ILB Prospects

Now that LT94 is off to South Beach, add ILB to the draft need list. The need was there before imo, but it may have gone up slightly. Shazier is a playmaker but needs to show full season consistency. VW98 and Dirty Red are tacklers but may be limited in pass coverage. I like Fort and Stevie Johnson but neither are challenging Williams.

Actually the two guys I like are probably mid to late rounders for different reasons.

Tanner Vallejo from Boise State and Jalen Reeves Maybin from Tennessee.

http://draftbreakdown.com/players/jalen-reeves-maybin/

http://draftbreakdown.com/players/tanner-vallejo/

Neither are your classic thumper, but we have that already on the roster. They are athletic though and Vallejo has some feisty. They would be some great prospects to add for early STs work, strength/weight gain and tackling improvement (a lot of low tackle misses).

Any guys you like??

 

jordan evans oklahoma ran a 4.51 at his pro day. he was a combine snub. 6-2 232. pretty good in coverage. not a thumper type by any means. his is more about coverage. not a lot different than most of these inside backers this year but has much better speed than most. probably a 5th-6th rounder i'd expect. took a couple to the house last year. http://www.draftcountdown.com/player/jordan-evans/

he played well for them last season.

 

Duke Riley from LSU could be quite the piece for us haha.

 

And if Reuben Foster drops after his meltdown at the Combine..............................

 

That's not happening.....if it does I'm all in on that. I would run Goodells ass over on the way to the podium...

 

we could start thinking about some of these bigger strong safeties as inside backers.

alex gray app. st. 6-2 225
tony connor miss. 6-0 225
taylor barton ill. 6-0 215
donald payne stetson, a tackling machine and pretty good cover guy. 6-0 220
jamal carter mia. 6-1 218

all pretty good cover guys. good tacklers. may need to add a couple of pounds but shazier was and is no giant.

 

I am not so sure about these small guys playing close to LOS, It is usually a mismatch for OL.
As we are well aware of in Shazier, until he put on additional weight/muscle he had his hands full with OL. Plus
I am not so sure these (small) guys can take the pounding, We all know Shazier has had his troubled staying healthy.

 

troy made a living around the line. there is starting to be a trend towards these types in the league. 230-235 lb. lb'ers are not unheard of. speed kills on defense.

 

marquel lee ran a 4.6 at his pro day. he's a guy i think is under rated. he played well for wake. he could even play off the edge. he's 240.

 

yes.

 

Some guys I want to see and read more about as far as ILB are:

Elijah Lee Kansas St., was not invited to the combine but the little I saw I liked

Richie Brown Miss. St., Nothing special at the Shrine game but had a good season

Riley Bullough Mich. St., Kinda reminds me of Matakevich, I think he had a better 2016 than 2017.

Hardy Nickerson Ill., Not sure if he is inside or outside but I like that since we run this hybrid D so much.

Thoughts on any of these guys?

 

I too am struggling with Lawson, And i think he is their /our choice.

 

I like lee, spending our late 3 pick for him is worth it, he is a good tackler and a good cover guy who can get picks, needs to add weight to his big 6-3 frame but he has good potential:

Elijah Lee*, ILB, Kansas State
Height: 6-3. Weight: 228.
Projected 40 Time: 4.70.
Projected Round (2017): 4-6.

3/11/17: In 2016, Lee recorded 110 tackles with 6.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two interceptions and three passes broken up. The junior is a solid tackler with some athleticism. In 2015 as a sophomore, Lee had 80 tackles with three interceptions. He was a surprise early entry into the 2017 NFL Draft. Lee was not invited to the combine.

 

I liked Lee early on then was wondering what I missed since he wasn't invited to the combine. I think this guy could end up being a very solid pro.

 

There has been a few on here who like Takk, I have not seen it and if we do end up with him I hope I am wrong cause I am starting to feel this is the guy we are going to land in round 1.

 

We could draft him anywhere from round 4 to 6, he had his pro day yesterday, results:

LB Elijah Lee (6-2 1/2, 229) ran the 40 in 4.73 and 4.71 seconds, had a 38-inch vertical, a 10-2 broad jump, a 4.36-second short shuttle, a 7.14-second three-cone, and added 18 lifts on the bench. He's a bit of a late-developer who likely has worked his way into Day 3 draft discussion.

 

In one of my mocks I had him at 3 or 4 not sure, I think this guy will make someone a nice late pick. I have said I don't want to go to the draft for another ILB but this is a kid I like.

 

He's too good of a pass rusher to only make him sit in the middle.

 

Tyus Bowser then?


Not being sarcastic here, but Bowser fits into your description to the "Tomlin T". Can be used anywhere as how I see it.



Possibly, nabbing another player in the secondary is what is likely to happen should TJ not be in their plans; all the more reason Obi Melifonwu just might be the guy.

 

I'm liking him more and more. He had the perfect height and will only get bigger/stronger and his motor makes him an edge guy. As an ILB I see him as a buck and we need Mack. Shazier injury history says we need another Mack before we get a Buck.

Cajun