Alex Magee v. Mitch King - YOU DECIDE 2009

To be fair, there are a lot of Colts fans who are convinced that the Colts will go WR/RB in the 1st two rounds of 2009 draft.  The debate between those folks and the, "are you crazy, we need DTs!" folks can get heated at times.  However, there are options for the Colts should they choose to go with players like Nicks/Harvin/Johnson/Brown in the first two rounds and still need to address DT in the middle rounds.

Alex Magee and Mitch King are rather popular guys amongst most Colts fans.  With this YOU DECIDE thread, take a closer look at Magee and King and figure out whether you'd rather have Magee in the 3rd Round, King in the 4th Round, or BOTH of them... assuming both are available with our picks in those rounds.

Alex Magee - Purdue

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Combine Video

6'3", 298 lbs.
4.82 40 Yard Dash, 4.42 20 Yard Shuttle, 7.15 3-Cone Drill
29.5 Inch Vertical Jump, 30 Bench Reps

SENIOR SEASON STATS:
28 Tackles, 14 Assists, 6.0 TFL, 3.5 Sacks, 1 FF, 1 FR

INJURIES:
None listed.

ANALYSIS:

NFLDraftScout.com, TFYDraft.com

Strengths: Stout build with room for at least an additional 5-10 pounds of mass.  Versatile defender with experience at defensive tackle and defensive end.  Can create problems up front with good initial quickness off the snap.  Quick, active hands to slap away the blockers' attempts to latch on to him.  Good strength to disengage.  Good overall strength for holding up at the point of attack.  Can push the pocket as a bull-rusher.  Effective short-area tackler who flashes some burst to close.  Helped himself with a standout week of practice for the Senior Bowl, demonstrating better redirection and hand technique in pass-rush drills than scouts anticipated.

Explosive one-gap penetrator who makes plays in all directions of the field. Bends his knees, plays with good lean, and rarely off his feet. Moves well about the field, fluid out to the flanks, or explosive up the field. Effectively diagnoses the action, holds his ground against blocks, and focused on by opponents. Works hard to get involved in the action.

Alex Magee is another DT prospect in the mold of a Jerry/Moala, in terms of bringing size/burst and pocket-pushing power with bull-rushing ability.  If we wanted him to play NT in our scheme he could probably do so at his current weight or put on a few more pounds because his frame will allow it.  His production was hampered a bit by moving to DE as a senior, but a guy who is quick enough to have an impact at DE in college with the body and skills to produce as a DT, sounds like the kind of guy the Colts would be interested in for the interior of their defensive line.  I see Magee's play style and potential value in the neighborhood of Ed Johnson, minus the pot.

Weaknesses: Inconsistent. Flashes, but rarely puts together a string of standout plays.  Viewed as a bit of a "tweener" by some.  Flashes initial quickness off the snap but lacks the speed and flexibility to get around the edge teams prefer for weak-side defensive ends.  Can come off the snap too high and lose leverage in the running game.  Isn't stout enough to handle the double-team inside.  Doesn't make enough plays behind the line of scrimmage due to inconsistent lateral quickness.  Needs an open lane to make plays.  May struggle to locate the ball.

Lacks bulk on the inside, and is slow getting off blocks once engaged. Marginally productive in college.

Where Magee is not as skilled as Jerry and Moala is in dealing with double-teams.  While it may be that he won't encounter as many on a defensive line with Freeney and Mathis as bookends, it would be nice to have a guy who demands a double-team at nose tackle, freeing up Freeney or forcing teams to be even more concerned about the defensive pressure coming from the QBs blind-side.  While he may not display a ton of lateral movement ability, a pocket-pusher would be all the Colts would need/ask for.  If the QB is forced backward AT ALL by interior DL penetration or push, Mathis and Freeney will tear things up.  Inconsistency is a bit of a worry, similar to Ed Johnson's time as a Colts (on-the-field) so hopefully that could be improved.

SENIOR BOWL PRACTICE RECAP - TFYDraft.com

Monday Practice Notes: Did not practice

Tuesday Practice Notes: Late arrival to Mobile who had a mix up on the invitation to participate. Magee stepped right in and practiced at a very high level today. Spending the entire practice inside as a defensive tackle, attempts to thwart his pass rush were futile. He was swatting hands, spinning, swimming, doing everything to get around his blockers in pass rush drills. And he did so very affectively. Attempts against the run was not as successful. At times, Magee was unable to read his keys, sink his hips, and anchor against bigger offensive lineman.

Wednesday Practice Notes: Another solid performance for the late arrival. Magee showed he would be would hard to move today against the run throughout practice. Was chastised by his position coach for not playing the edge and giving up too much of his body to linemen during pass rush drills.

Thursday Practice Notes: Constantly working his hands and showing good moves in pass rush drills. Used his long arms especially well.

Analysis: After a disappointing senior campaign, Magee took advantage of his limited practice week. Playing both end and tackle while at Purdue, defensive tackle was this week's concentration. Magee displayed a very nice pass rush beating multiple offensive lineman, and held up better against the run than seen previously this season. If Magee can build upon this week's performance, then his stock could see a spike in his overall draft value.

Magee's performance during Senior Bowl practices probably pushed him up to a solid 3rd round prospect.  If he can continue to improve against the run and has the kind of moves inside that he displayed during Senior Bowl practices, he may be considered a poor man's Ziggy Hood.  Definitely someone the Colts should take a close look at and would bring A LOT of value for the interior of our DL in the middle rounds.

