Building an Entire Draft Board:Linebacker Rankings

[gonzo1105]

None for the players at 27 are worthy. The only one is Simpson that is worthy  but is a bad fit for the Bills. 
 

59- Campbell, Sanders, Simpson, and maybe Henley if your desperate but it would be a reach

 

91: Henley and Williams.

 

The rest 4th round or later 

[Chaos]

Shamelessly posting to my own post in attempt to see if anyone else has an opinion on drafting LBs.  Currently "none" is leading in the first round

[Dr. Who]

13 minutes ago, Chaos said:

Shamelessly posting to my own post in attempt to see if anyone else has an opinion on drafting LBs.  Currently "none" is leading in the first round

That's the right call.

[BBFL]

On 3/21/2023 at 1:16 PM, GunnerBill said:

In the same spirit as Hyatt and Harrison making my round 1 list in the other exercises I'll say Simpson, Sanders and Campbell at #27 though would have to grit my teeth. 

 

None in addition at #59. 

 

Henley and Williams would come into my thinking at #91 if either was still there as would Henry To'oTo'o Owen Pappoe and Noah Sewell if they are still there. 

I like Williams. Think he can be a solid contributor to a team if not as a starter or rotational player, ST at worst. 
 

I’m curious as to how people perceive some of the other linebackers projected to be drafted late day 2 / day 3…

 

Dennis (Pittsburgh)

Miller Jr. (Jackson State)

Jones (Syracuse)

Winters (TCU)

 

Do you think any of them can turn in a starter or core player on a team?

 

Weird to me there’s not any hype around Mikel Jones. Kid played lights out for ‘Cuse. 

[gonzo1105]

15 minutes ago, BBFL said:

I like Williams. Think he can be a solid contributor to a team if not as a starter or rotational player, ST at worst. 
 

I’m curious as to how people perceive some of the other linebackers projected to be drafted late day 2 / day 3…

 

Dennis (Pittsburgh)

Miller Jr. (Jackson State)

Jones (Syracuse)

Winters (TCU)

 

Do you think any of them can turn in a starter or core player on a team?

 

Weird to me there’s not any hype around Mikel Jones. Kid played lights out for ‘Cuse. 

I like Dennis as a STer in the NFL

My fav out of that group to be a possible future starter is Winters

[Solomon Grundy]

On 3/20/2023 at 8:06 PM, 78thealltimegreat said:

Drew Sanders the Arkansas kid is one heck of a football player I wouldn’t mind him in round 2 after they take another weapon for Josh in round 1 

NFL.com comps Sanders to.... Tremaine Edmunds

[LABILLBACKER]

On 3/20/2023 at 5:24 PM, Dr. Who said:

The problem with your board is that there are three LBs worth drafting, imo, Campbell, Simpson, and Sanders -- 27 is too high for all of them and all of them are gone way before 59. 

Exactly....all 3 will be gone by 40 - 45.  So unless we trade down or trade up in the 2nd we could lose out.

[Dr. Who]

1 hour ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Exactly....all 3 will be gone by 40 - 45.  So unless we trade down or trade up in the 2nd we could lose out.

It's an issue. Maybe they sign Bobby Wagner as a contingency plan so they aren't forced to make a move, I dunno.

[MarlinTheMagician]

I think I could be happy with Jack Campbell at 27.  He does not look slow to me - but hard to tell exactly.  He is supposedly extremely instinctive, and that shows up in his clips.  I don't care that the mocks have him at 44 - historically the difference between #27 and #44 is not great once you get passed the 15-20 players with "true first round grades."  So I like Campbell at 27, but I trust Beane.  I don't think Sanders has the sand in the pants to help us against the run.

 

[Chaos]

2 minutes ago, MarlinTheMagician said:

I think I could be happy with Jack Campbell at 27.  He does not look slow to me - but hard to tell exactly.  He is supposedly extremely instinctive, and that shows up in his clips.  I don't care that the mocks have him at 44 - historically the difference between #27 and #44 is not great once you get passed the 15-20 players with "true first round grades."  So I like Campbell at 27, but I trust Beane.  I don't think Sanders has the sand in the pants to help us against the run.

 

Campbell had one of the best combines of any prospect in attendance. He put up elite explosive numbers — a 1.59-second 10-yard split, 37.5-inch vertical and 10-foot-8 broad — at a hefty 249 pounds. Not only that, but also he blew up the change-of-direction figures with a 6.74-second three-cone and 4.24-second shuttle. That's a well-rounded linebacker.

 

HEIGHT: 6-4 (89%*)WEIGHT: 249 (83%*)

HANDS: 10 1/4 (79%*)ARM: 31 7/8 (41%*)

SPAN: 79 (90%*)

FORTY: 4.65 (C) (67%*)

SHUTTLE: 4.24 (C) (66%*)

10 YARD SPLIT: 1.59 (C) (70%*)

VERTICAL: 37.5 (C) (85%*)

BROAD JUMP: 128 (C) (96%*)

THREE CONE: 6.74 (C) (96%*)

BENCH PRESS: DNP

He doesn't look slow, because he is actually fast. 

[strive_for_five_guy]

On 3/21/2023 at 12:19 PM, Dr. Who said:

I don't think so. You'd have to modify the defense. Maybe they should. If you want an Edmunds' replacement, it's Simpson or Sanders.

