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Talking Gholston

By Matt Infante

There has been a ton of talk recently about the rising stock of Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston, especially among Dolphin fans.  He had a terrific workout at the Scouting Combine, which made his stock soar even more.  And it's gotten to the point where some Dolphin fans are calling for Gholston to be Miami's #1 overall pick.

This talk has increased even more amongst Dolphin fans because of the following report by Adam Schefter:

As much as Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston wowed scouts during his personal workout Friday, he did the same during private individual workouts Monday for the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets.

Miami, which owns the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft, sent its defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni to Columbus to personally work out Gholston on Monday morning. Miami is scheduled to pick first overall.

The night before the workout, the Dolphins and St. Louis Rams, who have the second pick, each took Gholston to dinner. Gholston had two dinners Thursday night, and two private workouts Monday.

Here's the thing about Gholston, though, that worries me a bit.  He seems to potentially be a "workout wonder," one of those guys whose measurables impress scouts so much that they rate him higher than he should be rated.

Also, there's some question as to whether or not Gholston would have the ability to be effective as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense.  Will he be able to play the run well?  Does he have the ability to drop back in coverage effectively?  Those are key questions.

Below is a little tidbit from the Sporting News' Russ Lande:

NFL personnel arrived at the Ohio State on-campus workout excited about how DE Vernon Gholston would perform. He no doubt looks the part, with a muscular, defined build. Gholston impressed many when he ran his 40 on field turf instead of Ohio State's notoriously fast track, timing a 4.63 and a 4.65. He then had a 37- to 38-inch vertical jump; anyone who reports he jumped 42 inches has bad sources, because the testing unit was slightly broken during his jump. Once on the field, though, Gholston was not nearly as impressive. He is so muscular and big that he struggled to bend his knees and sink his hips, which hindered his ability to change directions in drills.

The fact that he might not be very fluid in the hips is worrisome from the Dolphins' point of view.  And that's the one aspect in which Chris Long really impressed at the Combine in February.

Armando Salguero reaffirms Lande's report:

On the Gholston pro day, I was not there but I'm told he's amazing on the measurables, not so smooth on instincts. The guy who wrote the report for Sporting News is Russ Lande, who is a former scout and knows what he's talking about. Obviously subjective, but he's usually good.

Again, this has to make you question if Gholston is worthy of the number one pick.  After all, instincts and football IQ are things that Vernon's competition, Chris Long, excels at.

Lastly, there's this scouting report on Gholston from NFL Draft Countdown:

Needs to be more consistent...Questionable awareness and instincts...Undersized if he were to play defensive end...Does not have a lot of experience dropping into coverage...Has some work to do when it comes to technique...May have to learn a new position at the pro level...At times he gets by on his natural ability...Does not have an elite burst

Again, his awareness and instincts, as well as his ability to drop into coverage and his technique, are all questioned.  So now the question becomes if a guy like this, with so many question marks, is a good idea to take #1 overall and hand $35 million in guaranteed money to.

That's a question only Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland will be able to answer.  However, if you ask me, taking a player who is a bit of a project with the first pick in the entire draft is not something I think this franchise, in the state it's in right now, can afford to do.

Thoughts?

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