Linebackers

[Formula 21]

2018 NFL Draft: This class will provide wave of the future at the linebacker position

Tremaine Edmunds and Leighton Vander Esch don't look or play like other top linebacker prospects

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• by Chris Trapasso
• @ChrisTrapasso

Roquan Smith is the consensus top linebacker in the 2018 NFL Draft class. But will he be the first linebacker taken? Will he have the best career of his contemporaries?
Those questions lead to another, more wide-ranging question; what is the future of the linebacker position?
For the first 30 years after the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, America watched enormous downhill thumpers dominate when a large portion of offense featured running plays between the tackles or just outside them.
Over the past 20 years, we've all witnessed the linebacker position evolve. In the past five years, its morphed rapidly. Gone are the days when the run-stuffing, hard-hitting albeit relatively "slow" power 'backer is the premier member of his unit. With the nickel defense being played close to 70 percent of the time in today's NFL, the old strong safety has essentially become the new outside linebacker.

Now, playing in the 220-230 pound range isn't considered undersized. It's the new norm. Coverage ability has never been more vital for linebackers, and prospects deemed to lack sideline-to-sideline speed typically fall to the middle or late rounds of the draft. The smaller but quicker speedsters go early.
Alabama's Rashaan Evans is an old-school linebacker with some new-age flair. He's not a plodder by any stretch but is likely to measure in around 6-foot-2 and 235-240 pounds. His film is loaded with devastating hits between the tackles, textbook block-shedding, and quick run-play recognition.
Smith is a supercharged version of Evans with more explosive athleticism and the comparable ability to avoid blocks and beat blocks to excel against the run. He's also a fluid mover in coverage, which is vital. He had 137 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and two pass breakups in his final year at Georgia. To me -- and many others -- Smith's the owner of finest linebacker film in the class.
The Butkus Award winner is fast to sink into his zone and can run with backs down the field. He reminds me of Panthers star Thomas Davis who just so happened to attend Georgia and started his collegiate career at safety.

Despite injuries early in Carolina, in a way, Davis was stylistically ahead of the curve as a big safety playing linebacker, which was a catalyst for his vast NFL success.
Virginia Tech's Tremaine Edmunds and Boise State's Leighton Vander Esch represent the next wave, the latest "creation" at the linebacker spot at the professional level.
Both are around 6-4 and 250 pounds and move like they're at least two inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter. Their strides are almost unfathomably long, which leads to tremendous range toward the perimeter and when running in coverage. While neither possess the refined block-shedding ability or lightning-fast play diagnosing skills of Smith or Evans, in college, it didn't matter. They devoured ball-carriers and held up in coverage simply because of their outrageous athletic gifts at their mammoth size. At times in the NFL, their lack of polish will likely hurt them. However, how often will that be with the league appearing more and more like a 7-on-7 passing camp each season?
"This is the new trend ... basketball players at linebacker. It used to be basketball players transitioned to tight end, now we're starting to see them at the linebacker spot," one source said.

The source added, "Imagine LeBron James playing defense. At linebacker he'd cover so much ground so quickly. That's the thought with these bigger freak athletes at linebacker. Most importantly, the league's been looking for someone to cover the Rob Gronkowski-type tight ends. For a long time, the NFL's tried bigger safeties, but these new linebackers are really big and really athletic."
Edmunds and Vander Esch are expected to have vertical leaps in the upper 30-inch range at 6-4 and 250-plus pounds. A source told me to not be surprised if Vander Esch's three-cone time approached the highly coveted 7.00 second mark.
For perspective, 6-0, 223-pound Matt Milano had the highest vertical (35 inches) among linebackers at the 2017 combine, and only five off-ball linebackers had three-cones faster than 7.00 seconds.
Their height comes with length, which helps Edmunds and Vander Esch get to the football a split-second faster ... and is a luxury in coverage

