Prior to the draft the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Bob McGinn took comments from various NFL scouts on the players available in the 2016 NFL Draft. We looked at what those scouts said about Chris Jones, Demarcus Robinson and Kevin Hogan (click on the link for those posts).
Let's talk about Dadi Nicolas, the Virginia Tech pass rusher that the Chiefs drafted in the sixth round. Here's what McGinn's scouts said:
Started 26 of 49 games. "I'll tell you one thing," said one scout. "That (expletive) is a football player. He makes plays and plays with his hair on fire. He played 3-technique at 230 pounds against Ohio State. He's a 3-4 backer."
I kept reading about this 235-pound pass rusher playing on the defensive line. The "he's a football player" part sounds like a John Dorsey pick. Old school.
Born in Haiti and went to high school in Delray Beach, Fla., where he was a basketball player and played only one year of football.
Remember who else is from Delray Beach and went to Virginia Tech? Brandon Flowers.
"It wasn't fair to him this year," said another scout. "They had him play a 3-technique at 235. But the year before at 5- and 7-technique he was an explosive pass rusher." Finished with 166 tackles (36 for loss), 17 ½ sacks and 8 big plays.
Imagine how angry you'd be if this happened to you and affected your draft stock. Unless you're a team guy like Nicolas and this is just the way it goes. Maybe the Chiefs have something here.
Vertical jump of 41 was best by a LB. Long arms (34 ¾), big hands (10 3/8)
His vertical leap was among the tops for his position at the Combine. Dorsey looks at all these measurables so I'm sure the vertical leap and the long arms and big hands were flags for him to check this guy out.