DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2013 NFL Season NFL Draft (2013) Who's Willing to take Ziggy at 6?

I am. He's a risk, but so is every other "top five" out there other than maybe a couple of the O-linemen. We need a real difference making freak of nature.

Ziggy Ansah deserves to be in the conversation for the Browns' pick at No. 6 in the draft

Feb 26, 2013 -- 6:00am

By Tony Grossi

The Morning Kickoff …

Football’s Ziggy stardust: I had the unofficial assignment in the media room at the NFL scouting combine of transcribing the 15-minute press conference of Ezekiel “Ziggy” Ansah, the 6-5, 271-pound native of Africa who is swiftly becoming the talk of the NFL draft.

A few comments stood out to me and told me that Ansah is more than an athletic freak show and is committed to becoming a professional football player – and all that that entails.

Asked what he likes about football, which he never played until 2010, Ansah responded in his West Africa dialect, “Everything about it. I like the challenge a lot. I know most of you are here to talk to me, but then again there’s a lot of people have doubts about me and that’s what I love. I just want to prove you wrong.”

Asked about his expectations of how high he may go in the draft, he said, “I know that regardless of the fact that everybody is telling me that I’m raw, I’m pretty good at what I’m doing.”

Asked about his knowledge of the history of the NFL, which is nil, he said, “I try to stay up late and watch NFL Network. I see some things. I have no idea who they are. This is going to be my life so I just try to suck it all in.”

And the clincher, asked about who might be the toughest offensive lineman he’s comes across in his short career, Ansah said, “There’s a lot of tough offensive linemen that I played. I’m always hesitant to answer that question cuz I don’t think he was the toughest, but I give to the Oregon State right tackle cuz I got held a lot in that game and it was never called, so he did a good job.”

On Monday, Ansah, who is 23, clocked 4.63 seconds in the 40-yard dash and performed well in the drills measuring skills for an outside linebacker.

“He’s got the most upside in the draft,” said former Browns GM Phil Savage.

The legend: Ansah’s story is quickly becoming well known. He was recruited in Ghana by a Mormon missionary to Brigham Young University. Ansah played soccer in his native land. He ran track initially at BYU and wanted to try basketball because he was 6-5 and a fan of LeBron James. He couldn’t shoot.

After two years he decided to try out for football. When he started, he didn’t know how to put on shoulder pads. By his senior season, Ansah was the best player on defense. He made nine starts and played various positions in BYU’s defensive front seven – stand-up linebacker, defensive end, even as a nose guard.

“He’s got unbelievable talent,” said long-time respected personnel guru Gil Brandt.

Ansah opened eyes considering where he came from, but his modest stats (13 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks) didn’t scream “first round.” But then he had a huge game at the Senior Bowl (seven tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble), drawing comparisons to New York Giants pass rusher Jason Pierre-Paul, another late-developer.

Pierre-Paul, who is 6-5 and 278 pounds, was the 15th player taken in the 2010 draft. JPP had 16.5 sacks his second NFL season and is now considered one of the premier pass rushers in the NFL. But at least Pierre-Paul played football his senior year in high school.

Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz coached the South team at the Senior Bowl and saw Ansah up close all week. In a press conference at the combine, Schwartz said that Ansah “went a long way to answer a lot of questions about his background and his aptitude.”

I followed Schwartz out of the media room and asked him to expand on Ansah. How raw are his skills? How much of a risk is he to take high in the draft?

“Yeah … not really,” Schwartz said, not taking the bait. “We’re certainly not in the business of wanting to share that information with 31 other teams.”

The Lions own the fifth pick in the first round of the draft. The Browns pick sixth.

Is he a viable option at No. 6?: You bet he is.

Savage firmly believes Ansah will be taken in the top 10.

“You’re probably not going to find the elite pass rusher in free agency, so you better find him in the draft,” Savage said.

Every one of the projected 3-4 rush linebackers the Browns are considering have question marks. Oregon's Dion Jordan – another athletic freak who ran a 4.60 40 at 6-6 and 248 pounds – will have surgery to repair a torn labrum. Georgia’s Jarvis Jones, whose 28 sacks the last two college seasons led the nation, has a spinal stenosis condition that could shorten his career. LSU’s Barkevious Mingo is tall and lean and fast, but is not a consensus high pick.

Ansah surely is a risk, too. But when you listen to Browns CEO Joe Banner talk about his expectations on defense, Ansah seems to fit the profile.

“Almost all the teams that get to the Super Bowl are teams that get a lot of sacks,” Banner said. “So in our mind we have to build a team that gets a lot of sacks and pressures quarterbacks.

