Sione Takitaki Round 3 Linebacker

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

Yikes. I don't think he was all that impressive in the LSU tape either. Seems slow to diagnose, and his motor seems to stop consistently a couple seconds before the play ends. On the rare occasions where he picked the right seam, he made great-looking plays. Playing behind that D-line should be a dream job for an MLB, and I just didn't see much. I'm not a professional talent guy, and didn't watch other college MLB's for comparison. But based on what I saw, I can definitely see why he slipped as far as he did. Did seem quick in coverage, so maybe he's a 3rd down or two-minute drill substitute.

I see just a solid MLB in the NFL. A guy who might not make the crazy plays, but he's pretty damn good at his assignment. Whether that's moving to the run, dropping into coverage, whatever. He's just dependable and he can take advantage of a mistake the offense makes. I didn't see many guys in the draft who I could rely on like that.

Takitaki, on the other hand, is a guy who can force the offense into mistakes. He's not someone I'm comfortable with depending on to make plays or control an area of the field, but he's someone I like to use as a weapon to just blow shit up.

 

[Lee]

It's interesting how the immediate reaction during/after the draft was that we'd overdrafted Takitaki, and that Wilson was such a bargain, seems to have shifted significantly once people actually watched tape on both of them.

I was thinking the exact same thing.

I was impressed with Wilson having watched allot of Alabama ball because they are Alabama. He always seemed to be around the ball.

But I never really just watched him, honestly my man crush on Quinnen prevented me from keeping my eyes off of him. But post draft looking at both of their tapes, Wilson has been a bit underwhelming.

Meanwhile 2Tac has all eyes on him. He just seems to keep his head up, things are going to get easier. I now have some Cleveland love for 2Tak, he seems to get around, and for sure and I aint mad at him. And while only Dorsey can judge him, he just seems to hit em up just right.

Yes, I know, I will show myself the door.

 

[Randolphkeys]

It's interesting how the immediate reaction during/after the draft was that we'd overdrafted Takitaki, and that Wilson was such a bargain, seems to have shifted significantly once people actually watched tape on both of them.

As a whole, the core football posters around here had the right instincts. Leading up to the draft people recognized linebackers who can cover in man and zone we're more desirable than the traditional run stuffers. So while plenty of draft sites pumped up Tre Lamar and Tre'Von Coney as second day picks, we didn't really bite. None of those guys were drafted, by the way.

The negative reaction had a lot to do with fans having a preferred coverage linebacker, and most of them were still on the board when Takitaki was picked. Germaine Pratt had some fans, but he went right before the Browns picked. Blake Cashman had a lot of fans, yet somehow he was taken after Wilson. I really liked Drue Tranquill and Ben Burr-Kirven who were taken after Takitaki but before Wilson. I myself never liked Wilson as much as others because of issues people already mentioned. He had a lot of Alabama hype leading up to the draft.

That's the draft though... it's all a roulette table where you put your chips down sometime in early March then wait painstakingly until the end of April for the wheel to stop spinning. I think part of the immediate negative reaction also stems from drafting a Mountain West player. As a West Coaster I watched them play a little, but most Browns fans don't watch the Mountain West, right?

I do trust this front office more than any the Browns ever assembled before.

 

[el_capitan]

I was thinking the exact same thing.

I was impressed with Wilson having watched allot of Alabama ball because they are Alabama. He always seemed to be around the ball.

But I never really just watched him, honestly my man crush on Quinnen prevented me from keeping my eyes off of him. But post draft looking at both of their tapes, Wilson has been a bit underwhelming.

Meanwhile 2Tac has all eyes on him. He just seems to keep his head up, things are going to get easier. I now have some Cleveland love for 2Tak, he seems to get around, and for sure and I aint mad at him. And while only Dorsey can judge him, he just seems to hit em up just right.

Yes, I know, I will show myself the door.

Dear mama, I'm sorry for this post.

 

[dark2332]

As a whole, the core football posters around here had the right instincts. Leading up to the draft people recognized linebackers who can cover in man and zone we're more desirable than the traditional run stuffers. So while plenty of draft sites pumped up Tre Lamar and Tre'Von Coney as second day picks, we didn't really bite. None of those guys were drafted, by the way.

The negative reaction had a lot to do with fans having a preferred coverage linebacker, and most of them were still on the board when Takitaki was picked. Germaine Pratt had some fans, but he went right before the Browns picked. Blake Cashman had a lot of fans, yet somehow he was taken after Wilson. I really liked Drue Tranquill and Ben Burr-Kirven who were taken after Takitaki but before Wilson. I myself never liked Wilson as much as others because of issues people already mentioned. He had a lot of Alabama hype leading up to the draft.

That's the draft though... it's all a roulette table where you put your chips down sometime in early March then wait painstakingly until the end of April for the wheel to stop spinning. I think part of the immediate negative reaction also stems from drafting a Mountain West player. As a West Coaster I watched them play a little, but most Browns fans don't watch the Mountain West, right?

