Actually, I don't recall ever advocating drafting Ragland unless a whole list of players with 2nd/3rd round value were all gone.
And the reason I dropped him into the third or early fourth on my board was the same reason I dropped Martinez to the 6th. The lack of speed.
Originally Posted by: Wade
Speed...Schmeed
Darren Lee and Martinez are 10 yards away from a play. Martinez recognizes the play .1 seconds faster than Lee because he's a better football player. Who gets to ball carrier first?
Answer: Martinez
Once there, who makes the better tackle? Answer: Martinez
At 20 yards, under the same conditions, Lee gets there .03 seconds before Martinez; but Martinez is more efficient at the tackle. There respective value: a wash.
At 10, 20, 40 yards from play, Martinez correctly reads his key and immediately moves to make play...Lee takes a step in wrong direction keying on ball instead of his playbook key...who gets there first? Answer Martinez every time.
Now take off the shorts and put on some pads, who's faster? I think the speed gap closes.
Then put blockers trying to interfere with their respective path to the ball, who is better at working through that traffic? Answer: Martinez, so if there's blocker in the way, despite their respective speed, Martinez gets their first.
Today, Martinez in the more valuable ILB. Going forward, if Lee learns the game at a much faster pace than Martinez; then unequivocally Lee will be the better player that that time. But to date Lee has not been the faster learner.
Speed counts, but it is a relatively small variable compared to other things, like ability to QUICKLY diagnose a play or to know your playbook assignments.
Oh and about "speed;" do you know what Martinez's fastest 40 time was? Answer: 4.52!