Colts select Malik Hooker [Merge]

[SteelCityColt]

5 hours ago, 21isSuperman said:

 

From PFF

 

He's well above average in everything and slightly above average in run D, which is where he's had problems

 

These diagrams make me happy.

[neug3246]

Just now, Finball said:

 

Bills have medicore QB but Taylor doesn't throw many picks, only 12 the last two seasons. He avoids MOF like plague.

Ya I just did a quick look at our schedule. I know Taylor isn't considered as elite but isn't gutter trash either so I just threw them in there. Plus when we play that game 90% chance it will be in the cold and more of a physical game too. Also if our O can get to fast starts and score points early this year that might force teams to throw the ball more to create more opportunity for Hooker to create more interceptions.

[Mr. Irrelevant]

Look, I just watched the Ballard presser. Damn, is this GM the real deal or what. The Colt future just looks so bright on a day like this.

 

 

[neug3246]

4 hours ago, myic90 said:

Some of our more knowledgeable members know what we're getting with him, but I feel a lot of our more casual forum members were put off by what Jon Gruden said. I figure if you're going to criticize the pick from watching 10 seconds of espn air time, might as well watch more tape right?

 

So to reintroduce some perspective, here's an intro video to what a stud Malik Hooker is and what he'll bring to our defense.

 

 

My biggest question is how exactly we're going to implement him into our schemes? Can someone who understands Colt's Xs and Os shed some light? I don't think we run a cover 3 although I'm sure we mix some looks.

 

I think what I come away with from today is that if this pick fails, it's on coaching.

That was a really great informational video. Thanks for posting it and I must have missed it in other Hooker topics. Also I was a big Hooker supporter and was praying he would fall so its not like I didn't like the pick b/c I LOVED it! 

[SteelCityColt]

Having waded through the topic... it looks like the Colts got a consensus Top 10 player at 15, but of course people will still be unhappy. 

 

I think it was a no brainer pick, we got lucky with teams going insane over mediocre QBs. This is what good teams do in the draft, prey on the mistakes of others. 

[Yoshinator]

Thank you for the video! I loved Hooker before, now I'm salivating! This kid looks tremendous and I can't wait to see him play this year. Only 1 pick and Ballard has my confidence. I hope day 2 is just as good today!

[Defjamz26]

21 minutes ago, SteelCityColt said:

Having waded through the topic... it looks like the Colts got a consensus Top 10 player at 15, but of course people will still be unhappy. 

 

I think it was a no brainer pick, we got lucky with teams going insane over mediocre QBs. This is what good teams do in the draft, prey on the mistakes of others. 

And they got a guy who is a game changer. Some who takes the ball away. We didn't have any defensive game changers. Now we do. Everyone should be cheering.

[Yoshinator]

11 minutes ago, Defjamz26 said:

And they got a guy who is a game changer. Some who takes the ball away. We didn't have any defensive game changers. Now we do. Everyone should be cheering.

Bingo. We made one of the best value picks in the draft. Clean, no character issues, an absolute ball hawk, and as you said, a game changer. We got our own version of Earl Thomas and Ed Reed at 15 overall. You can't beat that 9 times out of 10 in any draft. Everyone should be ecstatic. 

[zibby43]

5 hours ago, MarvinTheGreat88 said:

Thanks man, no worries. And let's make this very clear - none of us have any idea how this pick will turn out. Every NFL draft pick has a 50/50 shot of being great or being a bust. So maybe all of us "OH YEAH HOOKER ROCKS!" picks will look like fools down the line. Who knows.

 

I just know that I've been watching Colts football for a while now. My family moved to Indy during Peyton's rookie season. So I've watched a lot of drafts... and I can't tell you how many times I get super pumped about our impending draft selection and then following it up with, "What?! We took WHO?! Oh come on you're kidding me!! What a (big reach, wrong position, overrated player, etc.)"

