MCM 2010 NFL Draft Boom, Bust or Bleh: Georgia Tech DE Derrick Morgan

by Jimmy on Jan 21, 2010 2:50 PM CST

Today we start the first in our 2010 NFL Draft Boom, Bust or Bleh series (h/t to August for the title). A few times a week between now and the draft I will have a profile on a guy that I think the Titans should be targeting in the draft this year. I will include a poll with each prospect that gives you the option to vote on if you think the player will be a boom, bust or bleh, and as always I encourage you to sound off in the comments.

The first in the series is Georgia Tech defensive end ~~Georgia Tech~~ Derrick Morgan. Here is what Winfield Featherston of From the Rumble Seat had to say about Morgan:

Derrick Morgan will be coming out of Georgia Tech as a 6' 4" 272 lbs defensive end out of Allentown, Pennsylvania. In 2008, Derrick Morgan was the baby lineman. He started in all 13 games and worked alongside NFL draftees Darryl Richard (Patriots), Vance Walker (Falcons), and Michael Johnson (Bengals).

In 2009, the defensive line was anchored around Morgan and depended on him greatly as he was the only returning defensive line starter. Derrick is quick and cunning and is not taken down lightly. Many times throughout the season, opponents were forced to double-team just to give the quarterback some breathing room. Even with this "protection", he did not fail to deliver the goods as he was responsible for 18.5 TFL and 12.5 sacks this season. His accolades include the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-America.

Derrick's game film will show that he plays hard on every play and eats up 2-3 blockers on every play. Even on plays that he is not double teamed, he gets a pressure, TFL, or a sack. We expect him and Carlos Dunlap to battle it out for the first defensive end pick.

Click through the jump for Morgan's college stats and highlights.

Stats Overview	Tackles						Misc		Interceptions
YEAR	TOT	SOLO	AST	SACK	STF	STFY	FF	BK	INT	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	PD
2007	9	4	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
2008	51	31	20	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
2009	52	37	15	12	0	0	2	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0

2009 Regular Season Game Log			Tackles						Misc		Interceptions
DATE	OPP	RESULT	TOT	SOLO	AST	SACK	STF	STFY	FF	BK	INT	YDS	AVG	LNG	TD	PD
9/5	Jacksonville State	W 37-17	5	4	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	1
9/10	Clemson	W 30-27	10	7	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
9/17	@Miami (FL)	L 33-17	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
9/26	North Carolina	W 24-7	3	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
10/3	@Mississippi State	W 42-31	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
10/10	@Florida State	W 49-44	5	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
10/17	Virginia Tech	W 28-23	5	1	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
10/24	@Virginia	W 34-9	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
10/31	@Vanderbilt	W 56-31	4	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
11/7	Wake Forest	W 30-27	6	4	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
11/14	@Duke	W 49-10	2	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
11/28	Georgia	L 30-24	5	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
12/5	@Clemson	W 39-34	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0

2009 Postseason Game Log

Tackles

Misc

Interceptions

BOWL

OPP

RESULT

TOT

SOLO

AST

SACK

STF

STFY

INT

YDS

AVG

LNG

FedEx ORANGE BOWL

Iowa

L 24-14

Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats.

Poll

Georgia Tech DE Derrick Morgan

Boom

212 votes

Bust

28 votes

Bleh

103 votes

343 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Plays hard every play

Is a critical trait. Too often these uber-talented guys get lazy and take plays off, especially when they’ve been paid. But consistency is key, especially in the Titans system. By all appearances this guy works hard, produces, and can anchor a line. Imagine him after some tutelage from Coach Washburn and KVB. I would love this pick.

by groovymountain on Jan 21, 2010 2:56 PM CST reply actions

Plays hard every play

I too think this is the key. Are system seems to depend on the DE who has a non-stop motor. Also if he can eat up 2-3 blockers at the next level, his production may be down a bit, but everyone elses would skyrocket. I think that is what we missed with Fat Al, nobody needed to be double teamed on a regular basis.

I know he did not have the best bowl game this last year, but I think he would be a good pick, and could be a starter day one.

by bullrider73 on Jan 21, 2010 3:49 PM CST reply actions

I like the sound of "quick"

Some of the highlights in the vid were pretty awesome, although they were coming against Clemson, which I do not know much about. Not really sure if he was involved in any play on the highlight video against the U. He had a couple of nice plays against Duke (congrats?)

Looked pretty fast, more or less just outran the OL trying to block him a couple of times.

by TNTitans on Jan 21, 2010 4:05 PM CST reply actions

yeah he goes hard every play

but i like dunlap just a little bit better.
wouldn’t mind morgan though, he’ll be a solid mainstay at DE wherever he goes for the next several years.

http://draftdayencyclopedia.wordpress.com/
spread the word please!

by danielreese05 on Jan 21, 2010 4:27 PM CST reply actions

I would love to

draft a player like this, but the actual possibility of him fall to us is slim to none. Been looking around on some mock draft boards and so far the majority has us picking DE, but they also have Morgan being the first DE drafted. If either Morgan or Dunlap fall to us I’m going to be a very happy man. Been reading about Jason Pierre-Paul also… seems to have alot of potential and some have him rated higher than Dunlap, but some say he could possibly be a bust. My wild card in this whole thing would be Sergio Kindle, he had a great showing in the championship game and we do seem to draft alot outa UT. I don’t know… just my 2 cents.

by Oilersborn on Jan 21, 2010 7:23 PM CST reply actions

He's good and I think he'll be a solid player

I think a comparable recent draftee is Chris Long from my school, UVA. Both put up very good, very similar numbers in their senior seasons and like Long, Morgan should be a high to mid first-round pick (not 2nd overall but probably top 15.

They also both played in the ACC, however, and I think you have to take this into account when considering Morgan. This league is probably the weakest or second weakest of the major 6 BCS conferences, so Morgan’s numbers might not have been quite as good had he played in the Big 10, Big 12 or SEC. His performance in the Orange Bowl wasn’t great either, but I won’t make too much out of one game.
Long has played well in the NFL, but hasn’t been quite as dominant as expected (…yet). I think Morgan’s NFL performance will probably be comparable.

by madhjsp on Jan 21, 2010 9:13 PM CST reply actions