Some thoughts from LZ Hopkins Most game-ready WR of the class Natural pass catcher Most fluid route runner of the early WRs in the draft Good catch radius Swearinger Tad early for him but should play in sub-coverages. Big hitter, a little limited in coverage Can handle some TEs but seen as a box safety B. Williams Good size, moves well in space but plenty of holes in his game Hands get too wide with pass protect Not fluid in change of direction Montgomery Shocked by the pick Heard the rumblings that his motor is hot & cold Doesn't think he fits Wade's scheme Not a fit for 3-4 OLB because they don't think he can't play in space(according to LSU coaches) Athletically, very average. Less talented pass rusher than Mercilus but more aggressive Shows pop when he gets his arms extended and into tackles T. Williams Potential to help early due to edge speed & versatility Quessenberry Doesn't have core strength Could be swing tackle, with ability to move inside to guard Bonner Nothing Jones NT written all over him Similar motor to Earl Mitchell Griffin "Your new Joel Dreessen" Tough blocker Tall with long arms UDFAs who intrigue RB Cierre Wood RB Dennis Johnson FB Zach Boren CB Johnny Adams
One thing that worries me is that I'm not really confident in any of Mercilus, Montgomery, or T. Williams dropping into coverage consistently. All 3 are converted DE's and are really more suited to be the Weakside OLB rush specialist. But somebody has to be the Sam if Reed moves inside. Mercilus did that some last year so the concern isn't quite as high with him. But he's the one that's been singled out as taking over Barwin's spot, which means either Montgomery or Williams will be the Sam if Reed moves inside. You can't rush both OLB every play. I've read/heard about both having issues with back peddling. Not time to make a huge deal out of it right now, but it's a point of concern until we see how it all plays out and they get on the field in the preseason. I'm just concerned that we'll have no true OLB in the traditional sense on the roster and that we'll have to suffer some growing pains of 2 rookies and a 2nd year player all trying to make the transition from DE.
Two responses I have to this: 1. Reed and Mercilus as our OLB core would not have been very good at rushing the passer OR coverage when you think of it. Reed would be our best player? He's not even very good given the role he's being thrust into. 2. There weren't any formative game-changing pass rushing OLB's available in this draft. Given how this OLB class was being evaluated, none of them save Dion Jordan was even projected to have the potential to be a Pro Bowl rusher. Last year was a much deeper draft; in fact, based on measurables and projections I'd equate our Mercilus pick to the Barkevious Mingo pick of this year. Understanding that there really weren't transcendant options for OLB/DE in this draft, I think we did the best we could. Barwin who did a bad job last year will be replaced by two guys this year. Montgomery will hold the edge and defend the run in the first two downs, and Williams will rush the passer in the third down. Williams will do better than Barwin did, and Montgomery will do worse than Barwin. Whatever. If Mercilus can be better than Mercilus of last year, we can still improve on the OLB front compared to what we ran out there last year. I don't think people understood how underwhelming our OLB play was last year. It can still improve. I actually like the decision to move Reed inside because I think he could be a much better ILB than he was as an OLB. He's not that great an OLB people!
