His weight won't be seen as a big deal if he proves that he can shed blockers. At OSU, there were times that he would be engulfed by the much bigger o-linemen.
This guy is destined to be a star. Why? for one, PFF completely trashed him and the Jets for the selection labeling it as top ten worst picks this draft. With their credibility rating he is bound for the rookie of the year award.
His job won't be to shed blockers, Bowles won't put him in a situation for him to fail he's not Rex(Coples in coverage, Hakim rushing the passer)
Of course that won't be his main job, but he will have to prove that he can take on blockers if he wants to be an every down LB.
Due to his size (6'2/235 lbs) along with god-gifted like athletic abilities? I'm not one bit worried about his size being "too small" because if anything, he has the ability and overall making to cause havoc as a tackling machine for many of years to come. In todays game he's ideal for the LB position in terms of developing into a play-making star. For an example, just take a look at the players in which ranked top 20 in NFL tackles last year (and you'll see some explosive LB's). NaVorro Bowman led the NFL with 154 tackles at 6'0/242bs. D'Qwell Jackson ranked #2 in tackles with 150 at 6'0/242 lbs. Lavonte David ranked 3rd in NFL tackles with 147 at 6'1/233 lbs. Paul Posluszny ranked 5th in tackles with 133 at 6'2/240 lbs. Sean Lee ranked 6th with 128 tackles @ 6'2/238 lbs. Even Telvin Smith ranked 6th with 128 tackles at only 6'3/223 lbs. Malcolm Smith ranked ninth with 122 tackles at only 6'0/225 lbs. Lawrence Timmons ranked 12th with 119 tackles at only 6'1/234 lbs. Luke Kuechly ranked 13th with 118 tackles at 6'3/238 lbs. C.J Mosley ranked 14th with 117 tackles at 6'2/235. Derrick Johnson ranked 16th with 116 tackles at 6'3/242 lbs. Bobby Wagner ranked 19th with 114 tackles at 6'0/241 lbs & last but not least Jerrell Freeman rounded out the top 20 (20th) with 112 tackles at 6'0/240 lbs. None of these LB's even have a full 8 lbs on Derron Lee who's 6'2/235. All finished top 20 in tackles. Behind our enormous defensive-line & alongside a gritty David Harris taking on blocks I'm pretty sure Todd Bowles can not wait to unleash this kids overall talents/athletic ability within different schemes come Lee's rookie season.
The guy is no Shaq Lawson for sure. He will play in sub packages and cover guys coming out of backfield, wheel routes etc So many defensive players taken by Jets in 1st round got me sick...however may work out very well for us...cheers!
this is why pff is such a suspect publication they state his coverage grade with no context. this guy was in the slot guarding legitimate slot receivers all year ... when he was on backs and TEs (which will be his assignment in the pros) he held up extremely well in coverage
Any tweet, post, column, blog, etc. that references PFF is immediately X'ed out. No time for that garbage when trying to talk football.
I agree. And he does not have to be an every down player to be of tremendous value. The Jets can stop the run without him. They have trouble getting to the passer. And we are in a division with Tom Brady.
Double Wilk, single McLendon/Williams/Richardson/Mauldin/Jenkins (any 4), single Harris, and you have Lee taking on a tightend or a guard/center trying to get off the double team to the second level late. If we had a shit front, or not a lot of bigger space eaters up front I'd worry about Lee's size. With all of the size we have upfront, Lee's size doesn't worry me one bit. The front 7 should be elite and one of the best in football next year.
We haven't drafted a real offensive playmaker in round 1 in what seems like decades.Rex is gone but the philosphy has stayed the same
Scouts get it wrong when it's convenient for your argument. But they get it right when it works for your agenda. C'mon bro.
That makes ZERO sense. Is this the Jets board or what? I'm talking Jets scouts and in particular the last 16 when we had Terry Bradway impacting our drafts in a bad way. Please list the ones they got so right, it shouldn't take you long. Drafts not free agency.....drafts
The thing I like about Lee is it gives Bowles flexibility. Teams go no-huddle to prevent the other team from substituting, usually on passing downs, trapping slow LBrs like Harris or LBrs who can't cover like Davis. EVERY team would LOVE 3 down LBrs to diminish the advantage teams have by going to no-huddle. But on early downs defenses need BEEF to shed 350lb lineman and still tackle 240lb RB going full speed (Harris averages over 100 tackles a year in this roll, amoung the best in the NFL). But on passing downs, Harris/Davis get killed trying to cover new age TEs, super shifty slot guys, and wheel routs down the sidelines. To keep up with the run vs pass, coaches use sub-packages with leaner, faster ILBrs (unless the other team is in no-huddle). So in Maccagans quest for a 3 down ILB, the question is, is it easier to draft a 6'-4" 270 lb ILB that can stuff the run and coach him up to be Darrell Revis on passing downs, or is it easier to draft a 6'-1" 230lb speedster and who can cover sideline to sideline and coach him up another 15-20 pounds of run-stuffing muscle? I'd say the later. You can't coach speed. A player has it or he doesn't. Harris doesn't. Lee does. But you CAN coach lifting weights and tackling to a natural speedster like Lee and turn him into a rare 3 down ILB. Or at least that's the plan!
Man i'm loving this pick more and more by the day! I'm telling you guys... him and BRUCE CARTER and going to TAKE THIS DEFENSE TO ANOTHER LEVEL! Bruce Carter will earn himself an extension. BOOK IT. This will not be a defense "quick check-down QB's" (LIKE BRADY) will want to face. They both are very fast and athletic (At one point in college Bruce Carter clocked a 4.3!!!!! Look that up if ya don't believe it.) BALL HAWKS. I watched Bruce in Dallas, man he's a poor man's sean lee in the middle. Last time he was in a 3-4 defense mainly zoning in the middle back in 2014 he hauled in 5 picks and 11 pass deflections... took one to the house too!.. Obvious misfit in Lovie Smith's scheme... I think he'll be right back to his old form. Love David Harris but obviously his time is limited.
I like what you're saying but I worry about the whole idea of the line being "elite" We lost Snacks and still need to see who is going to pressure the QB, something we didn't do very well last season. It's all speculation thinking these guys are going to make the strides we are hoping for but it still remains to be seen. I'm just trying to temper my enthusiasm.