Vander Esch had 141 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions, five pass breakups, and four forced fumbles in 2017. Edmunds registered 104 tackles, 14.0 tackles for loss, two pass breakups and three forced fumbles for the Hokies this past season.
According to a source, one NFC team will head into the combine with Edmunds and Vander Esch atop their board at inside linebacker. Smith is the No. 1 outside linebacker -- think the "playmaker" weakside spot -- for that club.
With the college and pro games being played through the air and outside the numbers more than ever with a variety of high-percentage wide receiver screens as an extension of the run game, I wonder if the block-shedding skills on inside power runs won't be (nearly) as valuable in the (short-term) future as they were even a few seasons ago.
A swarm of "matchup nightmare" tight ends has entered the league for years, and Edmunds and Vander Esch may be signaling the beginning of the precise second-level defenders to stop them.

I'll admit, I'm still an advocate for the stocky but springy off-ball linebackers with refined tools that allow them to dispatch blockers en route to impact plays against the run. Athletic talents and route recognition in coverage are clearly paramount. Think Luke Kuechly.
The presence of Edmunds and Vander Esch won't have an impact on Smith and Evans in the NFL. The latter pair has plenty of "new-age" skills and is likely to be productive for a long time at the pro level.
The Smith and Evans type won't instantly fall by the wayside because a unique version of linebacker will enter the NFL with them... the same way every play-call in the NFL next season won't be a trendy RPO.
However, the freakish duo of Edmunds and Vander Esch are at the outset of a new breed of linebacker to counter ever-changing NFL offenses that are briskly shifting toward a collegiate takeover.

[chargerkdb]

This is the same CBS Sports that left Edmunds out of first round on their mock.

[Steve]

The article makes a couple of good points. Edmands and Vander Esch are both like really big S. They are not the classic Dick Butkus or Brian Urlacher type of play tall, have long arms and can jump, so QB often kinda float passes high to keep them away from the 2 big guys. Add that to the long stride and good speed, these guys are around the ball a lot. I don't think they are necessarily instinctive, or even explosive chasing down ball carriers, but they are very fluid and just cover tons of ground.

The biggest problem I have with both of them is that there are times they don't get low enough and they miss tackles because they don't have any leverage and are just grabbing. That is the problem with the LB we already have. You can fix this problem with lots of tackling drills. So, are Edmunds or Vander Esch worth spending a relatively high pick?

I personally don't think we gain enough. Sure, we upgrade the athletic ability and get a bit better in the middle. Maybe a lot better long term. But how much better? ILB are not a major factor in NFL games there days. Sure Edmunds could get 15-20 tackles against the power running offense next season, but even a very average LB would get 10 or 12 tackles vs that same team. Teams that goes 2 TE or uses an FB in a base offense and tries to run the ball 30 times are just not that common.

I keep reading people say that if we are going to stop Hunt and the KC offense next season, we need Smith, Edmunds or Vander Esch at MLB. I don't see it at all. UNless you see one of them as a true replacement for Perryman, so that we leave them on the field all the time, we are just drafting a LB to be a part-time player and not an impact part time guy at that. At least a nickel DB or pass rusher is going to play a lot of downs, and have the chance of making a lot of plays, forcing int, or strip sacks, getting teams off the field. The LB is just going to get subbed out. When they are on the field the offense is going to throw a ton of short quick passes, or run the ball up the middle. Someone has to be there to make those tackles, but do we pass on impact players to get a guy to make a 2 or 3 yard stop on 1st down? As putrid as our run D was, it was pretty much good enough to get us in the playoffs.

If we want to matchup better, we need our pseudo-LB to be better. We need a Mark Barron or Derwin James playing up in the box. Those are the new LB type. Phillips is probably going to start in there like he did last season, but adding James or another top S, or maybe adding Sua Cravens to play that LB spot would give us the type of athlete who has even better sideline to sideline range, matchup against TE and WR better than the LB and still be able to be effective against the RB. They may be called a S, but they are really the new LB.

