National Football League

The Panel Q&A: Dre Bly praises Jalen Ramsey, has concerns with Jeremy Cash

Published Mar. 24, 2016 10:01 p.m. ET

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FOX Sports South's Emmy Award-winning original series The Panel presented by Chevrolet returns Sunday, March 27, at 9 p.m. ET, with episodes featuring high-profile NFL prospects in Duke's Jeremy Cash, Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott, Clemson's Shaq Lawson, Georgia's Keith Marshall and Florida State's Jalen Ramsey answering questions from former NFL standouts. Dre Bly, a member of The Panel and a two-time Pro Bowl selection, sat down with FOXSportsSouth.com to discuss the show and the prospects.

FOXSPORTSSOUTH.COM: Being around the show, you and the other members of The Panel, Tim Couch and Takeo Spikes, seem to get along so well. Why do you feel you like this team works so well?

DRE BLY: It's just like the locker room. One of the things we talked about, and what we miss most about the NFL, is the fellowship and the camaraderie. The locker room chat, the discussions, the debates that we had are probably the most memorable thing that we have from the NFL. By us being together for The Panel, it's sort of like us reminiscing, and being back with my brothers, so it's easy to talk about football, just give (the prospects) pointer and things to help on their journey. It's easy when you're with guys that you've been with before.

FSS.COM: Takeo said that the fact that you were all in the league around the same time, that makes things so much easier for you.

BLY: Oh, yeah, because we were all taught the same things. We learned the same values and so it makes it easy when you have guys like that you can relate to. I feel like football is generational. You have guys from the '70s and '80s that probably were taught a certain style and then the guys from the early '90s, late '90s, early 2000s (the same). After that, it's a new generation. But we were taught the same values and the same principles of the game, so it's easy to have guys with you that have had that experience and it helps you to mentor these young guys and tell your story.

FSS.COM: When you looked at the guys that were coming in here, a couple of defensive backs in Jeremy Cash and Jalen Ramsey, who did you gravitate toward or who were you already impressed with?

BLY: Jalen Ramsey, I've been reading a lot about him and how well he worked out at the combine. He is a very well-put-together young man. He's confident, which I feel you have to be to be a successful DB in the NFL. He has the 'it factor' and I love that about him. He's not afraid to say he's the best and he feels like he's the best prospect in the draft. To me, to be a Pro Bowl-caliber guy, you have to have that mindset. I think he has all the tools to be that.

FSS.COM: When you watched tape of Jeremy Cash, do you have concerns with whether he can handle man-coverage?

BLY: I do. I have concerns about how he moves in the open field, just how he covers. He was more so a hybrid player -- they had him listed as a DB, but he was more like a linebacker -- if he gets drafted at safety, that's going to be one of the things that teams have concerns about is how he covers tight ends or slot receivers in the open field. He hasn't show a lot of that on tape. He was more of a Troy Polamalu-type player in Duke's system, which is no knock on him, but they utilized what he did well, and because they let him do that, it's what he got used to doing.

If he gets drafted at safety, he has to show some other assets and skills that he has and that's going to be a concern for a lot of guys, because we haven't seen that on tape as yet. For him to be successful, he has to cover.

FSS.COM: And you can't get by on instincts alone.

BLY: Not in the NFL. Guys are too talented, too fast, too strong. You have to have some skills. You have to have some ability. Just being instinctive, that doesn't work to me in the NFL today. You have to have ability, you have to have speed, hips, and if that's something that he has, he will have to show it soon.

FSS.COM: Clemson has had this run of pass rushers, and now you have Shaq Lawson coming up. What have you liked about him and where do you see him fitting on a defensive line in the NFL?

BLY: I liked his tape. Witnessing him in person in the ACC Championship Game when they played North Carolina, he was a man-child out there. He couldn't be blocked. He basically single-handedly one that game. He made play after play after play. When I witnessed that, I knew that he would be a top prospect.

To me, he seems more of a 3-4 defensive end. Like a Richard Seymour-type guy. Honestly, if I'm drafting in the top 10, I'd take him. I think he has that 'it factor' as well, and I think he's a guy that can be a pretty good pro, because of the caliber of plays he's made in college. He's played among some talented guys at Clemson and he's showed out. So rightfully so, he's deserving of being a top pick.

FSS.COM: Two running backs here and two different cases. One of them was a big-time workhorse back in Ezekiel Elliott at Ohio State and the other, Georgia's Keith Marshall, it's like you're buying potential having gone through an injury. If you're an NFL GM, what are you buying in this age? Are you buying a guy with a lot of mileage or are you buying potential?

BLY: Just at the running back potential, their bodies break down so fast, but Keith Marshall, I don't think he has a lot of mileage. He's still relatively young, so the injuries that he's had, he has plenty of time to heal from that.

The Elliott kid, he has a national championship and he's thought of as one of the top prospects as well in the draft and could be a top-15 pick if someone's willing to take a back that early. What I've been seeing and what I've been hearing from scouts is he's one of the guys that could be a game-changer right now.

FSS.COM: Do you like a guy like Marshall who has something to prove?

BLY: Just like (Todd) Gurley. Guys like that, overly talented, he can run. When you look at what Gurley's done, why wouldn't you take a guy like Marshall? He's shown flashes. He had a great workout at the combine. Obviously, he's shown that he's healed and recovered and he's shown that he's a hard worker. In the right opportunity, being put in the right situation, this is a kid that can flourish.