McCargo: I feel a lot better that McCargo's foot is 100 percent. He had a stress fracture that forced him to miss five or six games last year. He said he's in shape. He's so excited about being drafted he was pretty speechless on the conference call. As I said the Bills had to get this guy. Aside from problem child Claude Wroten from LSU this was the last day one quality DT on the board in my opinion. If he was gone when the Bills picked 42nd they would have been screwed.
This guy will be on the field right away even though he's still on the come. He's talented, but he's also young. I think he's a year or two away from being the best player he can be. I know that doesn't help the Bills the most right now, which is why I preferred Ngata, but he will be on the field early.
McCargo also is not a true nose tackle. He's more of a three technique, though he has experience at the two and the one. But he'll have to play some nose here. They don't have many other options for nose with Tim Anderson, Jason Jefferson and LaWaylon Brown.
I worry about Larry Tripplett wearing down as the season wears on. He can't play 60 plays a game and I fully expect Dick Jauron and Perry Fewell to have a heavy rotation going. But without a true nose pulling attention away from Tripplett he's going to be getting a lot of attention all year long as the most talented interior lineman.
This guy will be on the field right away even though he's still on the come. He's talented, but he's also young. I think he's a year or two away from being the best player he can be. I know that doesn't help the Bills the most right now, which is why I preferred Ngata, but he will be on the field early.
McCargo also is not a true nose tackle. He's more of a three technique, though he has experience at the two and the one. But he'll have to play some nose here. They don't have many other options for nose with Tim Anderson, Jason Jefferson and LaWaylon Brown.
I worry about Larry Tripplett wearing down as the season wears on. He can't play 60 plays a game and I fully expect Dick Jauron and Perry Fewell to have a heavy rotation going. But without a true nose pulling attention away from Tripplett he's going to be getting a lot of attention all year long as the most talented interior lineman.
Via ESPN.com
http://insider.espn.go.com/NFL/insider/col..._len&id=2382383
He isn't the most heralded defensive line prospect at North Carolina State, but tackle John McCargo, often overshadowed by the Wolfpack's heralded end tandem of Mario Williams and Manny Lawson, isn't quite an unknown, either, to NFL scouts.
McCargo's ascent up draft boards continued this week with a strong performance at the school's pro day workouts, and his audition certainly enhanced the chances that North Carolina State will have three defensive linemen selected in the first round next month. Williams, of course, is a sure bet, an edge player and upfield rusher regarded by many scouts as the premier defensive player in the draft. Lawson is also a pass-rush threat, an outside defender with great explosiveness and closing speed who might best project to linebacker in a 3-4 front.
John McCargo was an early-entry after playing three seasons at NC State.But the hard-working McCargo, who has fully recovered from a stress fracture in his left foot that sidelined him for five games in 2005, is definitely on the rise. Several scouts now list him as the third-best prospect at tackle, behind only Haloti Ngata ofOregon and Florida State 's Brodrick Bunkley. And unlike those two, McCargo is more a one-gap player, capable of compressing the pocket from the inside.
"My game has always been about quickness," McCargo said shortly after a pro day workout in which he clocked a 4.94 in the 40. "I really didn't start playing football until the ninth grade and didn't get serious about it until around my junior year [in high school]. But I was a good baseball player and a pretty good basketball player, and some of the traits from those sports, like hand-eye coordination, things like that, kind of carried over onto the football field and helped me a lot."
Scouts agree that one of McCargo's strong suits is his effective use of his hands, often an oversight by young defenders. Watch him on tape, though, and McCargo's hand speed, and ability to get into a blocker's body, is nearly as impressive as his first step forward. That said, McCargo, an underclass prospect, still is very quick off the ball and keeps his feet moving nicely, even when engaged with an opponent.
At a shade under 6-foot-2 and 305 pounds, McCargo isn't as bulky as some of the other tackle prospects in the 2006 draft class. But several franchises, particularly those seeking a one-gap tackle, have now moved him ahead of players such asMichigan 's Gabe Watson, Miami 's Orien Harris and Texas ' Rodrique Wright. Two general managers asked this week about McCargo had him graded in the lower third of the first round, and acknowledged his stock is rising.
"He's a little different than most of the other [tackles]," one general manager said. "Different in a good sort of way because, if you want the upfield guy and not just the run stuffer, there aren't many tackles like him in this year's draft."
An Academic All-American, and an avid but late-blooming student of the game who is now trying to make up for lost time, McCargo understands that Williams and Lawson, flashier players who merit attention by putting the quarterback on the ground, are going to garner most of the headlines. But he understands, too, that there is a place in the NFL for a guy like himself, a hard-working tackle who has made himself into a player and who will soon reap the rewards.
"It never bothered me that people talked so much about Mario and Manny because, I mean, those guys are incredible players," McCargo said. "Playing out on the edge, making big plays in space, you're naturally going to be drawn to those guys. But I was doing some good things, too, inside, and I think the scouts who have done their homework understand that."
He isn't the most heralded defensive line prospect at North Carolina State, but tackle John McCargo, often overshadowed by the Wolfpack's heralded end tandem of Mario Williams and Manny Lawson, isn't quite an unknown, either, to NFL scouts.
McCargo's ascent up draft boards continued this week with a strong performance at the school's pro day workouts, and his audition certainly enhanced the chances that North Carolina State will have three defensive linemen selected in the first round next month. Williams, of course, is a sure bet, an edge player and upfield rusher regarded by many scouts as the premier defensive player in the draft. Lawson is also a pass-rush threat, an outside defender with great explosiveness and closing speed who might best project to linebacker in a 3-4 front.
John McCargo was an early-entry after playing three seasons at NC State.But the hard-working McCargo, who has fully recovered from a stress fracture in his left foot that sidelined him for five games in 2005, is definitely on the rise. Several scouts now list him as the third-best prospect at tackle, behind only Haloti Ngata of
"My game has always been about quickness," McCargo said shortly after a pro day workout in which he clocked a 4.94 in the 40. "I really didn't start playing football until the ninth grade and didn't get serious about it until around my junior year [in high school]. But I was a good baseball player and a pretty good basketball player, and some of the traits from those sports, like hand-eye coordination, things like that, kind of carried over onto the football field and helped me a lot."
Scouts agree that one of McCargo's strong suits is his effective use of his hands, often an oversight by young defenders. Watch him on tape, though, and McCargo's hand speed, and ability to get into a blocker's body, is nearly as impressive as his first step forward. That said, McCargo, an underclass prospect, still is very quick off the ball and keeps his feet moving nicely, even when engaged with an opponent.
At a shade under 6-foot-2 and 305 pounds, McCargo isn't as bulky as some of the other tackle prospects in the 2006 draft class. But several franchises, particularly those seeking a one-gap tackle, have now moved him ahead of players such as
"He's a little different than most of the other [tackles]," one general manager said. "Different in a good sort of way because, if you want the upfield guy and not just the run stuffer, there aren't many tackles like him in this year's draft."
An Academic All-American, and an avid but late-blooming student of the game who is now trying to make up for lost time, McCargo understands that Williams and Lawson, flashier players who merit attention by putting the quarterback on the ground, are going to garner most of the headlines. But he understands, too, that there is a place in the NFL for a guy like himself, a hard-working tackle who has made himself into a player and who will soon reap the rewards.
"It never bothered me that people talked so much about Mario and Manny because, I mean, those guys are incredible players," McCargo said. "Playing out on the edge, making big plays in space, you're naturally going to be drawn to those guys. But I was doing some good things, too, inside, and I think the scouts who have done their homework understand that."
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