Thomas Davis high on Shaq Thompson, calls Shaq "a better athlete than was," proud to be compared to Shaq

[gettlemanjack]

Giants beat reporter for New York Daily News Ebenezer Samuel @ ebenezersamuel

Apr 26

Why Shaq Thompson is more of a lock to go in the first round

of the NFL draft than people think:

New York Daily News

April 26, 2015

“He’s a Day-1 guy for teams that are only a few pieces away from making the next step in the playoffs,” the scout said

...

In the hands of a creative defensive coordinator, he’s an ultra-dangerous chess piece, capable of shifting between safety and linebacker, wreaking havoc with a quarterback’s pre-snap reads

...

He's a “Swiss Army knife kind of guy,” according to Giants GM Jerry Reese. “I think the more you can do in this league (the better),” Reese said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/nfl-draft-15-shaq-thompson-lb-article-1.2199602?l

[CatalystNX]

I'd love Shaq at strong safety, but I have questions about his ability to play OLB in the NFL. It's not that I think he'll be awful there, just that he has all-pro potential at safety and I'm not sure that's true of him at linebacker.

[Panthers8969]

Crazy both TD and Shaq himself went out of their way to point out that Shaq is faster than a 4.6 forty when that is what the other All-Pros Shaq compares to ran at their Combines:

4.63 - ILB C.J. Mosley All-Pro

4.64 - Shaq Thompson

4.65 - Lavonte David All-Pro

4.66 - Thomas Davis

4.69 - Kam Chancellor All-Pro

as for the rest of the measurables:

Size:

6-2/234 - ILB C.J. Mosley All-Pro

6-1/233 - OLB Lavonte David All-Pro

6-3/231 - SS Kam Chancellor All-Pro

6-1/230 - OLB Thomas Davis

6-0/228 - Shaq Thompson

225 Lb. Bench Reps (upper body strength):

22 - Kam Chancellor

20 - Shaq Thompson

19 - Lavonte David All-Pro

15 - ILB C.J. Mosley All-Pro

DNP - Thomas Davis

Broad Jump (lower body strength):

09'11" - Lavonte David All-Pro

09'10" - ILB C.J. Mosley All-Pro

09'09" - Shaq Thompson

09'08" - Kam Chancellor All-Pro

09'07" - Thomas Davis

3-Cone Drill (which many scouts consider the most important):

6.99 - Shaq Thompson

7.09 - OLB Thomas Davis

7.28 - OLB Lavonte David All-Pro

7.30 - ILB C.J. Mosley All-Pro

7.36 - SS Kam Chancellor All-Pro

20 Yrd Shuttle (sideline-to-sideline speed)

3.97 - Thomas Davis

4.08 - Shaq Thompson

4.22 - Lavonte David All-Pro

4.40 - ILB C.J. Mosley All-Pro

4.41 - Kam Chancellor All-Pro

Very informative post, surprised no one else pied it honestly. But I digress, I haven't looked into Shaq much but the fact that he plays 3 positions scares me honestly. I would've liked to see him focus on defense in college and leave the playing on both O and D stuff in high school. Of course that doesn't mean he won't be a great lb just be he plays other stuff, but it does mean other lb have spent more time training to be a lb. the praise from TD means a lot but it could just be a

Dun dun dun

Drum roll please

Smokescreen

[gettlemanjack]

Seven-year NFL veteran S Matt Bowen (30 starts for 3 teams, primarily at SS) on Shaq:

Matt Bowen @ MattBowen41

Apr 8

I see Shaq Thompson as an OLB that can play SS in nickel/dime

based on scheme.

"To me, Thompson is one of the more interesting prospects in this draft class ... Thompson is a playmaker. And guys like that make your football team better. ... the tape, the true grading tool used by scouts and decision-makers in the NFL, tells me that this guy can flat-out play football regardless of where he lines up on Sundays.

...

As a linebacker, he can close on the ball-carrier, utilize his lateral speed to track down the play and drop into coverage to break on the throw.

...

Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller told me he likes Thompson as a linebacker in a 40 front, NFL Network’s Mike Mayock sees him as a safety, and the NFL scouts I’ve talked with are split on where the former Husky will play in the pros.

