Temple LB Haason Reddick

So I watched 3 games that draft breakdown has on him and am curious to what you guys think about him as OLB vs ILB. Watched Memphis, Cincy and USF. Plus I watched the Sr Bowl practices and game.

I just don't see him as an ILB, so those who do, I'd be anxious to hear your thoughts. The ILB has a lot to do with instincts reading the play and flow, etc. A couple things in his favor would be his closing speed and coverage skills. But the bread and butter of any ILB spot imo is fighting off lineman and reading the play. He's a fast guy and that masks some of the delays in reading the play, but I thought he was lacking in those two core areas when playing off LB at Temple. That could be expected as he was mostly used in the OLB position, so its hard to fault him there. The versatility is definitely a plus and also shows his athleticism.

As an OLB, he played in a 2 pt and 3 pt stance. I mostly saw him win with effort and quickness. I did not see many moves (bull, spin, rip etc) that were effective as a pass rusher. He was at his best slicing in at the OT's inside shoulder and winning with speed than beating the OT or TE around the edge. I was mildly surprised because he won with ease at the SR Bowl one on ones during the pass rush drills, albeit those are favored to the defensive side. But during team drills and game he disappeared as an ILB. His coverage skills as an OLB are very good imo, and he and Tyus Bowser (Houston) I think are the front runners for the OLBs with the best foundations to handle those duties in the NFL.

One other thing I noticed about Reddick is that he seemed to miss a lot of tackles in the backfield on the QB or RB. Nothing more frustrating than seeing a guy put himself in position to make a TFL and he whiffs. Not sure what to attribute that to, sometimes he seems surprised other times a little out of control. He can definitely improve on that though.

A lot of mocks, etc have him for us at 1:30 and I am undecided on that. Great physical skill set and love his speed and coverage abilities, but seems like he is in that tweener spot between ILB and OLB. Temple roster has him listed at 6'1" and 230. He looks a lot taller so Combine will give us some better info. Seems it would take him a year to make headway at ILB and he would best cut his teeth as a situational pass rusher his rookie year. Is that worthy of 1:30 Any thoughts?

 

I posted in another thread about him, I wouldn't want him at #30 as a OLB too light IMO.

 

Temple runs a 4-3, so when I reference OLB, I am forecasting the move to a 3-4 OLB in our D..just to clarify.

 

not sure he can set the edge in our defense well enough on the outside. inside he would have coverage ability but again can he stave off blocks coming at him or get around them well enough like shazier has done? tough call on him. early on i liked reddick alot.

 

I think he has to be an inside guy in our scheme, and he probably has a learning curve. I think the Timmons situation has a lot to do with what happens. I have said it other places, but if Timmons comes back, there really is no place for a draft pick. Look, you keep 4-5 ILB at most. You have Timmons, Shazier, and Williams as locks. Add in a #1 draft pick and that is 4 spots locked up going into camp. You MIGHT have one more to split between Fort, Johnson and Dirty Red. Notice the word MIGHT. It is also possible you don't have any spots and those 3 guys are now throwaways. Timmons is going to dictate our draft strategy at ILB just like Harrison is going to impact our strategy at OLB.

Let me also say this, with Golson's question marks, Gay's age, and us having cut Gilbert, don't be surprised if we take a CB in the first 2 rounds. I don't care what the reporter said.

 

i still like fort as far as a backup ILB. the guy can cover very well and makes tackles. not sure why he didn't see more time. he did early and that was it. he's a good ST's player too. vince also showed a lot more range last year then he did in previous years in coverage. don't forget moats if we keep him can move inside too. dirty red should make quite a jump in year two also. this will be interesting to watch. we have options.

 

I like the guy and if we draft him you will Not see him as Deebo's future replacement. He'll move inside or we'll move to a 4-3 set with him at Sam and Williams as Mike and Shazier as Wil. I wouldn't be opposed to this.

Cajun

 

I want Haason as a ILB.

 

Ryan Shazier saw some time at the edge last season in passing situations.


Now that I think of it, Keith Butler loves linebacking versatility quite a bit. To say Hasson Reddick is not versatile would be quite ludicrous. Within the same vein, as others have noted... can he set the edge? Personally, I do not think so but if he can... his value skyrockets for us.



