Kawann Short: Angry Squirrel

Now we come to Kawann Short.  Short is a defensive tackle, who was taken with the 44th overall pick by the Panthers.  Oddly, he was the second defensive tackle that the Panthers took in the draft, with Star Lotulelei being taken at the 14th pick.  Here I'll compare Short to some defensive tackles that most people will know.  I will also include the number average number of tackles for a loss that each player had in their last two years in college, since this is something I value.

Player                  Position       Weight       Kangaroo Score      Agility Score     Avg. TFL

Kawann Short	DT	299	-1.157	0.141	16.5
Geno Atkins	DT	293	0.793	1.056	9
Ndamukong Suh	DT	307	0.900	1.227	15
Gerald McCoy	DT	295	0.279	0.946	13.25
Lamarr Houston	DT	305	1.201	-0.108	14
Kevin Williams	DT	304	0.449	-1.024	9.5
Barry Cofield	DT	304	0.529	1.095	5.75
Jay Ratliff	NT	292	0.821	1.530	2.25
Haloti Ngata	NT	338	2.043	-0.645	8.75
Randy Starks	NT	314	0.570	0.643	13.5
B.J. Raji	NT	337	1.478	-0.531	12.25
Kris Jenkins	NT	316	0.819	0.242	9.5
Paul Soliai	NT	344	1.336	-0.139	2.5
JJ Watt	3-4 DE	290	1.473	2.347	18.25
Mario Williams	3-4 DE	295	2.256	1.404	19.5
Calais Campbell	3-4 DE	290	0.428	0.203	16.5
Derek Wolfe	3-4 DE	295	0.279	1.145	14
Muhammad Wilkerson	3-4 DE	315	0.288	0.684	11.75
Cameron Jordan	DE	287	0.214	1.633	10

Short's number aren't exactly what I would call mind blowing.  His Kangaroo Score suggests that he has the explosiveness and power of an angry squirrel.  On a somewhat positive note, he does appear to have average agility, and he was productive in college.  I wouldn't say that Short is going to be a bust (he will be a bust), but I would suspect he will most likely fall into the average range, at best (hmm, no, he will be a bust).  He is somewhat comparable to a player like Glenn Dorsey (Kangaroo Score of -1.466 and an agility score of  -0.188), or perhaps Ryan McBean (Kangaroo Score -0.937, Agility Score 0.230).  If an outcome similar to those players does occur, then taking Short in the second round might have been a reach. 

These things are tricky to predict though, and people can exceed your expectations.  I wouldn't be shocked if at some point he does have moments of excellent play.  Over the long haul, however, I suspect the jump to the NFL will be challenging for him.  I have no interest in seeing someone fail.  I am just trying to suggest that amongst the players who have achieved the highest degrees of success, exceptional degrees of athleticism are quite common.  If I had to gamble on it, taking more pedestrian athletes would tend to make me a bit nervous.  If you can't find a historical player who succeeded, that compares favorably to your current prospect, should you really be taking them with a high draft pick?  Betting on a player being an outlier, seems like a questionable approach.