ANOTHER SCOUTING REPORT - MockingtheDraft.com
AND ANOTHER - FFToolbox.com

Mitch King - Iowa

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Draft Vignette
Combine Video
Tribute to Mitch King
Speaking in Hawkeye Huddle (I love the intensity)

6'2", 280 lbs.
4.83 40 Yard Dash, 4.40 20 Yard Shuttle, 7.55 3-Cone Drill
33.5 Inch Vertical Jump, 25 Bench Reps

SENIOR SEASON STATS:
54 Tackles, 27 Assists, 15.5 TFL, 4 Sacks, 6 QB Hurries, 2 FF

INJURIES:
None listed.

ANALYSIS:

NFLDraftScout.com, TFYDraft.com

Positives: Short, squatty defender with a low center of gravity, making it tough to move him off the line of scrimmage.  Good strength, especially in his lower body, to anchor.  Good initial quickness off the snap.  Good hand placement and quickness.  Forceful hands to disengage from the blocker.  Good short-area vertical and lateral quickness to slip blocks and make plays in the hole.  Instinctive defender who sees the action and puts himself in position to make plays.  High-effort, high-intensity player who makes those around him better.  Four-year starter.

Hard-working, resilient defensive lineman who plays with a non-stop motor. Displays great quickness and explosion in his game, plays with excellent leverage, and breaks down well. Works his hands to get off blocks, chases the action hard, and strings plays out laterally to the flanks. Fluid if asked to twist or stunt, quickly changes direction and shows skill in pursuit. Smart, intelligent football player who quickly diagnoses the action.

Mitch King is an animal on the inside, he would probably be the second or third rated true UT in the draft on my board.  The thing that separates Mitch King from the competition, in my eyes, is his intensity.  Take a look at the video where he is speaking at a "Hawkeye Huddle" pre-game rally and you'll see that this guy LOVES football and wants to dominate opponents.  He is undersized for DT, not ideal for DE, and will likely slip on the draft board, potentially to the 4th Round because other teams don't see him as having a true position.  Perfect for the Colts, we'll get him as a late steal if he is still around and I think he'll move in to the starting UT role immediately.  If not, he'd easily unseat Keyunta Dawson as Eric Foster's top back-up.  I bet this guy would be Darrell Reid-esque on ST as well.

Negatives: Bit of a "tweener."  Lacks the height, flexibility and speed off the edge teams prefer outside at defensive end and the bulk inside for defensive tackle.  Needs to be protected by a bigger defensive tackle next to him to handle playing inside in the NFL.

Easily turned from the play by a single blocker or engulfed at the point. Has growth limitations.

King's negatives are the same kinds of negatives that Colts DTs usually receive before the draft.  However, King is larger than Foster/Dawson and plays with the kind of non-stop motor and intensity that negates some of his physical limitations (size).  Clearly, it would be best if King didn't pull a double-team on every down.  However, like Magee on the blind-side, bringing in King as a UT would make it VERY difficult for teams to focus on how to handle Mathis and King on the right-side of the offensive line.  Pressure on the QB will definitely improve and his low CG may make him better against the run than most would expect.

SENIOR BOWL PRACTICE REPORT - TFYDraft.com

Monday Practice Notes: Certainly a solid all around effort today for the undersized interior defender. What made King a troublesome assignment throughout practice is his technique. He fired off the ball low and hard consistently, played with good leverage, and used his hands very well to get off of blocks.

Tuesday Practice Notes: Again displayed good quickness and very good technique but when a lineman finally got into his body; it was over.

Wednesday Practice Notes: It becomes repetitive talking about King and all the things he has done well through the week: good hand play, good overall technique, and hustles. Today's performance was not as crisp especially against the run where King struggled to hold his ground at the point of attack or show the ability to split double teams.

Thursday Practice Notes: In pass rushing situations, King saw a repetition a little time at defensive end. He continued to counter his moves well. Did have troubles anchoring against down blocks.

Analysis: Coming in surprisingly light at 275 pounds, King played much larger against much heavier offensive linemen. What is most impressive is his ability to consistently beat blocks using his hands extremely well . The defensive tackle plays with great leverage. He can be easily overwhelmed when a lineman locks onto the defender. King is just a good all around football player. Unfortunately, the Iowa product does not have the size to stay at defensive tackle in the NFL, nor the athleticism to play on the edge as a defensive end.

This analysis at the Senior Bowl practices is what sells me that he's a steal and upgrade for the Colts.  I can't think of any other team in the league that would be smitten by what King brings to the table.  The Colts value pass-rushing ability on the inside, the ability to get off the blocks quickly, the ability to get rid of blockers (good hands), and players that play with good leverage.  This is exactly what King does and does well.  He'll never be a NT and may not be ideal against run-heavy teams but as a UT who can get after the QB, he's better than anyone on our roster right now.

ANOTHER SCOUTING REPORT - FFToolbox.com

Comparison:

 Magee and King are an intriguing pair of DTs for the Colts.  Both players are given "tweener" labels but both also bring the kinds of attributes the Colts look for on the inside of the DL.  Magee should be able to effectively play NT, and probably even start as a rookie.  If he continues to improve against the run he'll be a solid player for the Colts long-term.  That he has the pass-rush moves and techniques of a player like Ziggy Hood makes him an intriguing prospect.  Mitch King is a football player, he bleeds football, and eats opponents.  His intensity, locker room presence, and attitude are EXACTLY what the Colts love for their defenders.  It's clear that the Colts defense is built around speed and intensity and only Jarron Gilbert brings as much talent/intensity to the table in this draft at UT as Mitch King does.  So which player would be better for the Colts?  Would you rather draft Alex Magee in the 3rd round or Mitch King in the 4th Round?  OR - Would you take both prospects to bolster the interior of the DL?

YOU DECIDE