Bob Magaw
Footballguy
this gets back to the question of is sanders "too small"...it was acknowledged that he would have gone higher... possibly much higher... if he had been about 4" taller & 20 lbs bigger. but that is not the same as saying he can't be a devestating weapon... even if "undersized" by conventional metrics.it should be pointed out that he reportedly has a freakish physique, & though shorter he is not "smaller"... his build makes him effectively "bigger" (at least in the upper body and arms) than some guys that are a few inches taller & pounds heavier. to switch gears for a second, walter payton wasn't the biggest RB in his time, but got the better of collisions with bigger defenders at times due to his immensely powerful upper body.there are not a lot of 5'8" safeties in the NFL... one reason is they could be vulnerable over the top... but with 41" vertical he can cover taller than he actually is. and though there aren't a lot of guys at his listed height playing his position... there aren't a lot of athletes like him (4.3, great instincts & tackler, etc). don't know if his lack of height (as opposed to lack of weight, as he is not small) makes him intrinsically more vulnerable to getting banged up.i must admit valuing michael boulware slightly higher than sanders... or, to put it differently, given his 6'3" 225 size feel a little more comfortable that his stature may better equip him to endure the rigors and grind of getting pounded by more bulky and massive players for many years, & therfor could have a longer career.but i don't want to make it sound like i am overly concerned with this aspect... at a certain point in a draft, around or just after boulware, i wouldn't hesitate for a second to take him.maybe great athletes have an almost sixth sense to avoid the big shots... you rarely saw marcus allen or (to use another sport entirely) gretzky take a big hit... they saw it coming &/or twisted slightly & made an almost imperceptible move at the last instant so it was just a glancing blow. a lot of the time it seems like sanders is the hitter & not the hittee... again like payton here... though it might have appeared to some he would have a shortened career as he routinely seeked out contact (see earl campble), he was in control as he delivered the blow instead of vice verce.sanders doesn't seem like the kind of player you would want or even ask to try and take on an OL in mid-field... but he is so agile he could usually navigate around that kind of ponderously slow traffic.