 

Maybe you felt that way tonight, but as you can see by the more positive comments as of late... many of us are ecstatic by this one. I can't recall the Colts landing this high-caliber of a 1st-round player besides Luck/Manning. And that is cause for hope.

 

Your posts convinced me to do a Hooker deep dive tonight.   Er, what I mean is, I did quite a bit of reading on Malik.  He seems like a good kid, first and foremost.

 

I genuinely hope he turns out to be a stud.  If he gets good coaching, it would appear that the sky is the limit.

 

It seems that the praise for Malik's skill set is ubiquitous, unless your last name happens to be Gruden (the same guy who thought DJ Smith was going to be a Hall of Famer)

[zibby43]

5 hours ago, Colts_Fan12 said:

Did green have 7 INTs? Was green fantastic in coverage like Hooker? Was green talked about as a 1st rounder let alone top 10 player? No they are not even comparable 

 

From what I've seen, I wouldn't say that Hooker is "fantastic" in coverage.  He does, however, appear to have fantastic ball skills, closing speed, and unteachable, borderline freakish, body control.

 

In reality, the only similarities between Green and Hooker are inexperience at the Safety position.  Hooker's ability to make plays on the ball is light years beyond Green's.

[zibby43]

5 hours ago, BleedBlu8792 said:

 

In one year, he's got better tape than most do - Jamal Adams is his only equal and he played 3 years compared to Hookers 1.5 - in 2, 3, or even 4 years of playing time. Jamal A

 

Hooker's "good tape" is amazingly good.  His "bad tape" is concerning.  Maybe some of the tackling woes were a result of his being banged up.  Time will tell.

 

I'm starting to feel less disappointed.  In the moments after the pick, I think I was guilty of dwelling too much on what the Colts could've have, as opposed to what they got.

[Colt Overseas]

1 hour ago, Defjamz26 said:

And they got a guy who is a game changer. Some who takes the ball away. We didn't have any defensive game changers. Now we do. Everyone should be cheering.

 

Exactly, and on top of that, I think we can't underestimate how having a rangey free safety is going to help this team. First off, we always talk about beating the better teams to reach the next level. Against Pittsburgh last year, we were destroyed over the top by Brown, because we didn't have a free safety that was athletic enough to cover Vontae, that gets fixed immediately now.

 

And another thing, people are bemoaning Hookers poor tackling (I think he is fine at tackling just takes bad angles due to inexperience, which are correctable), but this pick may actually improve our run D. Hooker is so athletic and rangey, he can cover a huge amount of the backfield, which will free Geathers up to play close to the LOS and make plays, TFLs, etc like he does best. I remember Ted Monachino saying at the start of the year how they will be looking at playing Geathers as a hybrid WILL linebacker is certain situations, drafting Hooker facilitates this. Hooker and Geathers skillset complement each other perfectly.

 

Its very hard not to like this pick, I'm delighted anyway, we can genuinely say we have a true playmaker on D.

[Rally5]

8 hours ago, waka waka said:

 

 

Thanks for posting that!

[coltsfeva]

6 hours ago, deedub75 said:

I already have images in my head of Hooker whiffing on Fournette. 

Or, intercepting Brady or Mariota? Are we really going to know if this was a good or bad pick, a day after the draft? No matter who was picked, there will always be "we could have had" ___. Let's see how this plays out. I do LOVE interceptions!

[Yoshinator]

Just now, coltsfeva said:

Or, intercepting Mariota?

Didn't see you in the chat yesterday. You like Hooker a lot too?

[Dingus McGirt]

8 hours ago, JColts72 said:

Our coaching has done nothing to improve the d tackling.

Which is more a reflection of the current CBA hand-cuffing coaches.

[coltsfeva]

2 minutes ago, Jared Cisneros said:

Didn't see you in the chat yesterday. You like Hooker a lot too?

To be honest, I was hoping for Foster but I'm trusting that Ballard did his homework and he seems adamant that they got the guy they wanted.

