If Chargers Can’t Get Barron Or Smith, Should We Draft George Iloka?

November 26, 2010; Reno, NV, USA; Boise State Broncos safety George Iloka (8) reacts after intercepting a pass against the Nevada Wolf Pack in the first quarter at Mackay Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

Iloka, NO U CRAZY!

We can’t always get what we want and we might not get a safety like Mark Barron or Harrison Smith, so we better look at some other possible options. Let’s look at the kid out of Boise State, George Iloka.

Here is his scouting report from Pro Football Weekly:

Positives:

Intriguing size and length — has a lean, athletic frame with extremely long arms and room for increased bulk. Shows athletic movement skills and linear fluidity. Agile for his size. Plays fast (good closing speed). Covers a lot of ground. Can shadow tight ends and has good leaping ability and long levers to play the ball. Swoops downhill in a hurry and can run the alley. Clocked the fastest short shuttle time (4.03 seconds) among safeties at the Combine. Smart, competitive and durable.

Negatives:

High-cut. Showed hip stiffness at the Combine. Does not transition smoothly and yields separation when manned up vs. quicker receivers. Inconsistent one-on-one tackler in space — struggles to sink his weight and break down, leaves his feet/dives to tackle and misses too many. Average instincts and anticipation. Poor ball production — very few splash plays. Does not play with abandon, and physicality leaves something to be desired.

Summary:

Narrow-framed, exceptionally long, rangy free safety prospect with growth potential and intriguing upside given his combination of rare size and starter-caliber athletic ability. However, missed tackles repeatedly show on tape, has not proven to be a playmaker and might be more of a deterrent in the pros, especially given the proliferation of athletic tight ends.

I know that Booga thinks that this kid is a star in the making. He is an ATHLETE!

He also is a free safety and we need a strong safety. Eric Weddle is able to play the strong safety spot if we do decide to bring Iloka in though. They would be able to cover a lot of the field in the passing game, but do we want someone (another one) that can’t make tackles as our safety?

This is a passing league now and having another person in the secondary that can cover is intriguing. He has pretty good size to cover tight ends AND you know how bad we are at covering tight ends.

I am torn on this guy. I love the athleticism and love that he would be able to help in passing coverage, but we have seen too many players that suck at tackling and it is one of the most frustrating things to see. Oh heck, bring him in if we are not able to get one of the top 2 safeties.