I tend to side with the scouts who see Thompson as an outside linebacker in a 4-3 scheme. And I would put him on the weak side (Will) where he can run to the ball, scrape over the top and clean up. Think of Lovie Smith’s scheme in Tampa with the playmaker at the Will 'backer position. Thompson could be that guy.

...

as a “run and hit” defender who can locate the ball and use his athletic ability to attack the running game, Thompson is a fit.

Plus, as a linebacker who drops into coverage in passing situations, I see a fluid prospect who can play underneath as a zone defender, read the quarterback and then accelerate to go make a play. A ‘backer who creates opportunities. What about matching up on a tight end or a running back out of the backfield in man-coverage? Yeah, the athleticism and football awareness is there to get that done.

...

at safety, he translates as an underneath defender, a safety that is utilized in the box

...

And we can’t forget about special teams, as Thompson has the ideal skill set to play a variety of roles on all four-core units. That’s a coach's dream. You want athletes on the field in the kicking game, guys that produce and eventually have to be game-planned for by opposing squads. Those are difference-makers."

http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles/2419536-shaq-thompsons-versatility-can-translate-to-the-nfl-level

[gettlemanjack]

rsenreport.com Donovan James @ DonJamesSports

A few sources around the league I've emailed have said Shaq Thompson is main target of two NFC East teams radar.

(note that a good bit of the most recent mocks have Shaq going to the Cowboys in the first)

[London Loves Luke]

I keep hearing Thompson struggles in coverage and was completely schooled a couple of times vs shifty slot receivers in school. Is this likely to be a problem given we use TD to nullify TEs whenever we face NO, NE and Seattle? 

[gettlemanjack]

I keep hearing Thompson struggles in coverage and was completely schooled a couple of times vs shifty slot receivers in school. Is this likely to be a problem given we use TD to nullify TEs whenever we face NO, NE and Seattle?

you're thinking of Landon Collins, he's a sub-par athlete that gets roasted in coverage. Shaq is a great athlete that excels in coverage

Jordan Plocher @ StarvingScout

Washington Huskies OLB Shaq Thompson is so good in

coverage that he eliminates Tight End production or he can do

this (posted youtube of a Shaq Pick 6)

Matt Millerv@ nfldraftscout

Mar 16

Shaq Thompson... a rare athlete in coverage + range.

Doug Kyed @ DougKyedNESN

Watching Shaq Thompson closely. ... he'll enter the NFL as the league's best coverage LB.

NFL_DRAFT_Bites @ NFLDraftBites

-Shaq Thompson 's position question overblown. He's a WLB

plays all 3 downs & is exceptional in coverage. LOVE his fit Mike

Zimmer's Vikings

-Shaq Thompsonis a Prototypical WiLL flows to ball w/ exceptional speed. Will be incredible in coverage

[gettlemanjack]

Sports Illustrated:

"Then there was Shaq Thompson.

...

“He’s a freak among freaks,” gushed one AFC executive to SI.com. The executive meant that as the highest form of compliment. By the end of the NFL draft, one of 32 NFL coaches will be saying how Thompson allows their defense to be more “multiple,” a favored expression of jargon among those who study and coach football players. By multiple, they mean their defenses can do, well, more stuff, present offenses with varied looks, shift and take shape and shift again to confuse quarterbacks.

...

In the NFL, there is value in the versatile. More value, it seems, every year.

...

The Seahawks allowed the fewest points of any NFL defense the past three seasons, and they did so with a celebrated secondary that contains a quarterback converted to strong safety ( Kam Chancellor ) and a receiver turned cornerbackb( Richard Sherman ). Their best defensive lineman, Michael Bennett , plays end and tackle. His ability to rush inside and command double teams allows flexibility in the scheme. His defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn, recently became head coach of the Falcons . Quinn wants guys like Bennett, wants to follow the Seahawks’ blueprint. “All of the guys, we’re going to try and find out what type of versatility they have and try to feature them in every way we can,” he says.

...

The Seahawks, as their coach Pete Carroll says, “value uniqueness.” That’s why their secondary is the best – and the tallest – in pro football. “The more versatility, of course, the added value,” Carroll says

http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/02/25/2015-nfl-draft-shaq-thompson-versatility

[London Loves Luke]

you're thinking of Landon Collins, he's a sub-par athlete that gets roasted in coverage. Shaq is a great athlete that excels in coverage

Jordan Plocher @ StarvingScout

Washington Huskies OLB Shaq Thompson is so good in

coverage that he eliminates Tight End production or he can do

this (posted youtube of a Shaq Pick 6)

Matt Millerv@ nfldraftscout

Mar 16

Shaq Thompson... a rare athlete in coverage + range.

