Eric Berry vs. Taylor Mays
 

No, I'm not giving up on this season. This team isn't going to the playoffs. Plain and simple. But I'm still going to watch them and be encouraged by any progress I see. So if you want to bitch at me for starting a draft thread this early, go **** yourself in the eye with a sharp stick.

I've seen a couple Tennessee and USC games from last season. Taylor Mays looks MUCH better to me. He hits hard, wraps up, and is an athletic freak. Most boards I see though have Berry going before him. Granted, I'm not an NFL talent scout, but why is that?

Also, it would seem to me that this defense needs a big playmaker and that Taylor Mays is the perfect kind of athlete to fill that position versus a guy like Berry. Which one would be best for this team if we had an opportunity to draft either player this spring?

Eric Berry is more of a playmaker. He is an Ed Reed type. I would much rather have him.

Mays is a freakish athlete for sure, but Berry is the playmaker.

Mays is a freak. He's got high upside and he's very versatile. With him, it's about his indirect contribution to the unit - he gives you the ability to do different things with the guys around him.

Berry is more of a football player. It's not that he's not athletic, he's just very smart and very disciplined. He's got a real nose for the ball. With him you're probably going to get a more direct contribution via interceptions and such, but he doesn't have the versatility that Mays does.

I don't really care at this point. Either of them would be great for the Chiefs.

I wont get in on this and judge until later in the season but I become more excited about Berry everytime I watch his games. I need to see more out of Mays at this point, but I wont put one over the other yet.

In this kind of a defense though, a guy with Mays' versatility is VERY intriguing. He allows for matchups that traditional safeties, even guys as talented as Berry, might not be capable of handling.

This will become more true as NFL offenses continue to evolve in response to the offensive players coming out of college.

Taylor Mays can play any position in the back 7. He's that freakish. With that said, neither one is poor choice.

It's awfully high to take a safety, but, if I had to pick one I’d go with Berry.
Mays height, weight and slender build will make him more susceptible to injury, IMO, plus the fact that he hasn’t truly been let loose (due to USC’s defensive system), makes it foggier in terms of what he’s capable of doing.
Berry seems like the safer pick + the guy’s proven to be a ****in’ freak. Easy.

BTW - Moore seemed like a sure 1st round pick this time last year.

Do you think he could be a pass rusher in the 3-4 in the NFL? He would be a very small OLB in the 3-4. I could see Mike or Buck.

He'd be about 50 lbs underweight these days.

Thats what I was thinking. I can see him playing 6 different positions on defense. Im just wondering if anyone thinks he could be a good pass rushing LB.

Taylor Mays is never going to jump off the screen at you when you watch games because of what he's asked to do.

He's a very scheme disciplined player and he's basically used to let the other players make plays because he can do the job of 2 guys by himself.

What's your read on Berry?

Berry is allowed to freelance alot more, he makes alot of plays on the ball and has better ball skills than Mays does but he's also prone to getting beat because he goes for big plays.

This year may be a big one for Berry because he's in a scheme that is alot more about discipline now with Monte Kiffin being there.

One thing I think about them is Mays best football is ahead of him he'll be a better pro than college player, Berry I'm not so sure he translates quite the same.

True, but man, you gotta admit, when he was baited outside against Ohio State that was a huge mistake on his part that allowed a giant gain. I was pulling for USC in the end though.

He tried to jump a route to make a play, but if you noticed when SC had to make sure they got stops, they went right back to using Mays as the cover 1 safety that doesn't get beat over the top.

You can use him as a playmaker if you desire but one thing is for sure there isn't a better cover 1 safety in the game.