Were the Scouting Reports Right? - Darron Lee 0 New, 4 comments By Michael Nania@Michael_Nania Feb 21, 2018, 2:00pm EST Share Tweet Share Share Were the Scouting Reports Right? - Darron Lee tweet share Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images Previously, I looked back at the predraft scouting reports of all 2017 Jets rookies to earn significant playing time. With that class in the books, let’s rewind the clock one year and start looking back at the scouting reports of the 2016 Jets draft class. We’ll start with the 20th pick of the 2016 draft, Darron Lee. Here is a look at the positives of his scouting report, as seen on NFL.com: Quick to diagnose and flow to the ball. Has unusual ability to find the most efficient routes to the ball. Has athleticism and flexibility to contort his body and succeed through difficult tackle angles. Plays with loose hips, quick feet and desired agility of an NFL weak-side linebacker. Former high school quarterback with the change of direction and speed to be a rangy playmaker. Comfortable in space and excels there. Has plus man cover talent. Willing to stand in and take on blockers with a leveraged strike if his gap is being threatened. Capable gap blitzer with ability to get skinny through the holes. What seems right? Yikes. I don’t want to be overly harsh, but there is little from this section I saw from Lee on a weekly basis over the past two years. Is he athletic? Sure, I guess. He doesn’t look like a slug out there, but would any NFL athlete look like one at that raw age? Because, I don’t think he’s a speed demon either. Really, the only part of this I can agree with is that he looks to have somewhat above-average athleticism, but I can’t agree on elite. What seems off? “Quick to diagnose and flow to the ball. Has unusual ability to find the most efficient routes to the ball” - In year one, Lee could not do these things. He had more moments of smart play in year two, but he still struggles to consistently do exactly what this scouting report says he was good at doing; finding quick, efficient routes to the football. “Comfortable in space and excels there. Has plus man cover talent.” No and no, in my opinion. His man coverage ability, though the Jets have thrown him a lot of difficult cover assignments over David Harris and Demario Davis, has not yielded positive results. In space, he takes poor angles and isn’t a great finisher. “Willing to stand in and take on blockers with a leveraged strike if his gap is being threatened.” I’m not sure about this either. Lee doesn’t seem like a very physical linebacker, and he too often is responsible for leaving gaping holes up the middle. His weaknesses: Smallish linebacker. Play strength doesn’t come close to matching puffed up listed weight. Balance issues at point of attack could plague him over his NFL career. Has the body type of a big safety. Tape shows few authoritative tackles. Involved in too many arm and shoestring tackles. Comes flying in and fails to come to balance at times. Charged with 21 missed and five broken tackles over the last two seasons. Always at size disadvantage and will have to learn to slip more blocks. Can get better at finding targets in zone coverage. What seems right? All of these weaknesses seemed to still plague Lee in 2017. He is absolutely small for the position. I would agree he is less physical than ideal. “Tape shows few authoritative tackles. Involved in too many arm and shoestring tackles.” - I definitely think his ratio of crushing tackles to whiffs is bad. Really, this entire section can still apply if you were writing a report on Lee’s NFL profile. What seems off? I can’t disagree with anything in this section. Poll choice: Choice 2 (He is the player I thought he was, but fell short of performance expectations) All of the question marks surrounding Lee on draft day have been issues throughout his NFL career, and they have held him back from utilizing his best traits to their fullest potential. He is definitely the kind of player I thought the Jets were getting; an athletic, but undersized linebacker who takes on a lot of coverage responsibilities. He just hasn’t developed as quickly as hoped. I will say that I thought Darron Lee took a step forward this year. Specifically in the middle of the year, he had a stretch of games where he really seemed to be putting it together. His 2017 was overall better than his 2016, but it was a case of moving from awful to less awful. He still needs to get better with his recognition, coverage, and tackling. He has solid athleticism for the position and has showcased the ability to string some solid games together. Can he overcome his size deficiency and become a disciplined enough player to complete a full season of quality play? Still only 23 years old, Lee was a very young prospect who has had a lot on his plate early in his career. He’s entering year three, though. It’s time for him to learn from all of those early experiences and start producing like a first-round pick, since that title alone isn’t going to buy him playing time much longer.