Otherwise, he is a possible BPA option should all options be off the table by 30.

 

SE, as far as McKinley goes did you watch the Arz. St. and Stanford games? I did not like what I saw at all, in the Stanford game #75 ate him up. In the 2 games I watched I didn't see anything that showed he is an elite pass rusher, every time he got pressure he came untouched. When he locked up with the oline he was at a stand still. I am glad you mentioned the other two games, I will look at then. I am curious on your thoughts on the Stanford game cause there is a lot of mock's that have us drafting this kid.

 

Agree and disagree, I feel when you are talking college and pro you are talking 2 different things. I feel when you watch a college player, any college player he is going against lesser talent a lot of the time. Now don't get me wrong I agree you can't make your decision on just 2 game films and that when you are front office person/scout for an NFL you have to get your hands on every bit of film you can. We are not that, we are guys who have lives and jobs. I am only speaking for my self here but I don't have time to watch every film on every player and that is why this place is great so many like yourself have different opinions on different players. I have read this kid being mocked to us and I know there are more then one person here who likes him a lot. I went to the game film, watched the Stanford game and was not impressed. I then went to a 2nd game and came up with the same observation I then stopped and moved on. I did not see motor I saw a guy who when locked up with a lineman got no push no penetration. That was enough for me, jmo.

When I watch film I just don't look at results I look to see motor, aggression, strength, angles and smarts. A guy like Matakevich stood out to me, he wasn't the fastest but when I watched him he sure the heck was the smartest, same thing with this Reddick kid and it is real funny he is from the same school. Each position has different traits to look at, I am not saying I am a scout or a pro but I like to think I have been around the game enough and watched/read about the game enough to where I can form a decent opinion. I by no means am saying I am wrong or right about a guy just form an opinion about him. This is why I like taking about guys like this as I can now go back and take another look at a different game. Thanks

 

i see a lot of the same production in the first (at least where we are drafting) that i see from guys ranked clear down through the 4th. i don't see a huge need to make an edge rusher pick in the first out of this group. reddick is a guy that has potential but as SE says he should be doing more basically and i agree. not a huge difference maker as he should be. at least not at 30. i do agree with the part about lawson being one of the better picks but that injury history scares me. if any i still like watt early and biegel later along with fields later and javancy jones or marquel lee later. ebukam also has a high motor. english still intrigues me as a late pick too. but all these guys as i say have equal upside and faults that need ironed out. just not that IT guy.

 

I think we are going to double dip at edge in the draft, especially if Timmons resigns. We have no choice but to hit on an OLB for a change.

 

I was immensely engaged with studying Lawson since last season. I suppose that his string of bad luck in terms of injuries has finally snapped in his final season.


Part of the reason I believe Lawson may be it is his ability to set the edge; a hallmark staple of many 3-4 Steelers OLB's. This is further augmented given the fact he has played defensive line at certain points in his collegiate career. His play strength, functional strength and explosive capabilities for me are as good as McKinney's and even rivals Myles Garretts.



My only major issue with him comes within his medicial history. If he medically checks out with the team... then he is a surefire option given the fact that his injury history will scare some teams off. The other issue is how well can he preform in the three cone and short shuttle. If he can do well in both.. he will be quite the option to ponder even more so.

 

All the more reason that how well Lawson does in his medical checkup in addition to his combine performance will prove crucial.


Really wanted Harold Landry as a contingent had he declared... but elected to finish things out at Boston College.

 

huguenin, fanaika, blount have been added as futures picks and harrison signed to two years, chickillo back, dupree, moats still here so far. not so sure we will double dip at this position. i expect we will draft one but then may just grab what is left after the draft to come in as UDFA's. if we get two this year in what seems like a mediocre class, we may not go for one next year in what may be a better group. it will be tough to really see what we have in this many now. we are stacking them up though for a look.

 

They should double dip this year, Moats and Chickillo are expendable. This draft is deep at edge rushers so why not get two.

 

It looks like the FO is doing what they always do...setting themselves up to not have to take any one position. They are doing a decent job of that.