[Yoshinator]

Just now, coltsfeva said:

To be honest, I was hoping for Foster but I'm trusting that Ballard did his homework and he seems adamant that they got the guy they wanted.

That's fair. I didn't want Foster at all, and it turned out he had some medical concerns so he got picked later. Wanted Allen or Hooker, and we got one of them, so I'm happy we went BPA. Day 2 today should be fun as well.

[NannyMcafee]

7 hours ago, MarvinTheGreat88 said:

Exactly. We just happened to take advantage of a perfect-breaking board ahead of us. You could see it happening. Teams panicked to reach big-time on QB's and WR's. That just guaranteed that a few good defensive players were going to fall in our lap. Plus heading into the draft, nobody projected Hooker to "fall" due to any issues. In contrast to Allen/Foster, who each had pre-draft issues facilitating their fall, Hooker just happened to be the 2nd safety and 3rd overall secondary player taken.

 

This draft was loaded with top-tier defensive talent, and we scooped up one of those studs. Gotta love that 1st-round good luck

 

Im starting to think we will never have to worry about Houston having a competent QB. 

[shakedownstreet]

<insert vile diatribe here>

[twfish]

Its incredibly funny too me, I'd say about 90% of the people I've read so far on here who have been very active in the draft section of the forum love the pick. The ones who I haven't seen on that side of the forum at all dislike the pick.  I'll take the more educated opinion and the guys who actually watched tape on him before the draft lol. I'll admit I didn't watch very much tape on him at all since I was pretty sure he was going top 5 or 10

[Yoshinator]

Just now, twfish said:

Its incredibly funny too me, I'd say about 90% of the people I've read so far on here who have been very active in the draft section of the forum love the pick. The ones who I haven't seen on that side of the forum at all dislike the pick.  I'll take the more educated opinion and the guys who actually watched tape on him before the draft lol. I'll admit I didn't watch very much tape on him at all since I was pretty sure he was going top 5 or 10

He looks the mix of a great football player and athlete, something I didn't think we'd get at 15. He really stands out and commands a section of the field. He's going to be his own little island in the fact that no one will want to throw near him. There's a chance he could be our best defensive player from day 1.

[DougDew]

9 hours ago, superrep1967 said:

Well not to burst your bubble but they didn't like him on ESPN. They said too many missed tackles and too inexperienced. 

Sounds like TJ Green, with injuries.

[DougDew]

So Hooker can see the ball well when he plays centerfield.  So can Butler.

 

Can he tackle?  Can he cover?  Is he durable?   I'm wondering if we took a guy not as good as Darius Butler with pick 15.

[DougDew]

Hooker, Green, Geathers, and Butler.

 

We've got 4 safeties but one cornerback.  I hope Ballard gets lucky the next two rounds.

[Yoshinator]

3 minutes ago, DougDew said:

So Hooker can see the ball well when he plays centerfield.  So can Butler.

 

Can he tackle?  Can he cover?  Is he durable?   I'm wondering if we took a guy not as good as Darius Butler with pick 15.

Check out his tape above, he's actually really dominant.

[Yoshinator]

Just now, DougDew said:

Hooker, Green, Geathers, and Butler.

 

We've got 4 safeties but one cornerback.  I hope Ballard gets lucky the next two rounds.

Butler is a CB as well

[James]

5 hours ago, stitches said:

This was my board for the Colts from before the draft:

 

I am HYPED! Short of Myles Garret somehow falling to us I don't think there was a much better situation we can be in. We had our pick of the litter among 3 of my top 7 players and that's without moving up. Amazing. I LOVE IT!

 

Wow, you pretty much experienced the dream scenario then.

 

I can't believe Malik fell this far. What an absolutely awesome beginning to the draft for the Colts.

[bababooey]

8 hours ago, Steamboat_Shaun said:

 

He started 1 year in college & managed to set the OSU record for career pick 6s.

