Anthony Barr to Steelers?

I would have a hard time passing on Barr if he was there at #15, especially with the unknown status of Jason Worilds past 2014. A future of Barr and JJ coming off the edge would be a nightmare for teams.

I've commented before that Barr's first step rivals that of Clowney.

If Evans and Gilbert are gone, and Barr is there, I would be thinking long and hard. Even though JJ dropped last year, I still have a hard time believing Barr would drop that far.

 

Also, Barr was named the Lott IMPACT player for 2013. Anyone who receives a trophy named after Ronnie Lott needs to be recognized. Check out the list of winners:

[TABLE="class: wikitable, width: 1"]
[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"]Year[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"]Player[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"]School[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2004[/TD]
[TD]David Pollack[/TD]
[TD]Georgia[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2005[/TD]
[TD]DeMeco Ryans[/TD]
[TD]Alabama[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2006[/TD]
[TD]Daymeion Hughes[/TD]
[TD]California[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2007[/TD]
[TD]Glenn Dorsey[/TD]
[TD]LSU[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2008[/TD]
[TD]James Laurinaitis[/TD]
[TD]Ohio State[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2009[/TD]
[TD]Jerry Hughes[/TD]
[TD]TCU[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2010[/TD]
[TD]J. J. Watt[/TD]
[TD]Wisconsin[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2011[/TD]
[TD]Luke Kuechly[/TD]
[TD]Boston College[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2012[/TD]
[TD]Manti Te'o[/TD]
[TD]Notre Dame[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2013[/TD]
[TD]Anthony Barr[/TD]
[TD]UCLA[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
The Criteria:
"IMPACT is an acronym for: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity. The award purports to equally recognize the personal character of the winning player as well as his athletic excellence."

Now, not EVERYONE on that list is a superstar, but there are definitely some players who make an IMPACT in the NFL.

 

Several weeks ago I posted my thoughts on several top 3-4 OLB prospects after watching a few games of each of them. I rated Barr much lower than his hype level, and I said then that I felt that he would likely be available at pick #15 based on his film. My impression was that he is a super quick edge rusher, but that he is so lacking in strength at the point of attack that he can only get pressure by going around the blocker, or when the DC schemes to get him looping inside on s stunt (which accounted for some of his sacks at UCLA). Once he's engaged 1 on 1 with a lineman, he's done. Any decent NFL LT is going to have the ability to stop a 1 trick pass rusher.

Now, would I take a flyer on him at #15 because of his RARE edge rushing quickness? Maybe I would if I was sure that I could get him stronger, and improve his hand technique enough to do more than just circle the edge. However, I would do it figuring that he's likely just a sub package guy for 2014, and maybe much of 2015 as well. He is not ready to be a plug and play every down player in the NFL IMO.

 

Great analysis Elvis. Pretty spot on I would say. He just needs to get stronger and learn the position more. Keep in mind he has only been playing defense for 2 years, and he's already this good. Too much physical skill there, that I think it would be a mistake for 14 teams above to pass on him.

 

I have trouble seeing him get past Tennessee. If Tennessee does take him, we may see Wimbley cut loose. He could be a nice low price post June 1 addition to provide insurance behind our young guys… but I digress.

 

I think that's an interesting take. I still think he is a 3-4 OLB though. He just needs time and coaching. He certainly isn't plug and play. But he he has the length and the speed to give it a go. As long as you can keep multiple blockers off him he will be disruptive.

 

del, I can't see how you could arrive at that conclusion based on anything other than his height/weight/measureables. I watched quite a bit of Barr, and I didn't see any indication that he had the lateral movement agility, or ability to drop and react, that a Tampa 2 MLB needs to have. In fact, in watching him I was wondering if his skill set really just translate better to a 4-3 DE than even a 3-4 OLB. Physical measureables aside, he just looks way better going forward than any other direction. Yes, the measureables are nice as a Tampa 2 MLB, but do you spend pick #7 overall on a guy who is truly a blank canvas at the position you want to put him at? When I think of a team doing something like that I'm reminded of the Matt Jones situation. His measureables translated to a mega-elite WR, but he had no experience at the position. Granted, Jones had some other off-the-field issues, but aside from those he never really grasped the WR position nearly to the extent that his measureables indicated he could. Just my opinion.