
O.K. so I give in. I know there are more than a few of you out there who are intersted in the Giants moving up to get Eric Berry, and while I am not one of them I’ll respect your wishes and profile Mr. Berry.
Let me first start off with a trade value chart becuase I can not see Eric Berry lasting later than 7th under any conditions that do not involve a significant injury during a pre-draft workout.
(Walterfooball.com is where I got the chart you can get it in a lot of places though. Profootballtalk.com and 1,00o others).
the 15th overall pick is worth 1,050 points. The 2nd round pick, or 47th pick, is worth 430, 3rd is 195, 4th is worth 72, 5th 34.5, 6th 21.4, 7th is worth 8.6
To move up to 7th it would cost the Giants a 1st, a 2nd, and a 6th (you could live with that becuase you’d still get four other picks)
to move up to 6th it would cost the Giants a 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th (eh. not ideal)
to move up to 5th it would cost the Giants a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th (No thank you)
to move up to 4th it would cost the Giants a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th. (Only if you’re Mike Ditka looking for Ricky Williams)
You get the point.
To move up anywhere past 7th would be very, very costly.
Now, maybe the trade value chart has changed, and you could get it for less than the value chart indicates, but if you want to move up to 5th (latest I think Eric Berry will be drafted) it’s probably a 1st, a 3rd, and 4th and 7th or something. I mean you’d still get a 2nd round pick and a 5th round pick, but that’s a lot to give up before you pay the guy top ten money.
So now that you understand the cost of moving up let’s get to Eric Berry.
Prodraft Party Video
Eric Berry
Measurables
5′11 200 pounds. Born December 29, 1989. Junior.
via Cbs Draft Scout Full name: James Eric Berry … Born: Dec. 29, 1988. Father, James Berry, was a three-year starter, four-year letterman and 1981 team captain for the Vols … Aspiring dentist is currently serving an internship at a dental office in Georgia …
His blood lines are so good, his thirteen year old brother has already committed to Teeneessee
Stats
Career: 214 tackles, 2 FF, 14 INT (three years)
2009: 83 tackles (54 solo), 1 FF, 2 INT, 7 passes defensed.
Big Games:
VS UCLA 10 tackles
@ Florida 11 tackles (9 solo), 1 INT
vs Auburn 14 tackles (11 solo), 1 pass defensed
vs Alabama 5 tackles 2 passes defensed
@ Mississippi 8 tackles
Eric Berry was very productive every year he was at Teenessee. He was good vs the run and very good in pass coverage. In 2008 he had 7 INT in the 12 games he played 2 of which he brought back to the house.
Just a very productive College football player.
He even had 37 career rushing yards and 1 career reception.
Scouting Reports
New Era Scouting.com
Agility/Hips: Berry is smooth out his breaks and transitions out his backpedal with ease. Really shows his agility on interception returns. Is a shifty runner, which helps him stick with quick receivers in pass coverage.
Ball Skills: Has natural hands and frequently makes a lot of plays on the ball. Finished his career with 14 interceptions. Nicely secures the ball after making an interception.
Body Control: Keeps good balance when he’s dropping back in coverage. Gets solid position before having to get off the ground to make a play in the air. Doesn’t have the best leaping ability, but gets good hand placement to break up a pass.
Instincts: The recognition skills Berry possesses are as sound as any defender in college football. In zone coverage, Berry’s ability to read a quarterback’s eyes is impressive and perhaps just as good as Troy Polamalu’s. Rarely gets fooled on play-action passes, draws and pump fakes.
Pass Coverage: Can be used in man-to-man and zone equally well. At times, Berry was lined up cornerback throughout his career and managed to hold up fairly well. He is smooth in his backpedal and keeps a manageable cushion.
Pursuit: Berry takes excellent angles toward the ball carrier and closes really fast. He likes to mix it up in the trash, which can sometimes get him in trouble. If a lineman gets his hands on Berry, he doesn’t have the functional strength to disengage.
