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Top ILBs in upcoming draft

Discussion in 'The Bill Nunn Draft Room' started by TarheelFlyer, Jun 20, 2018.

  1. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    I will finally have my Top 32 this year. I will be doing mine after the combine though. My Steelers Mock will be coming up sometime today.
     
  2. thesteeldeal

    thesteeldeal Well-Known Member

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    Thoughts on Cory Littleton of the Rams . I believe he is a RFA and depending on what round they tender him,he could be a interesting option. Very young and athletic. He was my MVP if the Rams had pulled out a close defensive game. He was all over the field and I believe he is definitely plug and play. Would he be worth a 3rd round tender? 2nd? You get a young proven talent and we would be able to use our 1st and or 2nd/3rd on other positions like CB or WR if AB is gone. Thoughts?
     
  3. turtle

    turtle

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    He was all over the place that game. I don't know much about him other than that though honestly.

    I still like Jordan Hicks out of Philly if they go the FA route, which I hope they do. It opens up that first rounder so much more. I'd still grab a mid rounder too though. They need some speed there to develop.
     
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  4. thesteeldeal

    thesteeldeal Well-Known Member

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    He played well against NO too. I don't watch many Rams games but whenever I did that guy stood out. He was a UDFA in 2016 so he's young and up and coming. Curious to see where they tender him. I'm intrigued for sure.
     
  5. Steel_Elvis

    Steel_Elvis Staff Member Mod Team

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    Interesting thought. I usually don’t even check out restricted free agents. Usually the good ones get tendered high enough to be a deterrent and stay with their current teams for at least 1 more season. However the Rams aren’t in a great cap situation. They may only tender him at a 2nd round level and hope to get away with not doing a long term deal this year.
     
  6. Steel_Elvis

    Steel_Elvis Staff Member Mod Team

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    So I went back and re-watched his division playoff game vs. Dallas and the NFCCG vs. New Orleans (I couldn't bring myself to watch the SB again). My observations of him from those games are: 1) in man coverage vs. RBs and TEs he was about as good as a LB gets (though Kamara had his way with him on a few plays); 2) in zone coverage he's very solid, shows extended range but can occasionally lose track of receivers (still very solid though); 3) if he's kept clean by his D line in run defense, he can zip through gaps quickly to make big defense stops in the backfield, but if he's not kept clean he struggles getting off of blocks; 4) he's a decent, but not great tackler; 5) when he blitzed in those games he was ineffective and easily neutralized. I then checked PFF, and they rated him as nearly the best LB in the league in pass defense, and nearly the worst in run defense. Overall they ranked him as their #37 LB in the league. In the games I watched, he was far from the worst run defending LB in the league, but it didn't seem to be his strong suit either.

    So do I like him? Yes I do. He's a LB that's built for today's NFL where defenses are in sub packages most of the time. He's probably better in man coverage than any of our safeties, never mind our LBs. You just have to know what you're getting and put him in situations that favor his attributes. If you're playing a team that runs a wide open offense, he's going to be more effective than if you play a team that wants to run between the tackles all day. I don't get the sense that he'll be a very expensive free agent. Certainly less than the 5 year/$50-60 million market for top tier LBs. Maybe more like a $5-7 million average.
     
  7. NY STEELERFAN

    NY STEELERFAN Well-Known Member

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    My thoughts on him are hell yeah but then you have to look at what it will cost us, is he worth a 1st, 2nd or 3rd pick? I am gonna guess with all the FA's the Rams have and the lack of depth they have Littleton is gonna get a 1st round tender and according to OTC that is 4.429 mil. That is a bargain for a player like him, so the question is he worth our 1st round pick? My opinion is no since we will get 4 years of low contract from them, Edmunds got a 4yr/10.6mil deal last year.

    Also the FA class is deep, Mosley, Hicks and Brown could be had without losing a pick assuming they don't get tagged, the rumor is Mosley will but Hicks is a nice option without losing the pick.
     
