James "boomer" Grigsby

[jspchief]

Per ESPN Insider:
James Grigsby
ILB | (5'11", 249, 4.67) | ILLINOIS STATE

Strengths: Is an intriguing small-school prospect that has flat-out dominated his level of competition. Has good size and strength. Also has good top end speed. Moves well laterally and forward. Is a search-and-flow linebacker with good instincts. Makes quick reads, does a good job of avoiding blocks and takes solid angles to the ball carrier. He has excellent closing burst and very good overall range versus the run. Is a powerful tackler with good pop at the POA. Also is a sound tackler in space. Is much better as a blitzer than he is when forced to turn and run in coverage. Has good instincts and closing burst as a pass rusher.

Weaknesses: Has not played against top competition. Has a strong upper body and makes some big hits but lacks ideal base and needs to improve his lower body strength to anchor in the phone booth. Is still a little bit raw in terms of his technique. Runs around too many blocks. Does not show the consistent ability to take on and shed blocks in the phone booth. Must improve his hand usage and consistency in terms of his leverage. He gets away with running around blocks at his level but won't in the NFL. Moves well laterally and has very good straight-line speed, but his hips are a little bit stiff when forced to turn and run. He does not have great overall cover skills. Seems to lack a feel in zone coverage and does not do a great job of finding the ball in the air. His hands and overall ball skills must improve.

Overall: Grigsby is a late bloomer and very much a "sleeper" in the 2005 draft class. He was not heavily recruited out of high school, wound up going to Illinois State and took a redshirt year in 2000. However, as a redshirt freshman in 2001 he set the school's freshman record with 93 total tackles. He has been a fulltime starter since and has been an absolutely dominant player at that level. Grigsby was named the DI-AA Defensive Player of the Year as a junior and senior. He finished his junior season in 2003 with 179 total tackles, 12 TFL and three sacks and his senior season in 2004 with 129 tackles, 8.5 TFL and three sacks. There is obviously a concern about his ability to make the transition from DI-AA collegiate level to the NFL. Grigsby also lacks a strong base, runs around too many blocks and has some stiffness in coverage. However, Grigsby does have good size, very good top-end speed for his size and is a tough player that should be able to make the adjustment mentally and physically. Grigsby will have a huge transition to make and he will need to improve his lower body strength and technique in the meantime, but he shows enough upside to warrant mid-round attention in the 2005 draft. If nothing else, Grigsby has the right mentality, size and tackling skills to contribute on special teams and enough versatility to play a reserve role at a couple of LB spots.

[Ultra Peanut]

I hope he's got an electroslap sack dance of his own.