Doug Kyed @ DougKyedNESN

Watching Shaq Thompson closely. ... he'll enter the NFL as the league's best coverage LB.

NFL_DRAFT_Bites @ NFLDraftBites

-Shaq Thompson 's position question overblown. He's a WLB

plays all 3 downs & is exceptional in coverage. LOVE his fit Mike

Zimmer's Vikings

-Shaq Thompsonis a Prototypical WiLL flows to ball w/ exceptional speed. Will be incredible in coverage

 

Good point, remember that was the criticism of Collins rather than Shaq. Feel good on Shaq for Thursday, I had him quite high on my 1st round draft board last week but he should be rising as Shane Ray and Landon Collins slide.  

[gettlemanjack]

Lions blogger Ty Schalter:

"Thompson looks like a cross between Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis and Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Kiko Alonso ... Whether he plays as a strong safety who comes up into the box on run downs, a 4-3 outside linebacker, a 3-4 inside linebacker who excels in coverage (like Alonso) or a roving hybrid like the Bandit in a 3-3-5, Thompson is exactly the kind of versatile player NFL defenses need to combat today's highly multiple offenses.

With blocking tight ends and pulling guards leading the way for committees of tailbacks with different skills and styles, and athletic tight ends, running backs and receivers lining up all over the field in exotic formations and combinations, players like Thompson are more valuable—not less.

In today's NFL, every down is a passing situation and versatility is a must. Pure run-stuffing linebackers are a dying breed, and pure strong safeties are next on the endangered list.

Arguing over which square hole to hammer Thompson into is missing the point.

Thompson is the kind of player a smart defensive coordinator won't ever take off the field."

http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles/2418567-can-washington-lb-shaq-thompson-play-safety-in-the-nfl

[Bartin]

6. SHAQ THOMPSON, Washington (6-0, 228, 4.59, 2): Won the Paul Hornung Award as the nation's most versatile player. "He's played running back, safety, linebacker," one scout said. "He hasn't played linebacker very much. Lavonte David was much more instinctive. You hope if he just sticks to one position he can learn how to use his hands, which he doesn't now." Despite averaging 7.5 yards in 61 rushes, he has told teams he wants to play only LB. "I don't see him as a backer," another scout said. "Once he sees the ball he is so quick and so explosive he can make plays, but I don't think he's instinctive." Finished with 233 tackles (15 for loss), 3½ sacks and 13 big plays (four defensive TDs in '14). "I think he's another Adam Archuleta," a third scout said. "Archuleta played linebacker and they moved him to box safety and blitzed him. Same guy." Had an unsuccessful stint in 2012 as a minor-league outfielder. Third-year junior. "They (Husky coaches) were so tired of him they virtually said to him, 'You've got a great shot. It's probably best for you to go this year,'" a scout said. "He made a lot of stupid 15-yard penalties. I was surprised (coach) Chris Petersen put up with him." From Sacramento.

Shaq is overrated and the TD comparison is lazy and means you didn't watch TD in college. TD's best comp is actually Landon Collins. He was a FS at Georgia who was used as a rush LB on 3rd downs and he struggled in coverage. Instincts and run defense were his biggest strengths.

[gettlemanjack]

the latest big board by Rotoworld's Josh Notris has Shaq as the #18 overall prospect in the draft

18. LB Shaq Thompson , Washington

NFL Comparison: Thomas Davis/b]

Where He Wins: Quickness, speed, comfort and aggression. Many linemen are now more scared of linebackers who use athleticism to get around blocks rather than meet them face up. The game seems to slow down for Thompson when attempting to force fumbles or make a play on the ball. Has displayed man coverage skills, which is tough to find at the position at the college level. Don't worry about his position, just his role.

http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/cfb/53780/325/nfl-draft-rankings-top-200

[Donald LaFell]

I'm all about Shaq Thompson

[Fidel Cashflow]

I'm all about Shaq Thompson

 

.........in the 2nd.