  8. Steel_Elvis

    Steel_Elvis Staff Member Mod Team

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    Hicks is a very good player - when he’s on the field. He’s completed a 16 game NFL schedule once in 4 years, and in college he missed 10 games one season and 9 games the next. I hate labeling someone as injury prone, but if anyone fits that description it’s Hicks.
     
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  9. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    Sounds just like a player Colbert would target.:smiley1::cool:
     
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  10. thesteeldeal

    thesteeldeal Well-Known Member

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    Excellent analysis. Every one of his strengths and weaknesses are probably the same as you could expect from any similar type players. You'd be very hard pressed to find someone excellent at both pass and run defense. Like you said,putting him in the right position to succeed would be the key to getting the best out of him. Like NYSF said plucking him at a 1st round tender is probably a little steep when you factor in that draft spot (20) and financially. At a 2nd or 3rd though it should be a stronger consideration. He already has NFL film so you kinds a have a idea of what you're getting. He is still very young and can improve as well....
    I'll be keeping a eye on this just to see where he ends up being tendered.
     
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  11. thesteeldeal

    thesteeldeal Well-Known Member

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    I agree maybe not a 1st but at the same time what good is a low contract at 4 years if the guy can't play. Our first round defensive picks haven't exactly panned out lately:smiley1:
     
  12. NY STEELERFAN

    NY STEELERFAN Well-Known Member

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    Well I don't know about that Watt and Shazier are pretty good and that are 2 of the last 4 and I am not judging Edmunds yet. I will say this having the attitude of giving our picks away cause we can't draft is #1 dumb and #2 wrong. I hate that so many here feel we have drafted so bad yet go look how many players we drafted are still on our team and then compare that to other teams. Yeah we have had some bad picks but they stand out cause of the many good ones we have.....jmo. :smiley1:
     
  13. Steel_Elvis

    Steel_Elvis Staff Member Mod Team

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    I would be OK with a 2nd round tender if the dollars were reasonable. He would play that “dime backer” role that Burnett balked at very well.
     
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  14. NY STEELERFAN

    NY STEELERFAN Well-Known Member

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    Well that's not good I am gonna say we need to stay clear lol
     
  15. thesteeldeal

    thesteeldeal Well-Known Member

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    I agree that the first rounder would probably be a little steep. No one is saying "give " away picks. At least certainly I'm not:shrug:....my point is you have to consider more proven talent over a unproven draft pick sometimes. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. It's just a thought and a option I'm not saying we have to sacrifice everything to go get him. He fills a need and if he would cost us a second or third rounder it should at least be considered....that's all. He's not like our typical aging,injured veteran we usually set our sights on. He's played on the big stage and IMO this team should be trying more than ever to win now and with our FA money being as much as its been in a long time. We should be spending it on proven talent. Especially on younger guys with proven NFL ability and upside....:shrug::smiley1:
     
  16. Steel_Elvis

    Steel_Elvis Staff Member Mod Team

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    I’ve watched a bit more of Pratt and Te’von Coney over the weekend. I love Pratt’s tackling. Instead of the lowered head/shoulder knockout hit, he wraps up and often stops the ballcarrier’s progress dead in his tracks (even a few near-body slams on tape). He has a lot of range and can impact in all 3 facets. If he checks out clean in his physical, interview and background checks he’s a 1st round talent all day. Coney shows a lot of smarts on tape. You especially see it in zone coverage where I think he’s fantastic. He hands off receivers leaving his zone and picks up receivers coming in as well as any LB in this class. I remember one play in particular where he made a move to follow a receiver up the seam, and then another receiver came into his zone underneath. In a split second he pivoted (handing the seam guy to the safety) and came forward to break up the pass to the underneath guy. He understood the dual route concept, baited the QB into thinking he had the easy underneath completion and then blew it up. I like drafting smart players. My question mark is athleticism, in particular speed. He doesn’t look fast on tape. However he’s pretty darn effective. Really the only guy that beat him to the edge a few times in one game was Love from Stanford, and he’s an exceptionally fast RB. I like Coney, but I’m thinking 2nd round for him.
     
