UDFA Wishlist

UDFA Wish List: LB Alex Wujciak

A lot of people have been calling for undrafted free agent Mark Herzlich to be signed when free agency begins.

I admit that I have been one of those guys and I would still be very happy with the signing. After some research, I have discovered a talent that I covet even more than Herzlich.

Alex Wujciak.

Standing at 6-3 and weighing 250 pounds he looks to be a solid 3-4 ILB.

Often overshadowed by top names, he has performed well over his college career.

Wujciak averaged 10.2 tackles per game and was voted to the All ACC team 3 times in his career.

If you want the kind of player that will pursue the ball and get down and dirty for the defense, this is the guy you want. He would have a legit chance at making the Chiefs 53 man roster on either special teams and in my opinion could even overtake Belcher on the starting defense.

According to Gil Brandt of NFL.com, he ran a 4.77 in the 40 and has a 29 inch vertical.

Other sources have compared him to a Bart Scott type of linebacker and says that he is a leader on and off the field.

Some of his strengths include not being fooled easy. Mentally tough and looks for contact. Can get through the traffic jams to find the ball carrier. He is a very strong player and plays determined. Consistent.

Dont know anything about him

Competition for RT and ILB were my biggest concerns that weren't addressed in the draft (unless Allen Bailey gets turned into a 280 pound 'backer). Bring him in.

A look at the best players without a team.
Quarterbacks

Pat Devlin
Adam Weber
Scott Tolzein

Running Backs

Derrick Locke
Noel Devine
Darren Evans
Graig Cooper
John Clay
Armando Allen
Chad Spann
Damien Berry
Vai Taua
Eddie Wide

Fullbacks

Henry Hynoski
Jon Hoese
Preston Dial

Wide Receivers

Ricardo Lockette
Terrence Toliver
Darvin Adams
Owen Spencer
Jimmy Young
Tori Gurley
Jock Sanders
DeAndre Brown
Dane Sanzenbacher
Derek Moye
Terrence Turner
Lestar Jean
Jeff Maehl
O.J. Murdock

Tight Ends

Andre Smith
Allen Reisner
Charlie Gantt
Kyle Adams
Mike McNeil
Konrad Reuland

Offensive Tackle

David Mims
Ray Dominguez
Richard Lapham
Josh Davis
Trevis Turner
Curt Porter
Adam Grant

Offensive Guards

Jake Vermiglio
Will Lawrence
Justin Boren
Thomas Claiborne
Ricky Henry
Jarriel King
Jamar Bass
Bo Thran
Chris Stewart
Mike Person
Bryant Browning

Centers

Kris O’Dowd
Ryan McMahon
Kevin Kowalski
Collin Baxter
Alex Linnenkohl
Tim Barnes
Jake Kirkpatrick
Chase Beeler
Zane Taylor
Ryan Pugh
Sampson Genus

Defensive Ends

Wayne Daniels
Pierre Allen
Clay Nurse
Brandon Bair
Ryan Wynterswyk
Alex Albright

Defensive Tackles

Ian Williams
Martin Parker
Colby Whitlock
Olli Ogbu
Mike Blanc
Ced Thornton
John Graves
Ted Laurent

Linebackers

Mark Herzlich
Kenny Rowe
Ugo Chinasa
Steven Friday
Justin Trattou
Marc Schiechl
Winson Venable
Michael Morgan
Jeremiha Hunter
Justin Gent
Scott lutrus
Josh Bynes
Mario Harvey
Orie Lemon
Archie Donald
Nick Bellore
Alex Wujcak
Mike Mele
Ben Jacobs

Cornerbacks

Ryan Hill
Kevin Rutland
Darrin Walls
Kendric Burney
Andrew McGee
Mario Butler

Safeties

DeAndre McDaniel
Deunta Williams
TeJay Johnson
Will Hill
Jerrard tarrant
Mana Silva
Brett Greenwood
Jeron Johnson
Byron Landor
Joe Lefeged
David Sims
Dom Decicco
Harrison Smith
Delano Howell
Davonte Shannon
Davon Morgan

