DraftTracker
Round | Team | Pos. | School | Name
Odell Thurman
LB (6-0, 233, 4.62)
Georgia
Grade: 88
Comments
Is at his best between the tackles. Fills hard and with reckless abandon. Shows very good initial power and pop at the POA. Has very good size, is well-built and is thick. Has the lower body strength and base to take on blocker in the phone booth. If he can learn to play with more consistent leverage and use his hands better, he can be excellent vs. the inside run. Is a better than average athlete for his size. Pursuing and tackling are two of his best assets. Has a natural feel for pursuit angles. He is quicker than fast and shows some good closing burst for his speed. He is a solid all-around tackler with good size and great power at the POA. Wraps up in the open field and does a very good job of finishing tackles off. He needs to become more natural and consistent with his reads, but when he's turned loose and allowed to follow his natural instincts he is very effective. He has a nose for the ball and does a good job of finding the ball carrier. Takes good pursuit angles and is a natural tackler with good mechanics, instincts and power. Is much more effective as a blitzer than in coverage. Shows good instincts and some power moves as a pass rusher. Is relentless and does a good job of getting off of blocks if reached initially. He has better than average ball skills if he's in position to make a play. Has adequate but not great speed. Has below average COD skills. Usually has trouble making up for false steps. He can be slow to make his reads at times and sometimes it is if he's thinking instead of reacting. He needs to improve his recognition skills in coverage and become a lot more disciplined versus the play-fake and even then he'll be just decent in coverage. He has enough quickness and athletic ability to become adequate in zone coverage and to cover some backs in the short-to-intermediate zones, but his range will always be limited in zone coverage and he'll always struggle to turn-and-run with faster backs downfield one-on-one. Thurman was a partial qualifier in 2001 and decided to attend Georgia Military Academy in 2002 after Georgia penalized him for violating academic and team rules. Thurman was allowed back at Georgia in 2003 and wound up starting 12-of-13 games that season. He was named first-team All-SEC with 111 total tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and two interceptions. In just nine games played as a junior in 2004, Thurman finished with 65 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss, three sacks, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble. Thurman, who missed the first three games of the 2004 season because of a suspension, does have some character issues. There are also some concerns regarding his mental capacity, as he struggled academically and scored poorly on the Wonderlic Test. Thurman came from a tough background, as both of his parents have already passed away. As a football player, Thurman is still a bit unpolished, needs to become more consistent with his reads, and has just decent COD skills and top-end speed. However, Thurman does have a lot of upside because of his natural instincts, size, power, toughness and tackling skills. He will need to improve his recognition and become a more disciplined player in order to play an every-down role in the NFL. It shouldn't take long for Thurman to win a starting job as a two-down ILB in the NFL and, in the meantime, he should be a solid contributor on special teams. In our opinion, Thurman is a good value in the second round.
* Player biographies are provided by Scouts Inc.