This guys is a bit small but a 3 down LB…is he a legitimate first round option? Speed at LB would be really nice.
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From the little ND football I’ve watched, he seems to be all over the field and around the ball a lot. I just don’t see a lot of raw talent with him like there obviously is with other players in this class, but I’m uneducated so my opinion shouldn’t be worth much.
What exactly is a bit small?
Hard to say how a guy might fit here when we have zero idea what the scheme will be.
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He is 6’1 215. There IS no scheme where he isn’t tiny for a LB. I pass on him. There are several dynamic LB prospects in this draft that can actually stop the run in the NFL as well as cover/blitz. If you need a pure coverage guy, use a Safety.
I’m quite sure whatever we do as a defensive scheme, we will be going away from slow as fvck. So I’m totally fine with increasing speed and range at LB, and sacrificing some sand in the britches to get more of that. But 6’1 215? No way. He’d have to put 15 pounds on just to GET to the point where he’s an undersized NFL LB.
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So maybe a 4th-7th rd pick, converted to safety, or, if he’s still got room to grow and gain weight?
He’s going higher than the 4th round.
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Screw all this coaching and GM stuff, back to the draft.
Dareus Leonard played at 215 this year, just saying. So it works in that scheme at least.
I’ve started really watching a lot of guys recently, and I have to say JOK is my favorite. He’s like some sort of badass cross between Polamalu and Lavonte David. I would be shocked if he wasn’t a star, and he is without a doubt the sort of tone-setter our defense desperately needs. He flies around like his hair’s on fire, hits like a ton of bricks, blankets tight ends, running backs and even slot receivers in coverage, he’s a wonderful blitzer, he attacks, attacks, attacks.
Obvioiusly at his size the run game is a concern, but even then he’s far better than some guys 30 pounds heavier than him at shedding blocks. Sure he can get washed out, but so does every LB once in awhile. JOK has the jukes, quickness, and hand pop to disengage pretty regularly. Also I think he’s closer to 225 than 215 and I bet he shows up at the combine (or pro days) in the 230s.
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I know it’s a broken record, but in a perfect world we’d trade down (maybe twice) and then back up. I think there is much better value picks 20-50 or even 20-75, especially on defense.
Yeah I’m with you, but it’s what we always want and never get. Maybe this year it’s more likely to replenish our picks, but we’ll see. Even if we want to trade down, it takes two to tango. Still, I think being in front of Carolina benefits us, as they’re one of the obvious spots for a QB. Anyone who wants, say, Trey Lance, (SF? Wash? Chi?) would need to jump the Panthers. Or at least that’s what they’d think.
I’m interested to see where JOK ends up going. Lance Zeirlein has him as a top 5 prospect - it’s what made me go and have an early look at him - and I expect there will be plenty of GMs who feel the same.
I also think we could very easily wind up with one of the top 3 WRs in the teens, if that’s what we wanted. Aside from Waddle’s jets, none of them have the sort of freaky traits that generally get WRs drafted in the top ten. It reminds me of last year, at this point Jeudy and Lamb were regularly mocked in the top ten before going 15 and 17 respectively. As the pre-draft process moves forward, the high value positions like edge and OT will start to creep up the board, especially if they test well, while the other positions fall.
He’s a 2nd rd pic and a speedy WLB in the mold of Leonard and David.
Unless he tests poorly, I don’t see any way he falls to the 2nd. He’s much more of a gamechanger than either of those guys, as prospects anyway.
Though he may not quite be the caliber of run-jump
athlete that JOK is, David was an absolute game changer at Nebraska. Every bit as much so as JOK. He was just under drafted for whatever reason.
Oh I remember, that was back when they were still in the big 12. Things were different back then only edge and middle linebackers went in the 1st. I think JOK is a better athlete though, as you say. Certainly more explosive.
6’1"- 215lbs is small for any scheme.
JOK is clearly a better athlete. I’m not sure his instincts in the phone booth are quite at David’s level. He was always so damn slippery when being blocked and just a lights out tackler. JOK is way more dynamic in space though. But I don’t think it’s terrible comp tbh. IIRC David was like 229lbs coming out of college.
I doubt he’s really 215.
I doubt he’s even 6’1".