Werner

If Ansah can play OLB what does it matter how much he weighs? The Steelers obviously don't care about the "cookie cutter mold" or Levon Kirkland would've played DE.

 

You've got quite a high opinion of a guy who has 1 season and a whopping 4.5 sacks in college to his name. Troy is special because of football IQ. He recognizes patterns in what teams are doing and makes amazing, intuitive guesses at what they will do next. Take away his smarts, and he's simply a quick, hard hitting, run stuffing strong safety with questionable coverage ability. At this point, Ansah is a very good athlete with high potential. The only place we've seen that potential on display is as a 4-3 end, which in most schemes is a relatively simple position to play mentally (i.e. not a lot of responsibilities for a guy with limited football experience to deal with). He will probably impact Day 1 as a rotational player in a 4-3. As a 3-4 OLB, especially in our system where rush/drop decisions are often dictated by offensive formation, it could be a while before he's ready. He could pay off big in the long-term, but I see a longer road for him at OLB than DE.

 

I'd say most of the NFL GM's agree with SBD. He has the intelligence, dedication and work ethic from all accounts to adjust quickly with the proper coaching. He may impact more quickly at DE but that could be said for many of the DE/OLB prospects. It's a mute point anyway, nobody we draft on that side of the ball will start year one.

 

Of course. I'm not sure what about my statements would indicate otherwise.