with his stock being below a top 10, and questions about his shed abilities don't make him a top 6 pick. I believe that he can play the position, and being a USC LB, which has produced monster LBs in the past, he can be just as good or better than harris. He has the same build and IMO he can learn to play ILB just as quick. His stock is rising, so he will be looked at. Taking him at 6 wouldn't make me upset- think him and Harris plus jenkins removes running up the middle against us. Barton is a liability. Rivers could push our run D to the top 10.
With the exception of the parenthetical comments, the following is excerpted from Wikipedia: In the 3-4 defense, the weakside inside linebacker is typically called the "Will," (Rivers) while the strongside inside linebacker is called the "Mike" (Harris). The focus of the 3-4 defensive line is to occupy offensive linemen thus freeing the linebackers to tackle the running back or to rush the passer or otherwise drop into pass coverage (Rivers is an OK pass rusher and excellent in coverage). When it comes to the inside linebackers, one is generally a run stuffing player who is better able to handle offensive linemen and stop running backs when the offense features a running play(that would be Harris), while the other is often a smaller, faster player who excels in pass coverage (that would be Rivers). However, the smaller or cover LB should also be able to scrape and plug running lanes decently (which Rivers is more than capable of doing). On paper, he would appear to be a valuable potential addition.
Eh...I'm not a fan of Rivers so early because: 1. ILB's in the 3-4 aren't as valuable as OLBs. 2. He's nowhere near as physical as Willis and Harris, two very high picks for 3-4 ILBs. 3. I like Lofton, Leman, Goff, Bell...and a personal favorite sleeper at ILB, Jameel McClain.
in 2004 we were the 5th best rushing D in the League--- i don't know about next year, but we are on our way there. Its time to return to what we were used to just a few years ago.
At least the draft websites I'm reading seem to think he's a candidate to go at #7 to the Pats or even #5 to the Chiefs. He played all three LB positions in college and he's a solid tackler with the frame to add a little more weight. The knock on him has been his lower-body strength (he's built more like a SS right now). Personally, I think he would be very valuable in a 3-4 defense because he can cover like a safety. His speed would allow us to play him in the nickel and dime situations as a cover DB. I'm also willing to bet he'd be good against a TE or RB in pass coverage, neutralizing the fast-TE streaking down the middle that the Colts, Chargers, and even to some degree Patriots have used over the past few years. In any case, my preference is still one of the Longs or Gholston, but from a defensive perspective, he seems like someone that could fit our scheme and allow our defense to be more creative.
I think he would be a superstar and counldn't agree more on what role he would play in regards to dropping back in coverage. If we drafted him at 6th I wouldn't be upset about it that is for sure.