“We want to have a more aggressive, attacking defense. We want to bring in more aggressive players. We want to be risk-takers. We want the other team to be on the defensive. We want our opponents to be worried about where we’re coming from, what we’re going to do next.”

Where would Ansah line up in the Browns’ 3-4? If you’re coordinator Ray Horton, you will find a place.

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I liked him in yesterdays drills. He needs a bit more initial burst.
Him, Jordan or Milliner would be fine.

I wouldn't be too shocked if we took him at 6. Sure he may be raw, but if he can learn the game - which all indications suggest he should be able to - then you have a force at the most important position on defense in the 34. The scouts should be able to figure out his aptitude for the game but I wouldn't mind him if the consensus is he can develop.

Put him in doing what he does well, bring him along slowly, let him develop and a year or two down the line you have a BEAST.

Those two would be fun to watch.

I think I was the first on here pimping him for our 6th overall. I'd draft him over pretty much anyone by now.
He just aced EVERTHING I am looking at: ceiling/floor risk, character, coachability, athleticism, toughness/physicality, power, game intelligence, motor, situational football awareness....he's the complete package. He has a crazy ceiling and still a relatively high floor because of how physical and how intense he plays the game, so at worst you have an overachieving front 7 hustle player, who loves to play ST to boot and certainly has the size/speed to be a monster there....sky is the limit once he takes on NFL coaching.
He's also unique in that I don't see much of a real bust chance for a player this raw and new to the game, because he has no question marks with motor/attitude/character thus qualifying on those basic requirements

Many questions, one Ansah: Ziggy

We might add that his body isnt yet beat to hell from years of playing.

Has hell frozen over? We agree on something?

He's a big risk. Along with J.Jones, D.Jordan and (with his complete lack of combine) D.Moore and any other pass rusher we can consider.

D.Moore has the best tape. J.Jones is 2nd best. But, I have no idea which of these guys is going to tear up the NFL. I do know that it's very likely at least one of them does. Hopefully, we get that guy.

Note: I view combine numbers as pass/fail. Basically, as long as you meet the minimum, then you pass and we can focus on game-tape. But, when you fail, it's bad and now D.Moore is a risky pick too.

Like I said, every player in the "top five" has question marks, with the possible exception of a couple O-linemen. By all accounts there are 20 or so top ten players and no clear #1. If you're going to take a flyer on a player at #6, this is the year to do it.

Ziggy Ansah scares the crap out of me. His upside is insane but any time you're investing a Top 10 pick in a guy who has only played football for a few years and has less than a full season of starts, it's a huge gamble. Aside from Jordan for me though (and even he's hurt), everyone I like is a huge gamble. Jones and Lotulelei with health, Mingo with production and Moore with measurables.

I can get behind Ansah just because the top of this draft class is all question marks but I'd feel MUCH more comfortable with him later in the draft.

yes, I was agreeing with you

If it is a slow 40, you can say well he has strength and power that translates into explosion. If you lack strength, you can say well he is fast and he can get stronger. If you dont have the speed to play OLB and you dont have the power to be DE, there is nothing for a GM to sell an owner on.

I would say Moore will be a bargain pick for the Jags in the 2nd round.

Would you like to bet on Moore falling out of the first round?

He impressed me with the story. Fascinating physically if we can coach him up, great move. But makes my guts clench as far as the risk. Sounds like a discussion worthy player, but bizarre setup. Now if he only had Teo's hype, well then.

I'm hoping Geno Smith falls to #6 and someone desperate for a QB (ARI, Buff) offers up a 3rd or possibly even a 2nd (QB Premium) to move down a few spots...

I would then be totally fine with taking a "risky" guy like Ansah.

I think he has the Raw/Potential impact of JPP (Just not as much of a physical freak of nature like JPP)

I love Ansah, more than Mingo, Moore, Jones or Jordan, but the cornerback is probably the safest way to improve the team. You might even be able to trade back into the second round and get Jarvis Jones. Teams are terrified of him.

NDIANAPOLIS - The comparisons are out there, fair or not, that Ezekiel "Ziggy" Ansah is the next Jason Pierre-Paul.

Pierre-Paul, if you remember, had a very humble beginning to his football career -- first at the College of the Canyons in California and then Fort Scott Community College before spending one year at South Florida.


Pierre-Paul was considered raw when entering the NFL Draft in 2010, but was an extremely athletic defensive end at 6-foot-5, 278 pounds, who only began playing football during his junior year of high school.

Ansah, who came to the States in 2008 from Ghana to attend BYU, only started playing football in 2010 after he failed to make the BYU basketball team. Ansah also ran track for BYU before playing football and could run the 200-meter dash in under 22 seconds.

