'24 IN S Brauntae Johnson (Notre Dame Signee)

IAIrish

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Rocketman84 said:
Love them both, Downs is a tackle magnet and with his versatility can be used in the box or as a bucket but is best in the box. He has elite awareness and excels at denying leverage in off coverage. A true Gamer. Tae is an artist in coverage with legit 5* WR hands and length, smarts to pick up QB tendencies and jump routes, covers a lot of ground and flies downhill to the ball as a willing tackler. Can easily defend against slot guys and some TEs. Only weaknesses at this point are his size which he's adding to (203+) and his ability to engage with blockers in the run game.
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Didn't look like 5* hands against A&M.
 
IAIrish

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Dale said:
Tae Johnson is a better NFL prospect than Caleb Downs. MY COLUMN:

- He’s likely faster, more explosive, significantly wider wingspan, will be heavier. Has shown similar tackling ability, better ball hawk. Downs advanced mind has a ceiling at some point.

Basically as soon as he showed he could tackle, in my mind he became a future first round pick.
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Interesting how Downs was viewed as an elite pre-combine prospect vs. how X Watts was eval'd.

Clearly was ready to play elite level ball outta the shoot, but didn't reach Watts level in terms of turnover generation.
 
Rocketman84

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IAIrish said:
Interesting how Downs was viewed as an elite pre-combine prospect vs. how X Watts was eval'd.

Clearly was ready to play elite level ball outta the shoot, but didn't reach Watts level in terms of turnover generation.
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Both were elite but of course one came with bias while the other came with well.....no need to elaborate
 
NDPhilly

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Not to beleaguer the point, but Stroman ran a 4.69 today, with a 3-cone time that would have essentially tied Jason Kelce and Ndamukong Suh at the combine.
 
GowerND11

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allenm5333 said:
FWIW, 6 pack podcast said he is preferring to be called Brauntae. Listed by that name on the website too. We should change his name on here

Brauntae Johnson

fightingirish.com fightingirish.com
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Rocketman84

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Dale said:
I don’t think Downs is anywhere near big enough for that to apply to the NFL.
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It's his elite use of pad level and ability to fill gaps. He has textbook tackling technique so he shouldn't have a problem due to being in the 205-210 range as a Pro, I remember people saying the same about "The Eraser" Bob Sanders because he was 5'8" 206lbs and he became known as the "The Sandman" around the league.
 
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Rocketman84 said:
It's his elite use of pad level and ability to fill gaps. He has textbook tackling technique so he shouldn't have a problem due to being in the 205-210 range as a Pro, I remember people saying the same about "The Eraser" Bob Sanders because he was 5'8" 206lbs and he became known as the "The Sandman" around the league.
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That's all well and good, but Brauntae's athleticism is just off the charts. He'll be a 1st round pick based on that alone.
 
Dale

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Rocketman84 said:
It's his elite use of pad level and ability to fill gaps. He has textbook tackling technique so he shouldn't have a problem due to being in the 205-210 range as a Pro, I remember people saying the same about "The Eraser" Bob Sanders because he was 5'8" 206lbs and he became known as the "The Sandman" around the league.
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5’8 206 is a lot thicker than 6’0 205. Downs is not built like a in the box safety. Sanders was, just a short one.
 
Rocketman84

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Dale said:
5’8 206 is a lot thicker than 6’0 205. Downs is not built like a in the box safety. Sanders was, just a short one.
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Downs will be fine, neither were true "Box" safeties but can certainly play the position if needed at times and excel. Both were also very good in coverage but Downs is more technically sound and won't blow out his shoulders by going for "hit stick" tackles every game.
 
rtrn2glory

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Looking at some of the highlights of the safeties picked tonight he's at worst a day 2 pick next year at this point
 
Irish du Nord

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rtrn2glory said:
Looking at some of the highlights of the safeties picked tonight he's at worst a day 2 pick next year at this point
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Only thing holding Adon back from the same fate is how well he will test/measure. He's been quietly great in coverage, great at diagnosing plays and leading the defense, and one of the more physical DBs in CFB the last few years. Both guys should be among the first 3-4 Safeties drafted imo.
 
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Irish du Nord said:
Only thing holding Adon back from the same fate is how well he will test/measure. He's been quietly great in coverage, great at diagnosing plays and leading the defense, and one of the more physical DBs in CFB the last few years. Both guys should be among the first 3-4 Safeties drafted imo.
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The NFL draft combine results have done more damage than they have done good. How often do we see these underachieving athletes in college put up great numbers and then get drafted higher than they should be and teams suffer for it when they don't perform on Sundays.

I can care less about track times, how many times do we see these guys that play fast but there track time is only solid to good bit not great times and they drop because of it. Then there is the great talent that never became great player but on the track puts up silly numbers and people get stupid and go all "what if".

This is why guys like Xavier Watts goes in the 3rd round instead of going much higher yet guys that performed nowhere near the level he did get drafted higher and don't do it anywhere close to the level X is.

They play with pads and cleats, so lets see there actual football speed and get of the track and test it in grass and in uniform.

That said Brauntae is going to do on the field this season as well as putting up great combine numbers. Whereas Shuler will suffer the same fate as X did, IMO.
 
MrNimbus

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Ricochet said:
The NFL draft combine results have done more damage than they have done good. How often do we see these underachieving athletes in college put up great numbers and then get drafted higher than they should be and teams suffer for it when they don't perform on Sundays.

I can care less about track times, how many times do we see these guys that play fast but there track time is only solid to good bit not great times and they drop because of it. Then there is the great talent that never became great player but on the track puts up silly numbers and people get stupid and go all "what if".

This is why guys like Xavier Watts goes in the 3rd round instead of going much higher yet guys that performed nowhere near the level he did get drafted higher and don't do it anywhere close to the level X is.

They play with pads and cleats, so lets see there actual football speed and get of the track and test it in grass and in uniform.

That said Brauntae is going to do on the field this season as well as putting up great combine numbers. Whereas Shuler will suffer the same fate as X did, IMO.
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I wish I could like this more than once. A guy can put up pedestrian numbers, run a 4.25 forty, and then be taken way higher than he possibly should. Give me guys that can play football. Do you want Xavier Worthy or Puka Nacua?
 
T-Boone

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Ricochet said:
The NFL draft combine results have done more damage than they have done good. How often do we see these underachieving athletes in college put up great numbers and then get drafted higher than they should be and teams suffer for it when they don't perform on Sundays.

I can care less about track times, how many times do we see these guys that play fast but there track time is only solid to good bit not great times and they drop because of it. Then there is the great talent that never became great player but on the track puts up silly numbers and people get stupid and go all "what if".

This is why guys like Xavier Watts goes in the 3rd round instead of going much higher yet guys that performed nowhere near the level he did get drafted higher and don't do it anywhere close to the level X is.

They play with pads and cleats, so lets see there actual football speed and get of the track and test it in grass and in uniform.

That said Brauntae is going to do on the field this season as well as putting up great combine numbers. Whereas Shuler will suffer the same fate as X did, IMO.
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Agreed. How many of the 20 or so DBs taken above Julian Love in the 2019 draft have had better NFL careers than Julian? Genuine question. I can't think of any. He was the best DB on the field over 3 years and they ignored preferring measurables.

From A.I

Looking back at the 2019 NFL Draft, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (S/CB) and Julian Love (S/CB) have emerged as the best defensive backs from that class based on long-term production and versatility. While drafted in the mid-rounds, both have proven to be the most durable and impactful starters compared to early cornerback selections.
 
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