[blueman]

Perryman did not play in the first KC game, and pulled his hammy in the second. We lost both. We need to upgrade backup LB, somehow.

[Steve]

What round would you do it, or via FA?

Watching the KC games, the poor pass protection and general OL play had far more to do with the loss than how the D performed. The turnovers too.

[blueman]

Yup, both the O and D of KC give us fits, it’s like they built the team to beat us so we need to return the favor.

ILB: draft pick and a high one. If we bring in a so-so vet and Perryman goes down for half a season again we will have wasted another year and we don’t have that many left in this current window. If Smith, Edmunds or even Evans drops to us I would not be able nhappy with any of those 3 at 17.

OL: Nelson, sure if he drops. Otherwise a later pick, maybe a journeyman FA but pickings are slim. I worry about Lamp coming back 100%, so would not be against spending for a vet on the OL. Price? At 17?

S: high pick, I like Harrison in our D more than James and he should be there in the 2nd...I hope.

Our team is solid so no pick/FA is gonna be a bad addition, we gave areas to get better at, our draft is gonna be determined by who the other teams ahead of us don’t pick so no idea on how that shakes out. I’m open to a lot of scenarios yes even ILB at 17, S at 17, OL or DL at 17...it is an awesome draft this year at a lot of positions, we will add to the team however it goes.

As for FA, would not surprise me to see Wiggins and Boston back, maybe a DL guy. And I think that would be all we could spend.

[Formula 21]

[chargerkdb]

Yep. Can always dream though

[blueman]

Realistic cluster:

Payne
Price
Evans
Hurst
Harrison

[chargerkdb]

Nelson*
Edmunds*
James
Hurst
Payne
Vea
Harrison

* probably gone but IMHO can’t miss players. Chubb and Barkley not here only because they aren’t high need positions
** 17 spot Too low for the top QB’s and too high for a developmental guy. Pick won’t be a Center even though Price and James wouldn’t be a reach at 17. Pretty sure first round will be defense because last year was offense heavy early, unless of course Nelson is there, then all bets are off.

[charger1993]

If we want a linebacker lets not soend and early pick 1st or 2nd. I mean this kid from boise is good i like him but theres a player whos very similar to him and we can get him in the 6th.

https://youtu.be/zitoqFgGMy4

[blueman]

Nice highlights, can shed and tackle and anticipate well.

[Steve]

O'Daniel doesn't shed well, he is pretty terrible at it, especially if you think of him as a LB. But he is really an in the box SS, so if you think of him like that, his inability to shed is understandable.

O'Daniel is used like Myles Jack or a lot of other college LB are. He is really an in the box S type. So you can't line him up and think he could replace Perryman. He can't do the classic LB thing inside the tackle box. But we could plug him in like Phillips and use him as a hydrid SS/LB type. Line him up a little wider and let him run to the ball, where his DB like speed really pays off.

A player like O'Daniel is a lot more useful than a classic LB type of player who would hardly get on the field. But a guy like O'Daniel is probably going to come off the field on goalline and short yardage plays because he cannot handle blockers. Good new age player but not someone you can just plug into our D. But he is the kind of player who could upgrade Phillips spot, or maybe even play SS or nickel in place of Addae or KIng (and King would then upgrade FS or SS).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miIq1ext8Go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv1b7rjic0o

[blueman]

Ahh what the highlight reels don't show. Thanks for posting, his speed helps him in traffic but does look like a later round pick.

[charger1993]

O'Daniel doesn't shed well, he is pretty terrible at it, especially if you think of him as a LB. But he is really an in the box SS, so if you think of him like that, his inability to shed is understandable.

O'Daniel is used like Myles Jack or a lot of other college LB are. He is really an in the box S type. So you can't line him up and think he could replace Perryman. He can't do the classic LB thing inside the tackle box. But we could plug him in like Phillips and use him as a hydrid SS/LB type. Line him up a little wider and let him run to the ball, where his DB like speed really pays off.

