Looked like a really special athlete at the combine, and when you couple that with his on field play at Cal (Pac 12 Defensive player of the year, 108 tackles, 14.5 TFL, 3 sacks in 2011), he looks like a dynamic playmaker who can rush the QB (played OLB in 2010 and had 8.5 sacks and 15 TFL), tackle, defend the pass, and contribute on special teams. He's a bit undersized (5'11" 235) and doesn't seem to fit into any one position, which could cause him to drop into rounds 2-3, but he has a round 1 resume in terms of athletic measurables and on field play. This is the kind of hybrid player the team needs on D IMO, and I believe Rex could find ways to get him onto the field. It would seem that this kid can do all of the "other" things, like tackling and covering the TE, that Maybin cannot.
He's already a mid round rated guy. He's really more of a 43 ILB than a 34 guy. He's on the light side and very short. Running with a TE is not going to help if they have 6 inches of height on you. He'd be good underneath, but the deep seam routes that hurt our Defense will not be fixed by adding a guy like him.
Could be a good role player. We already have Maybin as undersized LB but if coaches think they can put 15-20 pounds of muscle on this kid then I wouldn't mind seeing a mid round pick on him.