Don't forget he has one called back on penalty. He took it to the house 4x out of 7

[DougDew]

1 minute ago, Jared Cisneros said:

Butler is a CB as well

I guess he'll go back to playing nickel again.  He's still on a one year contract. 

[Yoshinator]

1 minute ago, James said:

 

Wow, you pretty much experienced the dream scenario then.

 

I can't believe Malik fell this far. What an absolutely awesome beginning to the draft for the Colts.

It was awesome. You're worried until you actually hear who is picked, but once I heard Malik Hooker, I was so excited! That's what you call a BPA pick!

[coltsfeva]

3 minutes ago, Jared Cisneros said:

Butler is a CB as well

Exactly. Rick Venturi mentioned that he might be one of the best nickle corners in the league. Having Hooker start allows Butler to go back to the slot.

[Yoshinator]

Just now, coltsfeva said:

Exactly. Rick Venturi mentioned that he might be one of the best buckle corners in the league. Having Hooker start allows Butler to go back to the slot.

As long as he plays in the nickel and not on the outside, he's really solid. We can draft another corner in the 3rd round hopefully to play on the outside opposite vontae davis.

[RollerColt]

11 minutes ago, DougDew said:

So Hooker can see the ball well when he plays centerfield.  So can Butler.

 

Can he tackle?  Can he cover?  Is he durable?   I'm wondering if we took a guy not as good as Darius Butler with pick 15.

Everything's going to be okay.

[lollygagger8]

I'm so glad it wasn't Reuben Foster! 

[DougDew]

Just now, lollygagger8 said:

I'm so glad it wasn't Reuben Foster! 

With the way he has fallen, it doesn't look like Ballard even considered it.  The fans don't have the info the teams do, so he got way overrated on this board.

[Archangel]

Considering the Colts play a lot of cover 1 and cover 3 and Hooker a projected top 10 player fell right into the colts lap at 15 frees up a lot of options in secondary IMOP.  He has the talent to play the safety position and it gives the colts a look at what to do with green plus the fact they can move butler back to his orginal position or maybe train green to to take over for butler who knows. Their was a lot of good players left to choose from on the board last night but after reading on some of them the only one I was interested in was Reddick and he went at 13. Their are a lot of good corners left and ILB also EDGE guys kinda hope the colts address the RB in the 2nd you still have Mixon, Karma, and Cook. also their are some good edge guys left Cunning, Bowser, Williams. plus some corners. 

[Yoshinator]

Just now, Archangel said:

Considering the Colts play a lot of cover 1 and cover 3 and Hooker a projected top 10 player fell right into the colts lap at 15 frees up a lot of options in secondary IMOP.  He has the talent to play the safety position and it gives the colts a look at what to do with green plus the fact they can move butler back to his orginal position or maybe train green to to take over for butler who knows. Their was a lot of good players left to choose from on the board last night but after reading on some of them the only one I was interested in was Reddick and he went at 13. Their are a lot of good corners left and ILB also EDGE guys kinda hope the colts address the RB in the 2nd you still have Mixon, Karma, and Cook. also their are some good edge guys left Cunning, Bowser, Williams. plus some corners. 

More than likely, there will be a "value" player in the 2nd round for us to choose. It may not be who we think, but someone will be there, just like last night. There's probably 15 players I'd take easy that are left with our pick.

[Valpo2004]

Wow everyone went into a panic on offensive players and we managed to grab one of the best defensive players in the draft.  Couldn't have asked for things to work out much better for us.  

 

I might have considered Allen but I don't know the extent of his injury issues.  

 

Either way I'm very happy about this pick.  

[Myles]

I'm good with the pick.   It fills a need and he's a highly rated player.   I do disagree with everyone here touting him as a top 5 or top 10 talent that fell to us.    After a bit of research, he was drafted close to where the average mock draft had him being drafted.  I seen as high as 7th and as low as 19th.   I think the Colts did well with him at 15.   I was kind of hoping for Foster, Allen or Lamp but after looking into Hooker, this was a good pick.

 

I like Hooker(s).