Slimm's 2017 Linebackers (Underclassman)
- Thread starter Pachyderm_Wave
- Start date
Would be an ideal Leo/Bandit in an Under front. With his limited experience on D, I don't know that you want him playing SLB in an Over - not immediately, anyway.
ckparrothead
Premium Member
I would have no issues with T.J. Watt as my Sam linebacker. His hand use, physicality, agility, eyes and ball skills are spot on for it. No issues for me. That would not be the concern for me.
The concern is whether he's JUST a Sam linebacker. In this league, at this time, that's the last thing you want to be if you want to be a well paid and dominant player. You want to either be compelling enough in coverage to play one of the two LB spots in nickel, or you want to be compelling enough to be relied on as an outside pass rusher in nickel.
Quite frankly, given the way he reacts to the football and the way he relates to and engages players in coverage, I wouldn't rule out either possibility. He could be compelling as a Wide-9 RDE for the Dolphins on nickel downs, or he could even be compelling enough in coverage to just play a straight LB job on nickel. You'd have to get him into camp and all that to find out which.
The concern is whether he's JUST a Sam linebacker. In this league, at this time, that's the last thing you want to be if you want to be a well paid and dominant player. You want to either be compelling enough in coverage to play one of the two LB spots in nickel, or you want to be compelling enough to be relied on as an outside pass rusher in nickel.
Quite frankly, given the way he reacts to the football and the way he relates to and engages players in coverage, I wouldn't rule out either possibility. He could be compelling as a Wide-9 RDE for the Dolphins on nickel downs, or he could even be compelling enough in coverage to just play a straight LB job on nickel. You'd have to get him into camp and all that to find out which.
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I'm very intrigued by Watt. He has a great bloodline. He could be a star the star we need who racks up sacks
If he's in JJ's range as an athlete, he'll go top 10.
Interesting. This may be the wrong thread for this but hoops had a similiar view of Cunningham. That Cunningham is going to shoot up to the top 10. Do you share this viewpoint? I really would like to take Cunningham. Hes my top choice for Miami if he falls
ckparrothead
Premium Member
Top ten might be over-extended for Cunningham as it will truly depend on what he runs. But to me he's a solid 1st rounder, and the rest is about system and needs.
DKphin
Club Member
Being a UF fan, I have seen a lot of Anzalone. I like his size and his instincts, but the kid has never been healthy a full season and I think it will just get worse in the NFL. I wish I was wrong, but I am almost 100% sure he will have a very brief career if any.
Have to agree based on his time at UF. I mention him a little more in the gators thread in the college forum. He declared apparently. Still not sure what to make of it.
FearTheBeard
FearTheBurke
What's the consensus on Anthony Walker? Can he be a 2nd round MIKE target? Or more of a WILL?
I like him and can easily see him going in the 1st. I can also see him at 22. It wouldn't be my first choice, but I think he stacks up pretty well with the rest of the SULB's.
Caveat: 2015 Anthony Walker looked like a 1st RD pick. 2016 Anthony Walker (in the games I watched) is way slower/less agile. I don't know if he was playing hurt or if the loss of athleticism is purely tied to weight gain, but that will need to be reconciled, or he's more of a 2nd/3rd.
JCPHIN_PHAN
Active Roster
Slimm, just reviewing your Positional boards from last May and your on the money as usual with how this draft is lining up. But I came across this thread and saw your ranks on Cunningham. Did he make that much of an improvement in one year?
ckparrothead
Premium Member
I think that Anthony Walker's 2016 tape stands up to scrutiny.
What you're buying with Walker is the linebacker with the quickest diagnostic and anticipatory qualities of any linebacker in the draft. That is WHO he is, and it's why a guy playing that position (as opposed to some more glamorous position) came to be touted by the Northwestern people as an iconic player to where they gave him the nick name 'The Franchise' and even merchandised off him. They did all that because they see what people on the outside do not, which is that he's a football savant.
When I watch all of these guys' tapes side by side by side, that's when you really see it, really capture it; the little signs and nuances that show you that Walker, unlike most of these other guys, knows things about what the offense is about to do far earlier than other players. His film watch must be phenomenal. He directs his teammates, orients himself immediately at the snap, and the way he reads things on the move is the RIGHT way.
I think his teammates let him down some in 2016. The more I watch, the more clear that becomes.
For all that football IQ, we are not talking about a physical schlub. He runs solidly in the 4.6's and would run even faster, be even more explosive, if he didn't feel pressure to get 240 lbs onto that 6005 frame of his. He's got speed, you can see it. And he's got tackling skills. And he anticipates things in the passing game at times that...well hell, I'm not sure if I've seen another LB do that in this class.
I'm not saying I would take him 1st round. I wish his body could match his mind, but the simple fact of the matter is it doesn't. He's smallish and to stay as beefed up as he needs to be, he's lost speed. But I will absolutely take him over a Raekwon McMillan for example, given that Raekwon has virtually the same athletic qualities, while also possessing an infinitely less mature football sense.
Actually the question about Jarrad Davis versus Anthony Walker becomes a bit more interesting, given the size/athleticism/maturity comparisons (similar size, same speed, Davis more explosive, but Davis also possessing a little bit of an immature football sense). I like them both.
I see Walker having a similar career as Stephen Tulloch.
What you're buying with Walker is the linebacker with the quickest diagnostic and anticipatory qualities of any linebacker in the draft. That is WHO he is, and it's why a guy playing that position (as opposed to some more glamorous position) came to be touted by the Northwestern people as an iconic player to where they gave him the nick name 'The Franchise' and even merchandised off him. They did all that because they see what people on the outside do not, which is that he's a football savant.
When I watch all of these guys' tapes side by side by side, that's when you really see it, really capture it; the little signs and nuances that show you that Walker, unlike most of these other guys, knows things about what the offense is about to do far earlier than other players. His film watch must be phenomenal. He directs his teammates, orients himself immediately at the snap, and the way he reads things on the move is the RIGHT way.
I think his teammates let him down some in 2016. The more I watch, the more clear that becomes.
For all that football IQ, we are not talking about a physical schlub. He runs solidly in the 4.6's and would run even faster, be even more explosive, if he didn't feel pressure to get 240 lbs onto that 6005 frame of his. He's got speed, you can see it. And he's got tackling skills. And he anticipates things in the passing game at times that...well hell, I'm not sure if I've seen another LB do that in this class.
I'm not saying I would take him 1st round. I wish his body could match his mind, but the simple fact of the matter is it doesn't. He's smallish and to stay as beefed up as he needs to be, he's lost speed. But I will absolutely take him over a Raekwon McMillan for example, given that Raekwon has virtually the same athletic qualities, while also possessing an infinitely less mature football sense.
Actually the question about Jarrad Davis versus Anthony Walker becomes a bit more interesting, given the size/athleticism/maturity comparisons (similar size, same speed, Davis more explosive, but Davis also possessing a little bit of an immature football sense). I like them both.
I see Walker having a similar career as Stephen Tulloch.