First guy that i want to look at is LB Mark Herzlich. He would have been a top 10 pick before the injury. Next would be Mizzou C Tim Barnes who was the 3rd ranked center this year and wasn't invited to the combine. Good player with great feet and quickness, a good fit for a zone blocking scheme. Barnes has the ability to get out there and pull and would be served well to work with Weiggy this year. i would like to look at C Kris Odowd. I liked him when i watched USC. I would like to look at DT Ian Williams out of ND. Brandon Bair DE is guy who projects as a 5 technique and rumor was the Chiefs contacted him during the draft and let them know they were interested in him as a UDFA. Zane Taylor is strong kid with quick feet and I would like to look at him. Benched 225 41 times, he is horse. taylor has really good feet and drawed alot of praise after his workout.

The Kansas City Chiefs are not able to sign any players that were not drafted until the lockout is either over or lifted again so they made a few calls during the 7th round of the 2011 NFL Draft to make their case to a few players they were interested in.

One of those players was Oregon’s Brandon Bair, according to rexburgstandardjournal.com.


Since teams can’t call undrafted players after the draft, they made their calls during the seventh round, and Bair heard from several teams. The Kansas City Chiefs expressed the most interest, but San Francisco, Seattle, Miami, Arizona and Chicago all made their pitches as to why Bair should sign with them once the lockout ends.

More after the jump.



Bair is a 6-6, 276 pound defensive end who was projected as a potential 5th or 6th round pick by NFL Draft Scout. Unfortunately for Bair, he fell off the board and is now in limbo with the other undrafted free agents.

Bair started as a DT at Oregon in 2010 but projects well as a five-technique in a 3-4 defense. The Chiefs are obviously interested in adding depth along their defensive front and Bair would be an interesting player to check out. His sheer size makes him a threat to bat down a lot of balls at the line. The scouts at Sideline Scouting like his swim move and first step as well as his quickness and ability to get into the backfield. He has 15.5 tackles for a loss in 2010.

Some things that may have hurt Bair in the draft are his age and his weight. At 6-6 he could stand to add some heft to his frame and he will be a 26 year old rookie due to spending two years on a church mission.

04/04/2011 - Utah Pro day: Offensive lineman Zane Taylor (6-foot-2 1/2, 308 pounds) drew compliments from Callahan after his workout, and he displayed impressive strength and foot quickness in his testing. Taylor bench pressed 225 pounds 41 times and ran the 3-cone drill in 7.87 seconds. He ran the 40-yard dash in 5.45 seconds twice and had a vertical jump of 26 1/2 inches. He stood on the rest of his numbers from last month's NFL Scouting Combine. - Gil Brandt, NFL.com
•Full Zane Taylor News Wire

Overview


like many pivot prospects in the 2011 draft, Taylor has been a durable and reliable rock in the middle of a strong offensive line. His pass-protection and run-blocking skills have helped the Utes maintain their standard of excellence.

He earned the team's "Future Award" on offense while working with the scout team in 2006, then sat behind an experienced line as a redshirt freshman, playing eight games on special teams the following year. Taylor then started 38 of 39 games the past three seasons, earning honorable-mention (2008), second-team (2009), then first-team All-Mountain West honors for his play.

Taylor isn't the best athlete available in the interior offensive line class, but his strength, toughness, durability and intelligence (four straight Academic all-conference honors) could entice a team to select him late in the draft.

Analysis

Negatives: Thick, strong build in the pivot. Stands most nose tackles straight up after the snap. Good anchor against bull rushes, resets hands after initial contact. Works hard to wall off tackles on runs to either side while engaged. Solid football and general intelligence. Very competitive. Practiced at shotgun and direct snaps.

Positives: Does not move tackles out of the hole with his upper body. Lunges, leans, and fails to move his feet when engaged in pass protection, so tackles can get him off-balance. Only adequate recovery after initial contact. Slow to second level, lumbers in space and fails to reach targets consistently. Struggles to hit linebackers on combo block. Missed one game in 2009 with a knee injury.

