NFL offseason thread

[katmai]

British discus star announces he will sign with 49ers
April 27, 2013, 5:00 pm


Lawrence Okoye, 21, is the British discus record-holder. He placed 12th in the London Olympics.

SANTA CLARA -- British Olympian Lawrence Okoye, who impressed NFL scouts with his rare physical ability, will sign with the 49ers as an undrafted free agent, he announced on his Twitter page.

Okoye will sign a three-year contract with the 49ers and attempt to make a transition to defensive line in the NFL.

Coach Jim Harbaugh, speaking Saturday evening after the draft, that he felt "inadequate" when he met the 6-foot-6, 305-pound Okoye on a recent visit to the 49ers' team offices.

"This is an Adonis, a great physical specimen of a man," Harbaugh said. "Our creator created a beautiful man."

Okoye, 21, was an accomplished rugby player who decided to begin throwing the discus. Two years later, he became the British discus record-holder and placed 12th in the London Olympics.

He has never played football, but Harbaugh said giving him a chance to learn from defensive line coach Jim Tomsula may enable him to become a top-level football player, too.

"You start to put the pieces together and say, 'Taking on football at this time in his life, I can see this guy doing it,'" Harbaugh said. "I'm excited."

Okoye attended two regional combines and attracted the attention of NFL scouts with his size and athleticism. He reportedly ran the 40-yard dash in 4.88 and 4.78 seconds while posting a 10-foot-5 broad jump and a 35-inch vertical jump recently at a combine at Cowboys Stadium.

The 49ers have experience with Olympians. Michael Carter, who attended Southern Methodist on a football scholarship, won the silver medal in the 1984 Olympics. The following season, Carter played nose tackle on the 49ers' Super Bowl-winning team. Carter, a fifth-round draft pick in 1984, played for the 49ers through 1992.

Defensive end Jeff Stover was also a member of that 49ers championship team. Stover, who grew up in the small Northern California town of Corning, did not play football at Oregon. He was one of the best shot-putters in the country, but did not get a chance to participate in the 1980 Olympics because of the United States' boycott. Stover impressed the 49ers in a tryout and ended up playing for the club from 1982 to '88. 

[MadBurgerMaker]

Texans UDFA moves:

Justin Tuggle, LB, Kansas State
Travis Howard, CB, Ohio St
Willie Jefferson, DE, Stephen F. Austin
Graham Pocic, OL, Illinois
Ja'Gared Davis, LB, SMU
Ray Graham, RB, Pitt
Uzoma Nwachukwu, WR, Texas A&M
Kenny Demens, LB, Michigan
Orhian Johnson, S, Ohio State
Dennis Johnson, RB, Arkansas
Collin Klein, QB/TE, Kansas State
Cierre Wood, RB, Notre Dame
Earl Okine, DE, Florida
Zach Boren, FB, Ohio State

I wonder if Collin Klein can block and catch.  Dude can definitely run and take a hit like a TE.

[CountDeMoney]

Cierre Wood, RB, Notre Dame

As an UDFA, that was a steal.  A good multi-purpose back that has the burst up the middle to get to the 2nd level in the defense, can run outside the tackles or line up outside as a wideout.  He should definitely help.

[MadBurgerMaker]

Well they're looking to replace Justin Forsett, so maybe he'll get that spot.  I don't know anything about the pig or the guy from Pitt though. 

[Ed Anger]

The texans will like Zach Boren.

[Alcibiades]

Greenbay Packers picks:

1   26   26   Datone Jones, DE, UCLA
2   29   61   Eddie Lacy, RB, Alabama
4   12   109   David Bakhtiari, T, Colorado
4   25   122   J.C. Tretter, G/T, Cornell
4   28   125   Johnathan Franklin, RB, UCLA
5   26   159   Micah Hyde, DB, Iowa
5   34   167   Josh Boyd, DT, Mississippi State
6   25   193   Nate Palmer, OLB, Illinois State
7   10   216   Charles Johnson, WR, Grand Valley State
7   18   224   Kevin Dorsey, WR, Maryland
7   26   232   Sam Barrington, LB, South Florida

Interesting Picks, was hoping for montee ball but Lacy is pretty good.....right?   

[CountDeMoney]

Interesting Picks, was hoping for montee ball but Lacy is pretty good.....right?   

Lacy is a monster back.  I couldn't believe he fell to the 2nd round.

[sbr]

Lacy's body is pretty beat up for a young guy just out of college.  I think durability questions are what made him fall.

[CountDeMoney]

Yeah, but they were more dings and dents than anything systemic.
He's a total gym rat, though; benches with the offensive linemen.  His workout regimen is 2nd to none when it comes to running backs.  That alone will protect him more than most RBs protect themselves.

Now, he may not make it 8 years, but so few bruiser RBs do these days.  Also, I wouldn't say that a program like Saban's is the most...compassionate...when it comes to players, training and their injuries.  The Packers won't run him into the ground in training camp and the preseason.

[Alcibiades]

He was the fourth running back drafted actually, first was Bernard from NC, Bell from Michigan State,  and ball from Wisconsin.

[CountDeMoney]

He was the fourth running back drafted actually, first was Bernard from NC, Bell from Michigan State,  and ball from Wisconsin.

OK.     I think we all kinda knew that.

[Alcibiades]

You couldn't believe he fell to the second round....but he was the 4th running back drafted in the second round and he nearly fell to the third round. 

[CountDeMoney]

You couldn't believe he fell to the second round....but he was the 4th running back drafted in the second round and he nearly fell to the third round. 

Yeah, I couldn't, because I expected Lacy and Ball to go in the 1st round.

You don't do garbon very well.  So knock it off, fuckwheat.

[Alcibiades]

I just wasn't too surprised that he fell that late, was disappointed that the Packers didn't get Bell or Ball.

I'm not sure what graboning is unless its being a faggy douchebag. 

[CountDeMoney]

I'm not sure what graboning is unless its being a faggy douchebag. 

I state an opinion, and you repeat facts I already know, like it's some sort of contrary point.

So yeah, that's being a faggy douchebag.