Draft Profile: Vladimir Ducasse
NAME – Vladimir Ducasse
Position – Offensive tackle/Guard
College – Massachusetts.
Status – Senior.
Size/Weight – 6-4 3/8, 332 pounds.
Important numbers – 5.21 seconds in 40-yard dash, 29 reps on bench press, 26-inch vertical jump, 7-foot 7-inch broad jump.
Age – 23 in October.
Honors – First-team All-America for Football Championship Series … first-team All-Colonial offense ‘08-’09 … team captain ‘09.
College career – A late comer to football, not playing the game until his junior year in high school, Ducasse developed quickly enough to move onto the college game at UMass. He became a starter as a sophomore and spent the next three seasons handling left tackle.
Stats of note – 43 games/35 starts.
STRENGTHS – Big man with a big body, he plays physically and aggressively … good agility and light on his feet … he’s able to move and play in space … durable guy, who has had no injury problems … feisty nature has him taking on all defenders in his area.
WEAKNESSES – Lack of football experience hurts him at times, as he lacks awareness … fundamentally challenged, he got by at the Division 1-AA or FCS level with his athleticism … does not handle inside moves well and will lose his balance.
THE RIGHT 53? – Ducasse’s journey from his birthplace in Haiti to the NFL is filled with the “right stuff” type of attitudes and sought-after personality traits. Work-ethic is top-notch and so is his desire to improve on a daily basis.
What he said – “I like competing. I’m physical. Up at this level, everybody’s athletic, everybody’s talented, everybody’s fast. They just want to be able to see you finish and be physical, and that’s what I bring to the table.”
End game – There are few players in this year’s draft crop that have an upside that matches Ducasse. It’s a matter of coaching and time now, because he’s shown the willingness to work hard and he has the intelligence to understand the concepts he will be taught. He might be better suited to play guard in the NFL than tackle. But his athletic skills will make him a second-round choice, no later than early in the third round.
ON THE CHIEFS LIST? – Absolutely and should receive some consideration with those two selections in the second round. If he was still there in the third round, Ducasse would be hard to pass up. If the Chiefs view his upside like other teams do, grabbing him and letting him develop could produce a top notch offensive lineman in a year or two … or three.
The Chiefs don’t have a year or 2 or 3. to waste picks early on, we need players that can contribute now. I know rebuilding isn’t easy but alot of people seem to forget that the Jackson County Taxpayers have just dumped a bunch of money into Arrowhesd and winning is the only way to get butts back into the seats which will help recoup the cost. There better be some slam dunks in the first 3 rounds or there will be even more empty seats!
I forgot to add to my first comment, what I would like to see the Chiefs do is sign Flozzell Adams, pencil him in for 2 to 3 years at left tackle, move Brandon Albert to right tackle, offense line should be good for a year or 2,then you can have a project to work with at tackle, then with the first pick, a Eric Berry or top linebacker because Mays and Studebaker are not the answers, I would also like to see Jordon Shipley with one of the second round picks. Let’s get sexy with these picks.
Glad you’re not our GM, Doug. Why move a good LT (Albert) to RT? Insanity. O’Callaghan played decent enough at RT last year. Sign Flozell Adams? What the heck for? The guy is done. D-O-N-E. You think he’s a better option at LT than Albert? Be serious.
I’m sorry I guess that was some other left tackle getting his ass handed to him last year. I should have looked at the jersey number better. And how many right tackles did they go through last year? I did not say it was a perfect fit but we need as many options as we can get. You might have missed my point, this would only be a short term solution.
Still sounds like a dumb idea to me Doug. Besides Pioli is not into sexy, haven’t you figured that out yet? He is meat and potatoes and this draft will be no different.
Hey I like Brandon Albert, I think the weight Haley made him lose hurt him. Just throwing out ideas. If you look back all the way back to Vermeil we had some really bad draft choices which we are paying for now, even the more current choices Bowe, Dorsey, Jackson still hasn’t made a real impact. That’s why I feel that the 4 chioces we have in the first 3 rounds have to be impact players, I feel Pioli will be good for us, last year still had some of the left overs from the old regime and it’s his baby now, but it is still about filling the seats, we can get projects in the later rounds.
I’m not sure why folks are so down on Dorsey, if you look at his numbers they were far and above Ryan and Freeman who were both busts for the Chiefs. He also did a very good job for us in run defense last year. With out him (see Cleveland game) we got gouged…
Doug,
Yes, Albert was having his “ass handed to him” the first part of last year. As was the whole O-line. But he was playing at a lighter weight and learning a new blocking scheme. That hurt his play. By the latter part of the year, though…he was playing much better. Good LT’s are hard to find. I think Albert will be fine right where he is. It was, after all, only his second year. A lot of people seem to want to move him over to RT. I don’t see the logic. Then, he’s just going to have to learn a new position. I thought O’Callaghan did a respectable job on the Right side…once they (more-or-less) settled on a line-up. All that shuufling of players on the O-line really hurt them last year. I would hate to see a repeat of that this year. Decide on the starters in Camp…and leave it alone.
I can respect your idea. I just disagree with it.
Flozell is useless! DONE! And he is not a good fit for a zone blocking scheme, he just has bad technique and all the penalties shows it.
Furhter more he is a dirty bastard, I don’t want him on the team!