I’ve seen him mocked to us a few times so i decided to watch some film on him. As a precurser, I’m obviously not saying he’s Aaron Donald, but he has Aaron Donald esq like traits. He’s very fast and twitchy off the ball, strong leg power, and great hand movement. His biggest drawback is his size at about 6’1 and 280lbs. He’s a disrupter, plain and simple. Do we take a gamble on him at 18?
Hopefully…
His highlights are very impressive… and his production is good for a DT.
One thing I will say that he didn’t have much success against Tennessee this year. They did have a good O line for sure… but he was handled fairly well by their 320+ pound OGs… and that will be the concern at his weight.
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Does that, in the minds of the knowledgable draft guys here, cause him to slide or the exact opposite; a GM grabs him early as he may be the next Donald?
I think he’s in no man’s land where he goes somewhere between 18 and 48. I would not take him at 18.
I think trying to replicate Aaron Donald is the one thing that Brad whiffed on with Levi. So I wouldn’t be surprised if Kancey (also from Pitt, like Donald… ohh boy) is in Brad’s sites, and I’m glad we still have Dorsey around to put the reigns on Brad. I’d pick him at 48, and maybe trade up to 40 or so if the whole staff really likes him. But even though Alim is much bigger, the two would have similar roles. We would still need a true space eater.
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Testing could be pretty important….
arm length has been mentioned in other threads…
and though everyone is using the disclaimer that “we know he isn’t Aaron Donald”… I think it is valid to point out that Donald teated like a freak.
He had a 9.66 score despite getting “low scores” for his height and weight.
.
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Watched his WVU film and wasnt impressed. Hes got a motor but looked like he was pretty easily blocked. I Dont see what the big deal is… pass.
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wow. 20.9 mph, geesh.
very very freaky… guys who are brought down by ONLY their height and weight – those are guys i want. see rodrigo.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Kancey is one of those guys we see rise through the pre-draft process like so many we’ve seen before. 18 might be “too high” for him right now, but if Bijan is off of our board and Gonzalez and Witherspoon are both gone (hopefully we’ve taken one of them), then I really wouldn’t mind it. I’d rather “reach” for Kancey at 18 because of his upside than take someone who I thought was a bad fit or reach for someone else.
So I’m doing a PFF mock right now to use as an example. I took Gonzalez at 6. Bijan, Witherspoon, and Branch are all off the board. Here’s who’s left in order at 18 and why I wouldn’t take them…
Quentin Johnston - We don’t need a WR
Lukas Van Ness - Enticing, but I don’t think we need a 1st round DE
Zay Flowers - See Quentin Johnston
Anton Harrison - We don’t need a tackle
Nolan Smith - See LVN, just less enticing
Jordan Addison - See Zay Flowers
Broderick Jones - See Anton Harrison
Cam Smith - I think he’s somewhat overrated now
Joey Porter Jr. - See Cam Smith
O’Cyrus Torrence - 4 1st round offensive lineman is really bad roster construction. Plus this is becoming a reach and Torrence isn’t a fit as a guard in Ben Johnson’s scheme
Tanner McKee - 
Trenton Simpson - I see Jarrad Davis all over again
Now we have entered “reach” territory
Antonio Johnson - Not sure how great of a fit he is with what we currently have
Luke Musgrave - No 1st round TEs
Siaki Ika - He’s not a 1st round player, too many ?'s
B.J. Ojulari - See Nolan Smith
Andre Carter II - See B.J. Ojulari
Dalton Kincaid - See Luke Musgrave
Will McDonald IV - See Andre Carter II
Josh Downs - See Jordan Addison
And after all of that we make it to Kancey. If that’s really what the board looks like you could do a lot worse than taking a guy like Kancey here.
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Id take Siaki over Kancey there and its not even close
yes - agree the board is not kind to us there. i’ve done alot of mocks and see nothing but WR’s, edges, LB’s and CB’s when I’ve already picked a CB. Agree its too high for LB, TE, OG. Usually, Bijan is available, and that’s who I go with. But I agree that Bijan may be gone. Seems like another trade down scenario. If a TD is unrealistic, I’d go with a WR, esp if Chark isn’t signed. Or… you overdraft the safety or RB at 6 and since CB is so deep - you take who falls to you at 18. I could see Brad doing that.
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Quite different styles of DTs.
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Go watch some Baylor games. He is great at plugging up the middle but is slow! He can’t chase down plays and doesn’t get that many tackles for an interior OL guy. He would be a great NT but don’t see him as a true DT. I think he is a second round pick for some team and if he fell to the 3rd I would be interested. Glenn would have to change things up in a few situations but it could be something that would add some opportunities for Alim or the edge guys.
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It’s been said a few times in this thread, but the difference between Kancey and Donald is their arm length. Donald’s are above average for his size while my hunch is Kancey’s are short. A better comp for him might be Ed Oliver.
Arm length really matters on the lines. Shorter guys have natural leverage advantages over their taller counterparts, but that advantage is often negated by having a shorter arm length. If the OL can get his hands on you first, it’s much harder to use your leverage to your advantage.
This shows on Kancey’s tape. His highlights are elite elite elite when pass-rushing, but the full games tell a different story. I wouldn’t call him a straight-up liability against the run, but it’s definitely not his strong suit.
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I agree, and ideally we wouldnt be taking him at 18, but i prefer him to Kancey. A big NT allows us to move Mcneil around and is hopefully an upgrade over Jones in 3 DL lineups. Typically he pops up on my radar at 48 if we dont grab Carter at 6. Kancey is a poor mans Ed Oliver, not Aaron Donald, and doesnt give you much on the edge that you cant get from Pascal.
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Keeanu Benton at 18 he will not make are rd two first pick.
He will by draft time be a rd one pick. 6034 weight 312 hands9 7/8 reach 33 3/4 wing span 81 3/4
He will move out IMO of rd 2 after combine i have seen him already out on some mocks an one to Lions at 18.
Many will move after combine he is moving after Senior Bowl an will continue, He is big an strong was Wrestler at college 48 an 2 something like that was his record. Doing that sport besides strengh shows balance an quick movements with strong hands.
He is exactly what we want at a 3 tech DT
I love that you posted this… and the way you posted this….
I will defer to someone else as to how likely a guy like C Gonzalez is to be in the Patrick Surtain realm? The only CB I’ve been a true advocate for in the last decade was Sauce…. His approach to life, no drinking or drugs- all business. His film, his college stats, his height and length, his workout numbers, and the rumor that he never allowed a TD in his life. Loved him coming out.
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I’ve been a huge advocate of trying to trade down because I think our needs, and the meat of this drsft from 35-80 line up really really well….
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so many posts mention Carter or Anderson, but there is almost zero shot either is there.
That’s why I keep advocating we get the bad debt off the books and move on from Big V, Romeo, Harris, Brockers and let Chark go if he wants 12M plus…
- suddenly we only really have 3 defensive ends… and one is more rush LB…
- suddenly we have 3 WRs under contract and a shit FA WR classs…
I’m not saying I’m on board…. But I will say this-
I posted months ago that this was a much better draft class than many are expecting, and it was the WORST year of positional rankings and mock drafts ever…
I was just reading how Benton and K White dominated in Mobile….
- if he played half his snaps at NT and got 10 TFL and 4.5 … and then tests well- why not?
Siaki Ikas highlights aren’t even impressive in my opinion. It’s like these mock guys and writers refuse to change their messaging until the combine.
The only board that would matter is waterboarding. BC if you are getting tortured and drafting Benton at 18 will make your torturer stop then by all means you should do that.
Short of that, just say no to Benton at 18.
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