One space-eater who could be appealing to San Diego come draft time is Washington defensive tackle Alameda Ta'amu. The 6-3, 337-pound Ta'amu worked out for NFL scouts during the Huskies' Pro Day last night. He did nothing to dispel the belief that he's one of the elite prospects at his position in a weak class. As of right now he's considered the second-best nose tackle, behind Memphis's Dontari Poe.
Defensive tackle Alameda Ta'amu completed position drills after posting a time of 7.2 seconds in the three cone. He heads towards the draft a second-round pick and likely the second nose tackle to be selected.
Ta'amu started 42 games at defensive tackle during his four-year college career. In 2011 he earned All-PAC-12 honorable mention after recording 3.5 sacks and seven tackles for losses. His best game was against intrastate rival Washington State, in which he posted two sacks and 2.5 tackles in the backfield. Still, it was a disappointing year for Ta'amu, as many had considered him a first-round talent heading into last fall, only for him to perform far below expectations. By the end of the season some experts viewed him as a third- or fourth-round prospect.
"I would say he should be drafted in the third or fourth round, " NFLDraftScout.com analyst Rob Rang told the Seattle Times last month. "He has a chance to go in the second just because there's so few of the wide-bodied, nose-guard type."
To make matters even worse for Ta'amu, ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay said the Washington defensive tackle didn't perform well during Senior Bowl week practices.
Ta'amu flashed some quickness and power during the practice week, but it was easy to notice the difference in effort from play to play. He was also inconsistent in terms of playing with leverage, and did not display the ability to occupy blockers and be an every-down, two-gap defender the way a 3-4 nose tackle needs to.
Those things have to improve, because being a run-stuffer is the only thing Ta'amu brings to the table. He lacks athleticism and is not a skilled pass-rusher, so he will be limited to being a two-down plugger. You can't coach his size and strength, though, and some 3-4 team looking for depth and a potential future starter at nose tackle will likely take a chance on him, but I was looking for a bit more from Ta'amu this week.
Doug Farrar of Yahoo! Sports Shutdown Corner states that Ta'amu has all the talent to be a success in the NFL, but it's his lack of a bad-ass mentality that worries talent evaluators.
From a personality standpoint, he's a gentle giant whose parents raised him to respect others--and this leaves some to wonder whether he has the nasty streak common to all great defenders. The raw talent is not at all in question.
With Thomas ready to take over for Garay as the starter, the Chargers may not want to invest a second-round pick on an inconsistent prospect such as Ta'amu. But if he's still available in Round 3, San Diego general manager A.J. Smith may not be able to resist the temptation of taking the massive run-stuffer.
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