At 6-foot-6, 274 pounds, Ansah is the most physically gifted of all the defensive end prospects in this year's draft. He has terrific size, but will likely run just as fast as some of this year's top speed rushers when the defensive ends hit the field for workouts Monday.

It easy to see why the comparisons exist between Ansah and Pierre-Paul.

Detroit Lions general manager Martin Mayhew said the comparisons are fair.

"(Ansah is) a guy who has been playing football for two years who is a freak athletically," said Mayhew. "I just think he has tremendous upside. What this guy will be able to do in three or four years … you get a guy like that and the sky's the limit."

Mayhew and the Lions had the benefit of spending an entire week with Ansah when they coached the South squad at the Senior Bowl. He was one of the games' stars, recording seven tackles, two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss.

"The great thing about the Senior Bowl is really getting to see these guys in that environment. Getting to see them do what they do when they get to our building," Mayhew said.

"You've got them for a whole week. They're training, they're practicing, they're sitting in meetings, they're asking questions, they're not asking questions. You really get a feel for who a guy is as a football player when you have them in that situation.

"Ezekiel is one of the guys we have a good feel for."

The Lions also had the benefit of placing him at defensive end in their Wide 9 scheme for the week, watching him dominate the game from that spot.

"It was great," Ansah said Saturday at the NFL Scouting Combine. "I was allowed to stay out there and rush the passer and that was a privileged to do that."

After becoming the 15th-overall pick to the New York Giants in 2010, Pierre-Paul had 4.5 sacks as a rookie and then exploded in 2011 with 16.5.

"I put in the time to watch (Pierre –Paul) to study his style of play," Ansah said of the comparison. "Regardless of the fact that everybody is telling me I'm raw, (they're also saying) that I'm pretty good at what I'm doing."

Good enough to be a top-five pick? Good enough for the Lions at No. 5?

We'll have to stay tuned.

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Not to be picky, but there aren't many questions about Dee Millner,

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Shoulder maybe, but I'd be good with him at 6 if the Lions took Ziggy.

Of all the players I've seen mocked to us this is the one I like least.

People are going goo-goo over his upside and physical ability but for the 6th pick in the draft he's a big risk. When you're picking this highly you're hoping for someone with a little more security.

But that's the problem in this draft, isn't it.

Looking at all the OLB's in the front half of the 1st round, there are no locks. The guy who is the most complete OLB for the 3-4 is Jones, but that neck issue can be a game-stopper. Common sense would tell you that if USC threw up a red-flag on him but Georgia didn't, there would be teams in the NFL who'd throw up a red-flag while other teams wouldn't. If just a couple of teams drop him then I wouldn't worry about it. If, say, half the teams flag him, that's a different story.

I'd pegged Moore as a DE after watching the film, not an OLB. Now that he ran a very sad 4.95 at only 250, put up a paltry 12 reps on the bench indicating a serious lack of upper body strength, and looked pedestrian he's no longer the future star which was advertised. If he has to add weight to get stronger, he's unlikely to get faster. Is he a bum now? No, but if you're going to play OLB in the 3-4, you gotta be able to do what Jones and Dion Jordan do which is play in space at least some of the time. Moore's pro-day is going to be a make-or-break for the guy. He needs to go down and spend 12-hours a day at whatever academy he's using to get ready for NFL teams. If he can't muster something better than a 4.9 you have to wonder if he's a fit for a 3-4 team this highly in the 1st round. Then there's the one scout who said he was a "mess off the field." I'm even more firmly of the opinion he belongs in the 4-3.

Dion Jordan? He's not helped by a shoulder injury that, according to Mayock, has been a reoccurring problem for him in his career. It's kept him from adding the upper-body weight he'll need in the NFL. Mayock's words, not mine. In space, he's every bit as good as Jones, and perhaps even a touch better. But he's not nearly as good with his hands against the run, preferring to run around and away from blockers instead of punching, controlling, and shedding. This is why his production was below what you'd expect from a guy with his tools. In the NFL if he doesn't improve this, he's going to be by FAR the weakest OLB against the run. Coming up the field he shows a variety of rush moves with a serious burst which is why all the Aldon Smith comparisons are around.

I've throw cold water on Werner already. He has the worst motor of any 1st rounder, preferring to come up the field but if he doesn't make the play he stops playing. He also doesn't at all look natural in space. His gifts are an amazing first step and great strength. He's a 4-3 guy. If you try and make him a 3-4 guy, you better not take him in the 1st round because he becomes a major project.

Mingo looks like a lazy player and his quotes confirm that. He'll need to add weight and doesn't have great balance. He spent too much time being knocked out of plays because he couldn't keep centered. That usually indicates a lack of physicality. Sure, he has all the tools and would never make it to the 2nd round because there's just too much speed and ability, but if one questions his desire in college, how's he going to hold up in the NFL?

