Eric Berry is likely the most highly touted safety since Sean Taylor.
But there remains a healthy debate about the value of the position and whether any safety is worth taking in the top 5-10 picks. SI’s Peter King got some telling quotes from Falcons G.M. Thomas Dimitroff on the subject in an especially info-packed MMQB.
“It’s been on my mind a lot lately,” Dimitroff said, “I realize I’m speaking out of both sides of my mouth here, but Berry’s a really good player . . . You want the good hitter with hip movement, able to turn and run, but then reality sets in.”
We’ve got Berry going
to Cleveland in our latest mock, but many have him pegged to the Chiefs at number five. Including Dimitroff:
“I was talking to Scott Pioli about Berry, and I said, ‘Scott, this guy’s your pick.’ And he said, ‘You know how I feel about safeties that early.’ And I understand.”
Pioli’s admission isn’t a surprise and it hardly means the Chiefs won’t take Berry. But Pioli’s perspective shows how difficult it is for a safety to get taken in the top five.