feelosofer
#ninergang
Quick thoughts on the additions
Daniel Helm TE - With Garrett Celek still recovering from his back surgery. We can add another TE who can possibly develop and compete. In the little I've seen of him he seems like a really athlete and a willing blocker, but he needs to hit the weight room and gain play strength and work on his hands as he is not a great catcher. He will get mauled in run blocking so he's better as a potential Move TE though he can play off the line of scrimmage with some seasoning. Potential reserve though honestly I'm not sure if he can even beat out Ross Dwelley in camp.
Skills: D+
Performance: D+
Potential: C-
Overall: D+
Jordan Thompson - 2019 UDFA (initially picked up by the Colts). I will keep this short, he should either put on 20 pounds and commit as a interior tackle in the NFL or drop 15 and work as an end/rusher. Weirdly enough he has the frame to be either but he does not have the talent level to be both.
Skills: D-
Performance: F
Potential: D
Overall: D-
Lets Talk about the Linebackers on the team as we move to our 1st preseason. The other groups QB though the D-Line are on the old thread.
Fred Warner - 2018 3rd Round draft pick. Led the team last year in tackles. Another great value pick who should be a staple on the the teams defense. After seeing him in school, I knew he would be a great run stopper. He takes great angles and attacks his assignments with this 6'3 236 lb muscular frame. What pleasantly surprised me is that he's pretty solid when asked to cover and can cover even quicker TEs and and take some mid-level zone responsibilities. Warner should be a staple of the defense for years to come.
Skills: B+
Performance: A
Potential: B+
Overall: A-
Kwon Alexander - 2015 Tampa Bay draft pick in the 4th round. Kwon Alexander was a player who I think was not a system fit for Tampa Bay, despite he has managed to play at a near Pro-Bowl level out side of last last year where he tore his ACL. While it's likely we may not see him until maybe a few weeks into Kwon was more of 4-3 linebacker and Tampa Bay played in a lot of 3-4 base concepts.In our defense, he will likely play more of the WILL role once he's back up to speed. Kwon has great closing speed and is solid in coverage and take great tackles, sort of reminds me a bit of Julian Peterson but not as rangy.
Skills: B+
Performance: B
Potential: B
Overall: B
Mark Nzeocha - Coming in last year he played pretty solidly as a starting SAM. Mark has been a solid veteran and while I don't think he's the leagues best linebacker he is a good. He's a good run stopper though he's been a liability when asked to cover. With that said, while he doesn't blow up plays, he also makes less mistakes than Eli Harold did, even though Eli was actually better in coverage.
Skills: C+-
Performance: B-
Potential: C+
Overall: C+
Malcolm Smith - Signed a few years back, this was considered a fairly high profile signing but he's has been a disappointment. He tore his pec in training camp in 2017 and the little he played last year smecked of below average. This is probably his last camp if he doesn't impress.
Skills: C+
Performance: D-
Potential: D-
Overall: D
Dre Greenlaw - Rookie linebacker from Arkansas. Picked in the 2019, NFL Draft, I thought he was a little undersized but you know the old saying about dogs and fights, and he seems to be impressing in training camp thus far. I expect him to not only make the 53 but make the linebacker rotation and make some plays, too. He may even take over for Malcolm Smith
Skills: C
Performance: C
Potential: B-
Overall: C+
Elijah Lee - 2017 NFL Draft 7th round pick. Elijah Lee has been a nice depth pickup for us. While is a little undersized for LB and an average athlete on paper he has given it all when he does get out there. I expect him to make the 53 man roster again as he is a good special teams contributor.
Skills: C
Performance: D+
Potential: C+
Overall: C
David Mayo - Depth and special teams player. Basically Brock Coyle's younger replacement. Nothing special, but he's a competent football player and can probably be a contributor for another 3 or 4 years.
Skills: D
Performance: D
Potential: D
Overall: D
LaRoy Reynolds - Mostly a special teams player, he can be used as emergency depth, but he starts a game, we are in some trouble. He's more of a bid body athlete than an NFL linebacker.
Skills: D
Performance: F
Potential: D
Overall: D-
Aziz Al-Shair - 2019 UDFA, this is one of those players could be a sleeper pickups. This is a player that with some molding could be a potential depth player or even a starter down the road. He showed pass rush ability in college before his 2018 knee injury. Luckily for him there is virtually no depth outside of the starters so he could even make the 53 playing on special teams. Provided he remains healthy over the course of camp/preseason.
Skills: D
Perfomance: D+
Potential: C
Overall: D+
Unit Analysis: Depth is a major issue in this group. If the starters go down, we are stuck with sub-par players and young guys who are still wet behind the ears. This camp gives value training and experience to the young guys, and that's good because they better stay limber and in shape, some of these young guys may be asked to come in the game sooner than expect with a stray injury or two. Cross you fingers, hold your breath.
