Philip Merling Article

[Bill B]

Just wanted to post an article about Philip Merling who may be an intersting pick at 21. He is working out for teams today. I actually think that Merling's injury may let him slip to the Skins at 21.....

The State | 04/24/2008 | Seeing is believing

He has visited four teams: Minnesota (which reportedly has traded the No. 17 overall pick), Tampa Bay (No. 20), Washington (No. 21) and San Francisco (No. 29).
However, Cincinnati (No. 9) and Detroit (No. 15) and Jacksonville (No. 26) have also quietly expressed significant interest — a validation of his versatility because of those teams’ varied defensive schemes.
Pro scouts view him as a fit at strongside end in a conventional 4-3 defense, an outside tackle in a 3-4 defense or even an inside tackle in the Tampa 2.
"To me, he's a top-15 player in this draft," NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said. "If he falls into the 20s, I think it's directly attributable to the fact teams are nervous because they can't test him.
"Phillip Merling to me is one of the most intriguing questions in this year's draft. And the reason is, he's going to be healthy for the season. Matter of fact, he's going to be healthy for training camp. So all 32 teams know they're going to get a healthy player despite the fact he just had surgery. The problem is, all 32 teams are so heavily dependent on the measurables the 40, the vertical jump, all that stuff — and they're not going to get the chance to test this kid.