Tim Barnes of Missouri is a 6-foot-4, 300-pound prospect who is ranked third among center prospects in this year's draft by both the National Football Post and by Sideline Scouting. Surprisingly Barnes was not among the players invited to the upcoming NFL Scouting Combine. In listing Barnes as a player who deserved an invitation, CBS Sports draft analyst Chard Reuter had this to say about Barnes:

The first-team All-Big 12 pick was excellent in pass protection despite playing with wide splits, and has the toughness in the run game to start as a rookie.

Barnes is a player with the athleticism to possibly move to guard at the NFL level, as well as center. We know, of course, the Giants could have needs in both of those areas.

Scouting reports after the jump.



Tim Barnes
OC, Missouri
6-foot-4, 300 pounds

Scouting Reports

From the National Football Post:


Snaps and steps quickly off the line and has the type of initial burst to comfortably get into defenders off his frame, get his feet around and seal inside. But, isn't real powerful on contact and has a tendency to rock his arms/hands back and forth in order to stay on blocks through the play. However, exhibits good lower body coordination and footwork, moves well through contact and has the lateral agility to seal defenders from the ball in the run game. Looks natural pulling in space and displays the body control to reach the second level and blow up an opposing target. Nevertheless, he does struggle moving defenders off the ball in the run game and isn't built for an in-line scheme at the next level.

Looks natural in pass protection. Isn't overly physical initially at the point of attack when a defender lines up over his face. But exhibits the type of flexibility to sit into his stance, extend his arms and pick up stunting/slanting defenders inside. Looks natural keeping his base down, sliding his feet and can mirror in space. Possesses above average lateral range, can redirect cleanly and anchor with some consistency through the play.

Impression: He's an above-average athlete who can bend and redirect. Looks like a potential draftabale center to me who should have a good shot at making an NFL roster and possibly contributing down the line.

From SB Nation's Mocking The Draft:

Agility: While at Missouri, Barnes was asked to pull, and get to the second level quite often. He has no trouble using his quickness and good feet to do these things.

Movement: As mentioned in the agility section, Barnes has a great tool in his ability to move his feet and get were he is going quickly.

Pass Blocking: When in pass protection, he has a solid base and shows the ability to anchor. He is very good at absorbing contact, but can be over powered into the backfield by stronger competition. Needs to do a better job of sitting into his stance.

Run Blocking: Unlike his pass blocking, Barnes sits into his stance and fires out when run blocking. He makes good contact after the snap and gets in a solid punch on the defender. He needs to work on staying low and using leverage when driving his opponent. He has no problem staying engaged with the defender, even if he is getting driven back.

Strength: I was impressed with Barnes' upper body strength on film. He would usher defenders around with one arm with ease. He needs to work on his anchor strength though, as he occasionally struggled to stop a bull rush. Overall though, I feel Barnes is strong enough to last in the NFL.

Final Word: I'm a big fan of Barnes. He does have a lot to work on to be successful at the next level, but everything is correctable in my opinion. He does need to show at the Combine that the past four years in the spread offense, snapping in shotgun, won't be an issue. He is the prototypical size for an interior lineman in the NFL, with the barrel chest, good strength and technique. I could see Barnes as the second center prospect off the board come draft day.

From Sideline Scouting:

Positives: Athletic... Intelligent... Versatile, might move to Guard at the next level... Very solid pass protector... Good quickness... Sets up quickly... Very solid footwork and agility... Plays with solid knee bend... Does a nice job sliding and mirroring defender... Can redirect reasonably well, solid awareness, okay at picking up stunts... Can explode out of his stance when run blocking but gets a little too upright, ... Plays with leverage and generally drives his feet on contact... Maintains reasonably good pad level... Gets and maintains good position, seals off the action well... Can pull... Can get to the second level and does a nice job blocking on the move... Keeps his head on a swivel... Good flexibility and body control... Good motor... Good fit in ZBS.

Negatives: Not real strong at POA, needs to improve anchoring strength... Not a pile mover.

I can't believe Colin Franklin isn't on the list for TE's.