Run Support: During his junior season, Tennessee used Berry more in the box to stop the run. Although his strength didn’t always allow him to make tackles, he was almost always in on plays. Where he could improve here is in coming in sooner to make a play. Instead, Berry will sometimes wait for a play to come to him. Played sort of a hybrid safety/linebacker position in 2009.
Size: Berry’s size — said by Tennessee to be 5?11 and 203 pounds — is adequate. It’s not impressive, but it’s not a hindrance. He could stand to get a little stronger, but it’s hard to say how this would affect his quickness and speed.
Speed: Closes really fast in zone coverage, which helps him stop receivers from getting yards after the catch. Shows a really good burst to get back into position to make a play on the ball or make up lost ground when coming out his backpedal.
Tackling: For Berry to become a better tackler, he’ll have to add more strength to his entire frame. There were times in 2009 when Berry whiffed on a tackles against strong running backs. he’s a sound wrap-up tackler, however, and will easily improve in this area. He doesn’t shy away from contact at all and really gets after the ball.
Final word: Just about everything about Berry is impressive — and that’s not even including his pure football skills. He was a captain of the Tennessee team and regarded as having great character. Unlike most football players who take easy majors, Berry studied dentistry and interned at a Georgia dentist office.
Berry is known as an excellent teammate who even played on special teams as a junior. He was moved around a lot during his junior season, which cause his interception totals to drop, but Berry didn’t complain.
Playing in defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin’s defense, Berry’s football intelligence only improved as a junior. He now has a skillset and intelligence base that should help him start immediately in the NFL. Clearly a proven pass defender entering 2009, Berry is now a premier all-around safety.
Berry is certainly a top 10 pick, and whatever team drafts him will get a versatile defender. Berry is certainly good enough to start at strong safety and be the next Ed Reed. Or a team could move him to cornerback and he’s good enough to be the next Darrelle Revis.
Walterfootball.com
Strengths:
Extremely productive
Highly athletic
Great initial quickness; short-range explosion
Nice recovery speed
Terrific instincts; anticipates the play
Smooth athlete
Fluid hips
Shows textbook footwork
Absolute playmaker
Can really lay the wood
Physical and violent player
Interception machine
Does a great job of reading the quarterback’s eyes
Gets out of backpedal cleanly and breaks on ball
Soft hands
Good route recognition
Doesn’t miss tackles
Elite range in pass coverage
Turns INTs into TDs
Aggressive against the run
Closes in on ball-carrier quickly
Scheme and position versatility (FS or SS)
Plays through pain
Elite skill set
Very intelligent
Nice work ethic
Weaknesses:
Lacks some upper body strength
Average height
Inconsistent when taking angles against the run
Could perfect his backpedal as he has a tendency to get too high
Left shoulder needs to check out medicallySummary: Eric Berry is an elite talent and a top-10 pick. It is as simple as that, barring injury next season. Berry is one of those few individuals where it just seems like this is what he was born to do. He is a natural on the football field with the intangibles to boot. He will also be coached by one of the best defensive coordinators of all time in Monte Kiffin who knows how to coach the strong safety position (John Lynch and Jermaine Phillips).What really impresses me about Berry is he reportedly played all of the 2008 season with a nagging shoulder injury, which he then had surgery on in December. Berry is the No. 1 prospect in the 2010 NFL Draft, in my opinion.Player Comparison: Ed Reed. Both players are 5-11 with a surreal knack for the game of football and have the ball skills, range, and playmaking ability you look for.
Draft Board Insider.com
Scouting Report-Berry is one of those special players in the secondary that don’t come along very often. Going into the season I figured it would be he, and Taylor Mays head to head to be the first defensive back off the board, but Mays isn’t in his league. Berry is so smart, and just has that “it” factor when it comes to making the right play. Whether it’s sniffing out a screen pass, baiting a quarterback into a throw, or coming up and stuffing the run, Berry is always there for the play. He plays with a very aggressive nature but it’s always under control, and he uses that to his advantage. He’s going to have a great 40 time, but in short bursts is where is speed is most evident. He can play any safety spot, and it wouldn’t shock me if he played some cornerback in the NFL as well. He’s such a hard working player, I’m not sure there’s anything he can’t do. He’s got the best hands of any dback in the draft, and does a great job picking the ball up in the air, and making the interception instead of just the knockdown. The biggest knock on Berry might be the combination of a shoulder injury mixed with his overly aggressive nature/average size. I have to wonder if Berry is going to be a Troy Polamalu type who has a huge impact on the game, but will be out of the lineup periodically with injuries from that aggressive and explosive style.
