http://network.yardbarker.com/author/art...idget=true

 

Mike Mayock: “I’d Take Khalil Mack Over Jadeveon Clowney”

Published February 19, 2014 |

By Shane Richardson


In an interview with Adam Schein on Mad Dog Sports, reputed NFL draft analyst Mike Mayock said he would draft Khalil Mack out of the University of Buffalo over highly touted Jadeveon Clowney out of the University of South Carolina. Schein asked Mayock if he had concerns about the motor or character of Clowney:

Yeah, I do. I would start off by saying that physically, as an athletic specimen, he’s as good as there has ever been at that position. You look at Mario Williams, I think this kid has more upside than Mario did coming out. However…my concern is the work ethic, how much of your resources are you going to have to expend to make sure the kid is where he needs to be when he needs to be there and ultimately, do you trust him? Is he going to be an accountable teammate? And if I am sitting there with a choice between him and Khalil Mack, I’m probably going Khalil Mack…my Khalil Mack grade is just about the same as Clowney. So if I look at the two of them and say I trust one and I am not sure about the other…then yeah…Mack to me, I love that kid, and just because he played in Buffalo, I’m banging the tables for him.


Mayock was then asked to give the listeners some detail on why he was so high on Mack:

The first tape I put in was Ohio State, and this kid dominated Ohio State like nobody I’ve ever seen. He’s explosive off the edge, he’s 6’3″ 248 pounds, and in today’s NFL, explosion off the edge is a primary characteristic that you need, so that’s number one. Number two, he’s stout against the run. Number three, he hustles. Number four, he’s got a little aggressive chip on his shoulder…I’ve seen him read a quarterback’s eyes, drop back into coverage, and make a one handed interception.


Clowney is widely speculated to be the top pick in the draft so Mayock’s evaluation goes against the main stream thinking when it comes to the star defensive end. His coach at South Carolina certainly did not give him a ringing endorsement when asked about what he thought about Clowney. On ESPN’s “Scouts Inc.’s Top 32 for 2014,” Clowney is rated #1 with an overall grade of 96 while Mack is graded out at #5 with an overall graded of 94.

---