Unit Grade: C+
Daniel Helm TE - With Garrett Celek still recovering from his back surgery. We can add another TE who can possibly develop and compete. In the little I've seen of him he seems like a really athlete and a willing blocker, but he needs to hit the weight room and gain play strength and work on his hands as he is not a great catcher. He will get mauled in run blocking so he's better as a potential Move TE though he can play off the line of scrimmage with some seasoning. Potential reserve though honestly I'm not sure if he can even beat out Ross Dwelley in camp.
Skills: D+
Performance: D+
Potential: C-
Overall: D+
Jordan Thompson - 2019 UDFA (initially picked up by the Colts). I will keep this short, he should either put on 20 pounds and commit as a interior tackle in the NFL or drop 15 and work as an end/rusher. Weirdly enough he has the frame to be either but he does not have the talent level to be both.
Skills: D-
Performance: F
Potential: D
Overall: D-
Lets Talk about the Linebackers on the team as we move to our 1st preseason. The other groups QB though the D-Line are on the old thread.
Fred Warner - 2018 3rd Round draft pick. Led the team last year in tackles. Another great value pick who should be a staple on the the teams defense. After seeing him in school, I knew he would be a great run stopper. He takes great angles and attacks his assignments with this 6'3 236 lb muscular frame. What pleasantly surprised me is that he's pretty solid when asked to cover and can cover even quicker TEs and and take some mid-level zone responsibilities. Warner should be a staple of the defense for years to come.
Skills: B+
Performance: A
Potential: B+
Overall: A-
Kwon Alexander - 2015 Tampa Bay draft pick in the 4th round. Kwon Alexander was a player who I think was not a system fit for Tampa Bay, despite he has managed to play at a near Pro-Bowl level out side of last last year where he tore his ACL. While it's likely we may not see him until maybe a few weeks into Kwon was more of 4-3 linebacker and Tampa Bay played in a lot of 3-4 base concepts.In our defense, he will likely play more of the WILL role once he's back up to speed. Kwon has great closing speed and is solid in coverage and take great tackles, sort of reminds me a bit of Julian Peterson but not as rangy.
Skills: B+
Performance: B
Potential: B
Overall: B
Mark Nzeocha - Coming in last year he played pretty solidly as a starting SAM. Mark has been a solid veteran and while I don't think he's the leagues best linebacker he is a good. He's a good run stopper though he's been a liability when asked to cover. With that said, while he doesn't blow up plays, he also makes less mistakes than Eli Harold did, even though Eli was actually better in coverage.
Skills: C+-
Performance: B-
Potential: C+
Overall: C+
Malcolm Smith - Signed a few years back, this was considered a fairly high profile signing but he's has been a disappointment. He tore his pec in training camp in 2017 and the little he played last year smecked of below average. This is probably his last camp if he doesn't impress.
Skills: C+
Performance: D-
Potential: D-
Overall: D
Dre Greenlaw - Rookie linebacker from Arkansas. Picked in the 2019, NFL Draft, I thought he was a little undersized but you know the old saying about dogs and fights, and he seems to be impressing in training camp thus far. I expect him to not only make the 53 but make the linebacker rotation and make some plays, too. He may even take over for Malcolm Smith
Skills: C
Performance: C
Potential: B-
Overall: C+
Elijah Lee - 2017 NFL Draft 7th round pick. Elijah Lee has been a nice depth pickup for us. While is a little undersized for LB and an average athlete on paper he has given it all when he does get out there. I expect him to make the 53 man roster again as he is a good special teams contributor.
Skills: C
Performance: D+
Potential: C+
Overall: C
David Mayo - Depth and special teams player. Basically Brock Coyle's younger replacement. Nothing special, but he's a competent football player and can probably be a contributor for another 3 or 4 years.
Skills: D
Performance: D
Potential: D
Overall: D
LaRoy Reynolds - Mostly a special teams player, he can be used as emergency depth, but he starts a game, we are in some trouble. He's more of a bid body athlete than an NFL linebacker.
Skills: D
Performance: F
Potential: D
Overall: D-
Aziz Al-Shair - 2019 UDFA, this is one of those players could be a sleeper pickups. This is a player that with some molding could be a potential depth player or even a starter down the road. He showed pass rush ability in college before his 2018 knee injury. Luckily for him there is virtually no depth outside of the starters so he could even make the 53 playing on special teams. Provided he remains healthy over the course of camp/preseason.
Skills: D
Perfomance: D+
Potential: C
Overall: D+
Unit Analysis: Depth is a major issue in this group. If the starters go down, we are stuck with sub-par players and young guys who are still wet behind the ears. This camp gives value training and experience to the young guys, and that's good because they better stay limber and in shape, some of these young guys may be asked to come in the game sooner than expect with a stray injury or two. Cross you fingers, hold your breath.
Unit Grade: C+
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