onionsack
Footballguy
To say this guy is flying under the radar would be a massive understatement. Jene has at least 35 other IDPs ranked ahead of him on his combined draft board…Bloom has him at #38. No one at FBG (or at any other FF site I visit) has him ranked in the top 20 IDPs. On the recent hour and ten minute Audible covering the rookie IDPs, he didn’t merit even a single mention. He has been passed over entirely in all but a handful of Zealots drafts…and yet I think people might really be missing the boat on this guy.
First there are his physical attributes: Prototypical size at a shade over 6’1 ¼” and 251 pounds. Long 33 ½” arms and big 10 ¼” hands. Excellent numbers at the combine: 4.78 40, 33.0” vertical (34.5” at his pro day), 9’08” broad jump, 4.26 SS, 6.98 3-cone. 23 reps (26 at his pro day). Outstanding athlete who was recruited as both a RB and LB. The quick 3-cone time in particular grabs my attention, as this seems to most reflect the movement skills required by a linebacker.
Then there is his production. Led Cardinals in tackles as a junior (109) and senior (98). In 2013 he racked up 4.5 sacks and 12.5 TFL, 3 FF and also returned a fumble 48 yards for a TD. Dominant 13-tackle performance in the Sugar Bowl victory over Florida. Very impressive performance at the Shrine Game practices where he “destroyed some players on the jam and was very active all day.” He's generally regarded as an instinctive, violent downhill tackler with the ability to shed blocks, blitz on occasion, and provide at least modest coverage skills.
Next there is his draft position. I clearly put more stock in this than others, but all else being equal, I just think the guys who get a chance to kick the tires on the prospects, and who are privy to more tape, interviews, medical reports, practice sessions and insider information on players than the rest of us generally know what they are doing. And with guys like Borland, Barrow, Williamson, Telvin Smith etc.. still on the board, they went with Preston Brown early in the third round - at a point in the draft where teams are looking for, and expecting to find, prospective starters. After Mosley, this guy is arguably the second true MIKE player to come off the board.
Finally there is the opportunity. The Bills were gouged by the run last year (#28 overall vs. the run) and brought in Brandon Spikes to stanch the hemorrhaging. But he is on a one-year contract, and is the very definition of a two-down thumper. Spikes’ career has also been marked by both injuries and suspensions, and he’s all that stands in the way of inheriting a plum IDP role. Brown could easily prove to be a cheaper, more versatile and more reliable replacement altogether in 2015.
Since the draft, Brown’s done nothing but impress, running the first-team defense and making all the pre-snap calls at OTAs in the absence of Brandon Spikes, making plays, garnering effusive praise, and pushing for immediate action in sub packages.
So why has this guy become the Rodney Dangerfield of IDPs? He’s hardly a sure-thing, but he seems a better gamble to me than many players who are being drafted ahead of him. I won’t be the least bit surprised if he makes a mockery of his current ADP at some point.
First there are his physical attributes: Prototypical size at a shade over 6’1 ¼” and 251 pounds. Long 33 ½” arms and big 10 ¼” hands. Excellent numbers at the combine: 4.78 40, 33.0” vertical (34.5” at his pro day), 9’08” broad jump, 4.26 SS, 6.98 3-cone. 23 reps (26 at his pro day). Outstanding athlete who was recruited as both a RB and LB. The quick 3-cone time in particular grabs my attention, as this seems to most reflect the movement skills required by a linebacker.
Then there is his production. Led Cardinals in tackles as a junior (109) and senior (98). In 2013 he racked up 4.5 sacks and 12.5 TFL, 3 FF and also returned a fumble 48 yards for a TD. Dominant 13-tackle performance in the Sugar Bowl victory over Florida. Very impressive performance at the Shrine Game practices where he “destroyed some players on the jam and was very active all day.” He's generally regarded as an instinctive, violent downhill tackler with the ability to shed blocks, blitz on occasion, and provide at least modest coverage skills.
Next there is his draft position. I clearly put more stock in this than others, but all else being equal, I just think the guys who get a chance to kick the tires on the prospects, and who are privy to more tape, interviews, medical reports, practice sessions and insider information on players than the rest of us generally know what they are doing. And with guys like Borland, Barrow, Williamson, Telvin Smith etc.. still on the board, they went with Preston Brown early in the third round - at a point in the draft where teams are looking for, and expecting to find, prospective starters. After Mosley, this guy is arguably the second true MIKE player to come off the board.
Finally there is the opportunity. The Bills were gouged by the run last year (#28 overall vs. the run) and brought in Brandon Spikes to stanch the hemorrhaging. But he is on a one-year contract, and is the very definition of a two-down thumper. Spikes’ career has also been marked by both injuries and suspensions, and he’s all that stands in the way of inheriting a plum IDP role. Brown could easily prove to be a cheaper, more versatile and more reliable replacement altogether in 2015.
Since the draft, Brown’s done nothing but impress, running the first-team defense and making all the pre-snap calls at OTAs in the absence of Brandon Spikes, making plays, garnering effusive praise, and pushing for immediate action in sub packages.
So why has this guy become the Rodney Dangerfield of IDPs? He’s hardly a sure-thing, but he seems a better gamble to me than many players who are being drafted ahead of him. I won’t be the least bit surprised if he makes a mockery of his current ADP at some point.