Draft Status-The importance of a dominant safety cannot be stressed enough in this league. Every great defense has a player in the back 4 who can dictate the game on some level. There aren’t these type of players in every draft, so Berry will be coveted early in the first round. Probably the top 10 picks. This is of course assuming his shoulder checks out clean, but even if not, he won’t fall far.
Final Analysis-Aside from Ndamukong Suh, Berry is the best defensive player in the country and in this upcoming draft. His impact on opposing offenses will be noticeable early, and his ability to elevate his play will make whatever defense he’s playing on, look even better. Berry is sort of a mad scientist mix of skills that make him so valuable in today’s NFL. Berry is going to blow people away this offseason who haven’t gotten to see him play and by next April, the Berry hype machine will be full speed ahead.
Reminds me of: Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh Steelers-I could have said Ed Reed here as well and been able to make a comparison as well. But for me, the level of intensity and suddeness that Berry plays with, reminds me a lot of the Steeler great. Both are a little undersized, incredible speed and quickness, great hands and a tendency to play a little too aggressive at times.
Big Board Rankings (2/7/10)
Drafttek 2nd
Draft Board Insider.com 3rd
ESPN Scouts Inc 3rd
CBS NFL Draft Scout 2
Walterfootball.com 1
New Era Scouting 3
Where the Mocks Have Him Falling (2/7/10)
Walterfootball 6th (Seahawks)
Draftboard insider 5th (Cheifs)
Mel. Kiper Jr. 3rd (Buccaneers)
Drafttek.com 3rd (Buccaneers)
Bartolis Summary and Final Verdict
What can you say about Eric Berry? He’s the most hyped up safety I’ve seen in a long time…and is probably the most hyped Safety prospect since Sean Taylor…Taylor was well on his way to becoming an exceptional N.F.L. player before he was tragically murdered.
Taylor had 14 INT in three and a half seasons of N.F.L. play including 5 in 9 games in 2007. To go along with 8 FF.
He was a dynamic play maker in the N.F.L. and Eric Berry might be a slightly more talented player than Taylor was at the same stage in their careers.
Eric Berry has the skill set to become Ed Reed…and that is the biggest comparision he always draws.
Berry is fast, he has good natural football skills. He is always in the right position against the run….he’s very good with the ball AFTER he intercepts it (which is probably where most of the Ed Reed comparisions come from) and Eric Berry WILL be drafted by Cleveland at #7 if he is there. Profootballtalk.com is already reporting that the Browns think they have two players on their entire Secondarysquad that are N.F.L. caliber players.
So at this preliminary stage it looks like they are going to be targeting Eric Berry, Taylor Mays, Earl Thomas, or Joe Haden.
I can see no cirumstance in which Eric Berry makes it past Cleveland at 7…like I said unless he tears his A.C.L. and will miss all of the 2010 season…and then maybe he’d fall to the Giants at 15th.
Moving up to #7 might be O.K. to swallow for the New York Giants, but moving up any higher could be detrimental to the franchise moving forward.
First it cost a lot as far as draft picks go…and secondly it costs a lot as far as money goes…if there is ever a salary cap again it could negatively impact the Giant salary cap numbers who also have a lot of money tied into Eli Manning.
Eric Berry is a dynamic college player and has EVERY ingredient you’d look for in a futur pro. He’s smart, has elite athletic ability, has natural football intelligence and works hard.
He has a low bust rate and a very high Pro-Bowl rate.
I would LOVE to see Eric Berry on the New York Giants next year…but I would NOT trade the draft away in order to do so…if the Giants do make that call ( I highly doubt it) than you can’ t complain about getting Berry but you can be worried about the future.
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