  17. NY STEELERFAN

    NY STEELERFAN Well-Known Member

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    :roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:......love it....:shrug:, anyways I agree with what you are saying but draft picks are like gold especially 1st rounders. Yeah we would get a young proven talent but not sure if it is worth a 1st rounder. Any other draft pick I am all in not just for this player but others similar. I just don't like letting our 1st rounder go. I will say this I am starting to wonder if the win now ship hasn't passed us by with all the drama and possibility of losing yet another great talent. :shrug: ;)
     
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  18. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    tranquill as well. i actually like both these ND lbers. one thing for sure in this draft is the cupboard isn't bare in a position of need for us. well down the draft too. this would be a good year to double dip some positions. :cool:
     
  19. Steel_Elvis

    Steel_Elvis Staff Member Mod Team

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    Yep, #23 Tranquill. I haven’t had a chance to focus on him yet, but he jumped off the screen more than once when I was watching Coney.
     
  20. steelersrule6

    steelersrule6 Well-Known Member

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    I think Mac has been pimping this guy to the Steelers, also the guy from SteelersDepot had Hanks as the Steelers third round pick in his mock draft. He has the size 6'3 235, also a playmaker.
     
  21. NY STEELERFAN

    NY STEELERFAN Well-Known Member

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    With so many guys with good talent available in rounds 2 & 3( Pratt, Tranquill, Lamar, Edwards, Smith & Hanks to name a few) I am really looking at passing on White, Bush and Wilson in round one. I am starting to think more and more S Adderley is our guy. jmo
     
  22. thesteeldeal

    thesteeldeal Well-Known Member

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    Hmmmm....coming around on Adderly I see :shrug:. Great minds do think alike. ;)I wouldn't be mad at the pick but I would be surprised because of our draft history of selecting guys from Power 5 conferences. I do love the versatility though and like I was saying a few weeks ago we desperately need a true FS. Adderly could push SD back to SS and bump TE to dime backer once we cut Burnett,Gilbert and Dupree. The money we would have allocated to a safety in FA and the 17 mil. we save with those cuts could help go towards a ILB or OLB (Z.Smith) or even a CB or WR.( both weak IMO) Safeties in FA are dirt cheap anyway so we can bring one in to ease Adderly along and to provide better quality depth at the position. There will be a couple run and hit ILBs still available in the 2nd and I'm sure a CB or two as well. The kid from Kentucky(Johnson) you mentioned could be a prime candidate in the 2nd.
     
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  23. NY STEELERFAN

    NY STEELERFAN Well-Known Member

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    Well here is my thinking on Adderly, there was a ton of talk last year about the "dollar" defense that Tomlin likes. Ok so fast forward to the playoffs how did the Chargers keep Jackson in check? They ran the "dollar" defense that involves having 3 safeties. Now with Jackson being the starter and us having to play them twice I can see Adderly our our guy. :shrug::hehehe: I think the Johnson kid is gonna fall past the 2nd but it is still early.
     
  24. thesteeldeal

    thesteeldeal Well-Known Member

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    Agree. As far as Johnson the combine wil make or break him I can see him going anywhere from 2-4
     
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  25. Steel_Elvis

    Steel_Elvis Staff Member Mod Team

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    I watched 3 Terrill Hanks games (Utah State, Wyoming, Minnesota). I think he has a chance to be a solid NFL LB at some point in his career. I don’t see him being a significant NFL contributor in 2019. He looks to have the size of an NFL LB, and I’d estimate his 40 time in the 4.60 range. If you watch those 3 games, you’ll see a small handful of positive plays, and a handful of missed tackles, bad angles, being controlled at the point of attack and less-than-ideal instincts in coverage. Nothing awful, but enough to put more of a 5th - 6th round grade on him than a 3rd round grade. If we get him in the 5th or later, I’d feel pretty good about having a guy who can be developed. If we get him earlier, I’d be disappointed.
     

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