Am I wrong in thinking Simpson looks like way more of a playmaker than Edmunds ever was though?  He looks like he’s out for blood from what I’ve seen of him.

[Dr. Who]

23 minutes ago, strive_for_five_guy said:

Am I wrong in thinking Simpson looks like way more of a playmaker than Edmunds ever was though?  He looks like he’s out for blood from what I’ve seen of him.

On the whole, he seems to have more aggression. He does remind me of Edmunds in a lot of ways, however. Part of what was disappointing in Edmunds (who was not a bad player, btw) was that he looked like a Klingon, so you kept expecting fierce violence in his game, when he was in reality more finesse and coverage.

 

Link is to a pretty good brief evaluation of strengths and weaknesses.

 

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Trenton-Simpson-LB-Clemson

 

Edited March 25, 2023 by Dr. Who

[strive_for_five_guy]

8 minutes ago, Dr. Who said:

On the whole, he seems to have more aggression. He does remind me of Edmunds in a lot of ways, however. Part of what was disappointing in Edmunds (who was not a bad player, btw) was that he looked like a Klingon, so you kept expecting fierce violence in his game, when he was in reality more finesse and coverage.

 

Link is to a pretty good brief evaluation of strengths and weaknesses.

 

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Trenton-Simpson-LB-Clemson

 

Thanks for the link.  The more I read about the LB prospects, I’m not convinced our solution for next season is in this year’s draft 🙁

[Dr. Who]

Just now, strive_for_five_guy said:

Thanks for the link.  The more I read about the LB prospects, I’m not convinced our solution for next season is in this year’s draft 🙁

There's no perfect candidate. They might want to grab Bobby Wagner for a stop gap year.

[SoCal Deek]

I’ve never understood trying to slot a guy into exactly his draft value. We all just saw a thread showing how much if crap shoot these picks really are. Does this mean you take a fourth round guy in the first…no. But taking a guy a dozen or so players early doesn’t seem like much of a gamble or waste to me. You only get one pick every 32 players. 

[Chaos]

3 minutes ago, Dr. Who said:

There's no perfect candidate. They might want to grab Bobby Wagner for a stop gap year.

Why do you think Jack Campbell can't be a solid starting MLB out of the box this season?

[Chaos]

27 minutes ago, SoCal Deek said:

I’ve never understood trying to slot a guy into exactly his draft value. We all just saw a thread showing how much if crap shoot these picks really are. Does this mean you take a fourth round guy in the first…no. But taking a guy a dozen or so players early doesn’t seem like much of a gamble or waste to me. You only get one pick every 32 players. 

Every year we see trades where a team gives up something meaningful to move up just a couple of picks, so we all fantasize about getting who we like a little bit lower, plus something else. 

Separately your dozen picks theory matters by round a lot.  Panthers just gave up a kings ransom to move 8 picks to 1.  If they guy you like is available at pick 205, you don't make a move to go to 212, in hopes of also getting another player.   I think the expected talented level at 27 is meaningful higher than the expected talent at 39.   
Of course different talent evaluaters may disagree by more than a dozen picks. 

[Dr. Who]

1 hour ago, Chaos said:

Why do you think Jack Campbell can't be a solid starting MLB out of the box this season?

For reasons that Gunner Bill has articulated, I think they would have to change their defensive strategy for Campbell to work. He's a vertical, downhill lb with good instincts. He doesn't have the best horizontal coverage skills. Now, I also said maybe they ought to try adapting what they do to accomodate different talents. So, system fit is the main thing. In Pittsburgh, he'd be great.

[Chaos]

12 minutes ago, Dr. Who said:

For reasons that Gunner Bill has articulated, I think they would have to change their defensive strategy for Campbell to work. He's a vertical, downhill lb with good instincts. He doesn't have the best horizontal coverage skills. Now, I also said maybe they ought to try adapting what they do to accomodate different talents. So, system fit is the main thing. In Pittsburgh, he'd be great.

I think it is a huge strategic blunder to scheme in a way that you need unusual skill set players to play in your scheme.  Its bad enough to be forced to draft for position over BPA, but it really becomes limiting to be stuck with  best player at a positoin of need who requires unusual skill set to fit scheme (BPAPBWRUSSTFS) .  Campbell seems to be a day 1 ready MLB who has a reputation for great instincts and elite measureables in size and athleticism.  Seems nuts to pass on a player like that, because you want to run a particular scheme (which does not seem to work in the playoffs anyway)

Edited March 25, 2023 by Chaos

[SoCal Deek]

1 hour ago, Chaos said:

Every year we see trades where a team gives up something meaningful to move up just a couple of picks, so we all fantasize about getting who we like a little bit lower, plus something else. 

Separately your dozen picks theory matters by round a lot.  Panthers just gave up a kings ransom to move 8 picks to 1.  If they guy you like is available at pick 205, you don't make a move to go to 212, in hopes of also getting another player.   I think the expected talented level at 27 is meaningful higher than the expected talent at 39.   
Of course different talent evaluaters may disagree by more than a dozen picks. 

The reason you see teams move up a dozen picks is NOT because they think a player is super good. It’s because they believe that a team before them is going to select him. I have no problem with that…although I’m not always convinced that they actually know what other team is taking who.