A player like O'Daniel is a lot more useful than a classic LB type of player who would hardly get on the field. But a guy like O'Daniel is probably going to come off the field on goalline and short yardage plays because he cannot handle blockers. Good new age player but not someone you can just plug into our D. But he is the kind of player who could upgrade Phillips spot, or maybe even play SS or nickel in place of Addae or KIng (and King would then upgrade FS or SS).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miIq1ext8Go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv1b7rjic0o

While shedding blocks isnt his strong suit, every year he has improved in that aspect, there was a reason he sat on clemsons 2nd string for so long. But where insee him being most effective is an olb not at the ilb. But him out wide in zone coverage or even man. Hes going to run like a 4.6 he has good hips and great play recognition. He would definitely fit into this defense. Imagine if we took derwin james in the first. Got the best dt available in the second. And then add dorian in like the 6th round. Dorian could easily slide into a ss role and you could move derwin over to fs. He gives you flexibility. And that kills in todays nfl

[Steve]

That is the thing..... LB is a jack of all trades position. With NFL teams playing 3 WR most of the time, and TE not being blockers anymore, defenses really need to be able to matchup against the speed.

Again, based on the snap counts we spent ~50% of our snaps last season in our dime defense. Another ~25% in the nickel. That 75% of our snaps, and that ratio keeps going up every season. We can add classic LB types, and they will simply sit on the bench. Or we can add guys who are LB/SS hybrid types (like Myles Jack or Dorian O'Daniel) and spend our draft picks in the positions that will really be on the field.

As far as our later draft picks, then we can go looking for a replacement for Perryman. Either that or FA. We need some true LB, there will be times we need to play a classic 43 base package. It's just not something we will do very often. And the thing to remember is that our LB were actually pretty good in that set. We ended up something like 2nd in goalline D/short yardage D (see TT press conference). Anyway, that is what our regular LB are good at, and that is all they need to be good at. We can continue to try and upgrade them, just don't use our quality picks to do it.

The big catch may end up being trying to get someone to replace Perryman. he misses a lot of time. I do tend to think our new training may help him develop his way out of that, but until we are sure, we may have to start looking for a replacement, even if it is at a lower level of urgency (read 3rd day pick or lower ranked FA).

[blueman]

[charger1993]

That is the thing..... LB is a jack of all trades position. With NFL teams playing 3 WR most of the time, and TE not being blockers anymore, defenses really need to be able to matchup against the speed.

Again, based on the snap counts we spent ~50% of our snaps last season in our dime defense. Another ~25% in the nickel. That 75% of our snaps, and that ratio keeps going up every season. We can add classic LB types, and they will simply sit on the bench. Or we can add guys who are LB/SS hybrid types (like Myles Jack or Dorian O'Daniel) and spend our draft picks in the positions that will really be on the field.

As far as our later draft picks, then we can go looking for a replacement for Perryman. Either that or FA. We need some true LB, there will be times we need to play a classic 43 base package. It's just not something we will do very often. And the thing to remember is that our LB were actually pretty good in that set. We ended up something like 2nd in goalline D/short yardage D (see TT press conference). Anyway, that is what our regular LB are good at, and that is all they need to be good at. We can continue to try and upgrade them, just don't use our quality picks to do it.

The big catch may end up being trying to get someone to replace Perryman. he misses a lot of time. I do tend to think our new training may help him develop his way out of that, but until we are sure, we may have to start looking for a replacement, even if it is at a lower level of urgency (read 3rd day pick or lower ranked FA).

So we're in agreement this team should take o daniel in the later rounds?? Give us more flexibility on defense, having a lb who can play safety gives you the best of both worlds. He was one of the best coverage lbs in college. If we can continue to grow our young talent. And he gets the help he needs shedding blocks more consistently. Why not take a line backer like him later. And use our early picks on the most important positions first. Dt and safety.