends in the NFL are only 6 feet 1. Dingle also appears a bit heavy to be a linebacker.

The Chiefs were at least willing to take a peek at Dingle’s ability, signing him as a rookie free agent. Now Dingle will be trying to show them that he is worth playing somewhere, anywhere. It doesn’t matter to him.

“I can feel comfortable playing up or down on the line,” he said. “I just want to play.”

What Dingle can do is move to the ball.

In 37 games at West Virginia, Dingle recorded 79 tackles, 52 of those solos. He had 14 1/2 sacks and 28 stops behind the line of scrimmage.

“My height was never a factor, I don’t think,” he said. “If you have a good upper body and keep working, that’s how you win the battles.”

Dingle’s quickness got many scouts interested, which is why he decided to come out a year early for the draft. But when draft weekend came and went, his name wasn’t called.

“It was disappointing,” he said. “But it’s OK. I’m here now.”

Just why Dingle decided to sign with the Chiefs was an easy decision.

“They kept calling during the whole draft process and stayed in contact,” he said. “I liked that kind of loyalty. That’s why I decided to show loyalty to them.”

Turk dance

Defensive lineman Turk McBride figures the Chiefs will be looking at a variety of sources to fill the hole created by the Jared Allen trade.

“Those are a lot of sacks to fill,” McBride said. “I think we all have to look at it as contributing a little bit, not just one guy.”

McBride is likely to line up a little more at defensive end.

“I’m ready to go wherever,” he said. “Last year I consider a great learning experience. I was in a new system and now I’m more comfortable.”

With perhaps more opportunities at getting to the quarterback, does McBride have a sack dance planned?

“No, I don’t want to be stepping on Jared’s toes there,” he said. “I don’t want to get flamboyant.”

[blueballs]

the re-sizing does hurt readablility