I posted this in the comments section in the last Mays post, but I thought that since the subject has stirred up so much controversy, I should bring it up to the main page. Kevin and I are not necessarily in agreement on this one, and I won't detail all the reasons. I don't like him as a prospect, but this the bottom line reason on why we should not draft him. I will not talk about Mays any more after this until the NFL Combine.

I feel like I have said all I have to say about Mays, so I'll just wrap this up. For better or worse, the hawks are probably stuck with the 4 pick. It's simply too expensive to trade away, and that expense (Darren McFadden, last year's #4 pick, signed for 60 million over 6 years) makes getting this pick right simply too important to mess up. The Hawks can not endure a bust.

The last time a safety taken in the top 4 was in 1991. Even Sean Taylor went #5. Could Taylor Mays possibly justify being the 4 pick? He has incredible tools, but it's really not likely. Mays looks like more of a boom or bust prospect, way too big of a risk for a top 5 pick. Even if he succeeds, he will need to perform at a perennial pro bowl level to justify his contract.

The Hawks have other big needs to fill, and there are safer players than Mays. With the great group of safeties in the second and third rounds, it's really not worth the risk for Mays. That's what it all comes down to for me.

One thing I haven't mentioned is that I don't see Seattle drafting a player like Mays. Tim Ruskell has shown in the past that he is not really interested in players with fantastic tools who don't back them up 100% in their play. In fact he goes after the opposite type of player, ones who outplay their 40 yard times. Lofa Tatupu and John Carlson are both excellent examples of this. Ruskell has never really shown any interest in the tools monsters before, and I don't think that changes this year. I would be absolutely shocked if the Seahawks drafted Mays.