Zimmer impressed by TCU's Daryl Washington

[oldschooler]

[b][size="5"]NFL scouts fall for Daryl Washington[/size][/b]
Posted Saturday, Mar. 13, 2010

By JENNIFER FLOYD ENGEL[email="jenfloyd@star-telegram.com"][color="#003399"]jenfloyd@star-telegram.com[/color][/email]



The swarm of migrant [url="http://topics.star-telegram.com/NFL_Pro_Football.html#navlink=inline_to_topics"][color="#003399"]NFL[/color][/url] coaches and scouts crisscrossing the country at this moment in search of 40 times and The Next Sure Thing descended Friday upon Fort Worth.

Fort Worth this week. Florida next.

And while The [url="http://topics.star-telegram.com/Tim_Tebow.html#navlink=inline_to_topics"][color="#003399"]Tim Tebow[/color][/url] Show is destined to bring more of the stopwatch-and-clipboard crowd, as well as The Four Lettered and probably [url="http://topics.star-telegram.com/Gameday_Center.html#navlink=inline_to_topics"][i][color="#003399"]GameDay[/color][/i][/url], TCU linebacker Daryl Washington and soon-to-be linebacker Jerry Hughes have a better chance of making an NFL splash. Depending on which mock draft you believe, they are either two first-rounders, Hughes to Arizona (26) and Washington to New Orleans (32), or steals in the second.

"People will be making a mistake if they don't," Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson said, giving his admittedly biased opinion.

Hughes has bigger name cache, yet scouts love, love, love Washington too. His speed, his instincts, his ability to go sideline to sideline, his history of chasing down guaranteed first-rounder C.J. Spiller from behind in a game last season and his potential to be a beast of a weakside linebacker had scouts drooling. Washington practically oozes potential.

"Maybe," Packers scout Alonzo Highsmith said, when asked about Washington being a little less known. "But if you watch film, he's not overshadowed. People who know know what he can do. He's a good football player."

[b]Count Bengals defensive coordinator and Cowboys friend Mike Zimmer among those intently studying Washington. He had him engaging in particular drills, and seemed to leave impressed. [/b]

[b]We all remember Zimmer from his days in Dallas. [/b]

[b]I am happy to report he's doing well, and appreciative of everybody who wished him well after his wife died last season. He is good people, and a good coach. [/b]

[b]Zimmer joked Friday about having to go elsewhere to prove he was a good coach. And I told him personally, so I need to put this in print as well: I did not properly appreciate what Zimmer had done until he left. His in-your-face, tough-love, somewhat profanity-laced style is sorely missed at Valley Ranch. [/b]

[b]Watching what he did in Cincinnati this season, with a defense built mostly with castoffs, cemented his rep as a respected defensive mind. He had former Cowboys safety Roy Williams playing well, mainly because he tough-loved him into losing 20 and plopped him back in his natural position of free safety where he had played alongside Darren Woodson. [/b]

[b]Maybe Owner Jones needs to send him the other Roy Williams and see if he can get that situation straightened out as well. Or are we still pretending Roy is fine?[/b]

And therein lies the beauty of the NFL.

It only takes a single team to fall in love with a player, even if 31 teams hate you. All you need is one to have a chance and a check. And an NFL team will fall and will take a flier and will try to make Tebow their QB of the future. Good luck with all that, considering a scout told me Sam Bradford is the only QB worth having in this draft. He also said St. Louis is idiotic if it does not take him at No. 1, especially after passing on Mark Sanchez.

Bring up Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen and what you hear are giggles, despite him being listed as a Top 10 guy in many mocks. I am sorry to report not a lot of love exists for Texas QB Colt McCoy among scouts I talked to, either. Detractors point to his performances against big-time defenses like Oklahoma and Nebraska.



I'd totally draft him anyway, if for no other reason he has that something that can not be measured with a stopwatch or in jumps or Wonderlics.

What I know for sure is three of the Cowboys' best players -- Miles Austin, Jay Ratliff, Tony Romo -- barely drew a yawn at draft day, and Tom Brady is a Patriot because a scout said "you know who I like..." when they were tossing out names for their sixth-round selection, and Bobby Carpenter was supposed to be worthy of a first-round pick.

In other words: NFL types on all levels screw up.

So do we media types with this insistence on mock drafts. A mock has talented Oklahoma State wideout and Deion Sanders disciple Dez Bryant dropping to and becoming a Cowboy. Neither is likely, him falling or him becoming a Cowboy.

Let's just say he's complicated.

Now a few mocks have Longhorns safety Earl Thomas available when Dallas picks, and he elicits drools from NFL types on every level. "Best Longhorn in a long time," a scout said.

Why you listen to scouts, rather than say marketing creations with wacky hair, is they also crisscross the country and watch and listen and learn and study. They do the table standing on draft day and recommending in free agency and just hope whoever is in charge is listening.

They know Hughes because everybody knows Hughes, and know Washington because he is the type of player they are paid to say: "You know what? He might not be such a bad thought with that first-round pick..." Do not be surprised if he a) goes in the first round and b ) goes higher than Hughes.

"People say are you overshadowed by Jerry? I say no," Washington said. "Jerry is big hype, but he has shown it as well."

Smart kid, that Washington. He knows.

They are both getting drafted, both going high and both capable of making a big splash in the NFL for TCU.





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