For me the bottom line is he MUST get better in almost every area of responsibility. This is really coming to a head and if this continues to happen at some point in 2018 he's going to get benched. He's been a liability on the field that the CS has chosen to keep him on the field so he can develop his pro game. Well, it's starting to be obvious that he does not have a pro game. His coverage skills are virtually nonexistent. He continues to take poor angles and when a lead Guard engages him? It's all over. He gets blown off the ball.
this was who was drafted after lee outside of fuller who has potential at WR as a deep threat, there really isn't anyone on that list standing out. not even 1 i'd consider to be better then lee currently by far. I'm not saying lee is a great player, but i'm saying that everyone drafted after him in the 1st would be leading to the same post you just made.
lmao I bet @Mainejet wanted Paxton Lynch, that trash tier QB. Deion Jones would've been nice, he was taken in the 3rd round, so he was passed on several times ... but looking at the players selected around Lee, it was the right call. I think he will have his breakout season next year.
and denver traded up to get him, they also drafted simian in the 7th and also drafted brock oswiler in the 2nd. All around the same time they signed an old peyton manning who won them the SB. how did that work out for them? had they not signed manning they never would have won one and here they are 3 years later with the same record as us, no QB and searching for one. had they got a guy like cousins instead of manning who was old and breaking down they could have been a dynasty for the past 5+ years instead of the position they are in. plus their cap isn't great and their bets players are aging. Yet jet fans look at them like a great team and like our team sucks. all another case for landing cousins right now. look at all the busts on that list
I'm not a big Darron Lee fan, but after seeing that list..... well.... sometimes if you're at a bar full of beat looking chicks, at last call you leave with the best one you can
Ding. Ding. Ding. This is not a case of "hindsight is 20/20"; this was common opinion at the time. Evidence: Link
to be fair he had to sit out a year because of injury and there was no guarantee he'd return to form so his stock dropped. without the injury he was at worst a top 10 pick if not top 5. everyone knew he had talent. had we drafted jack int he 1st people would have lost their shit here talking about how we drafted an injured player.
I had my interest set on OL. Like I've said many times before, Mac had a deal for the taking to trade up and grab Laremy Tunsil. Before the draft I had hoped Jack Conklin would be there for us. Those picks ended up being Lee, Hack, and Burris, three idiots I wouldn't pick for the practice squad. Instead, Mac got cheap or stupid ( take your pick) and he completely f*cked the whole draft up. Go figure. I post an article that sh*ts on Darrin Lee. Someone else's words, I had nothing to do with it. Yet all the homers on this site choose to attack the messenger? So what is it, you guys have your panties in a bunch because I dare post all of the articles, good and bad, about the team?
If he worth anything, I would trade him in an instant. He's been given far more chances to succeed, and then failed, than any player I can think of. But because he's really worth nothing to anyone else, he'll stay with the Jets and we can only hope that he magically displays the abilities his scouting report claimed.
Yeah, we all know about the trade up scenarios. I really wanted Conklin as well. But that shit is hogwash in terms of this discussion. Again, go back to what @SolidGoldBowles said: You can argue the Jets have a player in Lee that has had more impact then the rest of his draft peers in terms of draft position. Perhaps the Jets could've traded down, but who was going to trade up for any of those players outside of the Broncos? Lee has a long way to go, but is going into his 3rd year same position, same system, I think he's a candidate to break out.
Well, I truly hope you're right. Listen, this isn't some sort of stupid "I told you so" moment. that's dumb. It's about what's best for our team. I want the Jets to win. In order for that to happen, Lee MUST start doing his part. In every area of his game he needs serious work. I really wish the conditioning staff would put him on a program so he can gain weight so maybe he wouldn't pushed around so much. Right now it's really embarrassing to see him on the field. Really, all I see when I look at Lee is a stinging endorsement of Mac's incompetence.
I respect that for sure, remember when Lee came to the Jets, he was very new to the position. He does need to get stronger, but his technique needs to get better too and I think that's the reason why you see him whiff on tackles at times. He has playmaking ability though, when he punched that ball out on that forced fumble, that was a good instinctive play. I want to see more of that, and much better technique. I think he's very close to breaking out. Gotta work with that ya got. No sense in wishing he gets cut, hes going to play an integral role for this team.
I wouldn't be so sure about him playing an integral role? Everyone, including Blowes has their breaking point? If his play does not improve he COULD get benched. Right now his level of play is so low, the Jets could get better results from a mid round free agent pick up? I don't know that will happen, but it certainly could........
