Former NFL GM Charley Casserly is now an analyst for NFL.com and NFL Network and he's running down his list of players selected in the 2012 NFL Draft who have "lingering questions" about them. Chiefs first round pick Dontari Poe was of course included in his list.
The three questions he asks of Poe, along with my take on each:
1. Will Poe be a disruptive player or will he disappear in games?
My take: He better be disruptive. There are few things in life more annoying than selecting a defensive lineman near the top of the first round and then having him turn out to be a bad player. Defensive tackle is sort of like quarterback around these parts. The Chiefs have been screwing up defensive tackle draft picks since, what, 2002? It's not as bad as the quarterback drought but KC needs a dominant defensive lineman. Unfortunately, Poe's college time suggests he's more likely to disappear than be disruptive.
2. What will he do in their nickel defense? Will he even be in the nickel defense?
My take: Ideally, he's playing in the nickel defense, right? Romeo Crennel said he was a three-down player, or they want him to be at least. So the question is do you want 30-40 really good snaps out of him and rotate him in and out, or do you need him in there on every play? They'll probably take it easy in year one but I think the goal is to one day keep him in there on all three downs.
3. Will he hustle and play hard to the whistle?
My take: Scouting reports on Poe are strange. You have some that say he lacks a high-end motor and gets pushed around on the line. Then you have others, like the Chiefs, who say he continued to put forth maximum effort despite Memphis getting dominated (almost) every weekend in the fall. So which one is it? It is a little concerning, though, that two of Casserly's questions about Poe are effort-related.