I do trust this front office more than any the Browns ever assembled before.

Jahlani Tavai going #43 to Detroit and Germaine Pratt going #73 (Cincinnati of all places) prior to our shot at #80 were slightly disappointing, but I really like Takitaki the more I watch of him.

It's not a secret that I was a Tavai fan, but I didn't think there was any chance he wouldn't be on the board for our 2nd round pick, let alone our 3rd round pick.

 

[MirORich]

I know it’s been said already but with Wilson, please do keep in mind that he was a one year full time starter and one of the youngest players on the 2019 draft, just a 3 year college player(no redshirt, left as a junior)

We’ll never know what his senior year tape might have looked like, but there’s a chance his junior year take doesn’t tell the whole take of what he is capable with maturity, experience, and long term pro coaching.

Is that the Optimists Take on it? Certainly. But it’s also a very possible scenario as well.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

The negative reaction had a lot to do with fans having a preferred coverage linebacker, and most of them were still on the board when Takitaki was picked.

How can you legitimately prefer someone else to Takitaki if you haven't watched significant film on Takitaki?

 

[Randolphkeys]

How can you legitimately prefer someone else to Takitaki if you haven't watched significant film on Takitaki?

Why did the draft get shown on three networks and draw a record number of viewers? This is a marketed event, let's not feign surprise that marketing generates favoritism.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Why did the draft get shown on three networks and draw a record number of viewers? This is a marketed event, let's not feign surprise that marketing generates favoritism.

Oh, I'm not feigning surprise in the least. It's actually what I've said all along happens with various draft boards, preferences, etc..

Some folks may invest enough time to watch enough film on the highest level prospects competing to be the first, or possibly second, choice at their position. Once you get beyond that...marketing become a bigger determining factor than actual evaluation.

 

[Douglar]

How can you legitimately prefer someone else to Takitaki if you haven't watched significant film on Takitaki?

I'm trying to get my head around the notion of a "legitimate preference". People have strong preferences all the time. My kids form some very strong preferences on very little information. I'm not sure more information would make their preferences any stronger. It would probably do the opposite.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I'm trying to get my head around the notion of a "legitimate preference". People have strong preferences all the time.

Sure they do. And if they're going to have a strong preference for one guy over someone else they've never even heard of...that's generally what I'd call an "illegitimate" preference.

 

[Randolphkeys]

Oh, I'm not feigning surprise in the least. It's actually what I've said all along happens with various draft boards, preferences, etc..

Some folks may invest enough time to watch enough film on the highest level prospects competing to be the first, or possibly second, choice at their position. Once you get beyond that...marketing become a bigger determining factor than actual evaluation.

I can tell you how I got into the draft: My old man would start the college football season buying me the Street and Smith College Football Preview to read in the fall, then the Street and Smith Draft Preview sometime in February.

Before Mel Kiper Jr. became a fixture on ESPN, even legitimate pro scouts based research on these two publications as a starting point. It's impossible to watch every college game week after week unless you are Brent Mussberger: in other words it's your full time job and you have a poorly-veiled gambling addiction. It's makes total sense that back then Browns fans had a better understanding of players who are actually on TV on Saturdays.

Common fans have way more data at their finger tips these days. We have all seen a tackle from South East Missouri State blowing future sales reps off the line of scrimmage. I tend to think fans make more educated preferences than they used to. At the end of the day, of course, if I watched more Notre Dame than BYU I ended up pulling for Drue Tranquill with the pick over Takitaki. That's just how it goes.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I tend to think fans make more educated preferences than they used to.

I'm not saying that fans can't be knowledgeable about some players. Last year, when we were looking for a QB, I'm sure there were a lot of fans who watched every single pass thrown by the top 3-4 guys. That's fine. People may still be right or wrong in their evaluations, but at least they've got a legitimate basis to argue one way or the other. And I'm not saying fans can't be knowledgeable about a limited number of additional players to whom they have paid more attention than most.

For example, your info on Delly was great, and you didn't oversell it. You pointed out all his positives and negatives because you watched him, but you didn't trash other guys with whom you were less familiar by saying that Delly was better. Because to do that, you'd have had to watch all those other potential second-rounders enough to know how good each of them was as well.

At the end of the day, of course, if I watched more Notre Dame than BYU I ended up pulling for Drue Tranquill with the pick over Takitaki. That's just how it goes.

And if you argued that Takitaki was a stupid pick instead of Tranquill without having watched TakiTaki play, you'd deserve to be ripped for it. But sometimes, it's even worse than that -- guys criticize the pick of one guy they've never seen in favor of another guy they've never seen, simply because the mocks have them slotted differently.

 

[dark2332]

But sometimes, it's even worse than that -- guys criticize the pick of one guy they've never seen in favor of another guy they've never seen, simply because the mocks have them slotted differently.

And--in the absolute rarest of cases--guys love a guy they've never seen so much that they lose sleep regarding the team's ability to re-sign him in 4 years before he's signed his rookie contract.

 

[red.]