So what about Ansah? He's probably the best against the run of any of these 3-4 OLB prospects. For a guy who has played as little as he has, it's pretty amazing how stout he desires to be at the LOS. He could play 4-3 DE and excel. After watching his games people need to question his rush ability. He's a bull-rusher, not a pass-rusher. People are making the JPP comparisons but I don't believe he's that guy. If he can develop some greater rush ability and moves, he'll be great, but at #6 you're taking a guy who is a project and may not have the rush ability you want.

Now it looks like I'm taking shots at all these guys. I'm not. I'm making a point that there isn't a lock at OLB for us at #6 no matter who we draft.

It's really too bad that Milliner appears destined to be a Lion, because he not only is more of a sure thing than any of these OLB's, but he also fills a major need.

Now watch us draft a WR.

Calling Mingo a lazy player and still pimping Jones play againts the run or with hands on him is telling me you haven't watched much tape on theses guys. Probably read your espn insider report on them and that's it huh?

If you really watched, well then I guess we disagree...by a mile. I don't want neither Jones nor Mingo at 6 but just watching them both play for even just 5-10 min I don't know how anyone can come to that conclusion.

On to Ansah: what you didn't say is that Jordan and Jones were the only ones of those that were CONSTANTLY lined up upright yards away from the next blocker while Mingo, Moore and Ansah lined up at the LOS most of the time, so not only is that style of play more exhausting but you simply have less chances and free shots at a QB. So it's somewhat funny that you see Jordan "every bit as good as Jones" and the others probably not....well, they played another position (!), lol

Tell Ansah to run into the backfield 40+ times a game from WOLB and he'll eat Jones' production alive, the dude played NT 30-50% of the time last season and maybe 20% max standing up, did you see that or just read stuff? Jones is a mistake hitter and needs to run around blockers and is not a high motor guy and not a good tackler, I'll stand by that because I saw it time and again.

Moore's performance sure was a stock killer and I agree with your assessment for the most part, but will add that he's just 20yo, so the strength should come....his forty at his ProDay will be important, as to his conversion chances, but let's not forget that there is game speed and combine speed...put on the tape and I see Moore as a much quicker and faster player than Hunt, why is that? It's called willingness, toughness, motor, hustle, game intelligence, awareness etc...also go back in combine history and read through the top 10 at front 7 positions and you'll find as many lousy players/busts as good ones. I've posted multiple articles covering the combine numbers by positions that agree with me, there's little to no correlation to NFL success

Take him over Mingo then? Ansah intrigues me more and more. OBSERVATION: The #6 pick looks like it might get crowded. Pick or leave somebody behind? Wish we had a few more picks for linemen this draft.

I am willing to take Ansah at 6 so far in the draft evaluations us fans do.

I really like he size, speed, and his progress in such a short time in learning the game of football. Just two years ago, this guy just came to the US not even knowing the game of football and going into last season, the BYU coaches felt comfortable playing this guy at both DE and LB. The fact that this guy is a top ten prospect in such a short time is mind boggling. I hear his biggest weakness may be his fatigue and the ability to play long. Maybe that's chalked up to his short time playing football. I would also like the get more info on how/if he handles himself in coverage as a possible 3-4 OLB.

.....which leads me to Kiki Mingo. As much as I like Ansah, I also like Mingo as well. He is a physical freak and his athletic talent is more than impressive. I think his weight at this point has confined him to be a 3-4 OLB and his production on all the LB drills at the combine confirm to me he can play in coverage. He turns his hips extremely well and can easily make plays in space, which might be his greatest strength. I wish he was a little bigger in terms of weight and would be interested to see how he weights in at his Pro Day.

Ansah though is the frontrunner between the two as a OLB at this point...by a very small margin.

I'd rather of Dion.

ummmm...I'm still trying to digest drafting an almost 30 year old rookie to occupy the leadership of our team and folks are putting the idea of drafting an African fellow who didn't know what a football looked like until two years ago as a defensive leader for the Browns 1.0 Haslam version. I honestly don't know where these ideas are coming from.

We need to stop trying to develop a treasure of a rare quaility gem from a lump of coal and start picking up the diamonds laying on the ground all over the place. Why use a first round pick for a guy who we might be able to mold into a top notch player when we have been 110% unsuccessful in the past in doing that? Has everyone forgotten Charlie Frye?

I don't think that you need to worry. I would bet Ansah goes #5 overall to the Lions.

I'm thinking the Lions take Milliner. Their D backfield is a mess!

I don't think Milliner gets to the Lions

HE's #2 on my board behind Dion Jordan.

1. Dion Jordan
2. Ziggy Ansah
3. Warmack
4. Kenny Vaccaro