"Scary Interest" in USC S/LB Su'a Cravens

[TheRumGone]

I have no idea if we draft him or not but he looks like a tough football player. If we do have interest it must be for SS. Don't see how we draft another LB high quite yet or maybe they know something about Thomas that we don't. 

[Verge]

On 3/24/2016 at 10:17 AM, LinvilleGorge said:

This.  I've always argued that Earl Thomas is the piece that makes that's Seahawks secondary go.  

The issue with us having a SS like Craven is that we don't have an Earl Thomas.  With all due respect to Kurt Coleman, he's not Earl Thomas.

Without Kam, the Seahawks D struggled.

[ncfan]

This kid will not be a 1st rounder but definitely a guy I want in the 2nd.  Kid is a Great fit for us.  He's projected a SS not a FS. So he's going to be a guy who comes up into the box, Guard TE's etc.  The thing I Love about him is he'still just a natural football player with pretty good Athletic ability.  Smart football players running a 4.6 are just as good as a average guy running a 4.3  

This guy covers better than any hybrid guy I've seen come out in awhile at that hybrid spot.  He takes good angles, reads defenses like a book.  He reminds me of Luke in a sense as far as covering the field and making the tackle and not going for the big hit without wrapping. Would be a upgrade over the ageing Harper

[Matthias]

These are his pro day results:

40-yard dash: 4.69 seconds 
Vertical: 30 1/2 inches 
Short shuttle: 4.41 seconds 
3-cone: 6.92 seconds

Looking at these numbers, he will probably be a second round pick.  For teams interested in him at linebacker, I think they would be more willing to take him in the middle of the pack in the 2nd.  While teams interested in him playing safety, could consider him a 3rd rounder.  Honestly that 40 time scares me if we are considering him at safety.  I looked at Harper's time for reference, and according to google he ran at the 4.5 range.  Yet I'm not as familiar with the "Short shuttle" or "3-cone" drills.  Are his times there considered explosive?

[ncfan]

9 minutes ago, Matthias said:

These are his pro day results:

40-yard dash: 4.69 seconds 
Vertical: 30 1/2 inches 
Short shuttle: 4.41 seconds 
3-cone: 6.92 seconds

Looking at these numbers, he will probably be a second round pick.  For teams interested in him at linebacker, I think they would be more willing to take him in the middle of the pack in the 2nd.  While teams interested in him playing safety, could consider him a 3rd rounder.  Honestly that 40 time scares me if we are considering him at safety.  I looked at Harper's time for reference, and according to google he ran at the 4.5 range.  Yet I'm not as familiar with the "Short shuttle" or "3-cone" drills.  Are his times there considered explosive?

Think the 40 is a little overrated.  It does help but a smart football player can beat a track star any day.  I remember a guy out of USC who was a polar opposite, an absolute freak but has been a dud in Taylor Mays.  Harper ran a 4.5 a long long time ago.  He was atleast a late 4.7-4.8 guy last year.  The top WR in this class ran a 4.65 at his pro-day btw.  

Cravens has plenty of speed for SS

[TheSpecialJuan]

On ‎3‎/‎24‎/‎2016 at 8:55 PM, MHS831 said:

Cravens makes perfect sense to be the first-round pick.  Indulge me for a minute:

1.  He would start.  DE, DT, WR, CB--probably rotational at best.  Your first rounders should start in year 1. If DE, DT, CB, WR, etc are not needed to start, then we can draft them later and develop them for a season.

2.  More "bang for your buck."  Think upgrade here.  In my opinion, Boston would be a FS playing SS. Marlowe is depth and special teams.  Harper was the defense's weakest link.  I used to isolate on him-he was terrible. Take a passive, slow  bad player out and bringing a young quick good player takes the D to a new level like no other pick would..

3.  "The box"  Denver showed us what you can do with a front 7.  In Carolina, can you imagine the front 4 we have plus Davis, Luke, and Shaq with Cravens stepping into the box? 

4. Cravens can cover TEs.  Harper could not.  While Cravens might be (like Thompson last year) a high second rounder, he is more valuable to us than he is other teams. 

.

Good stuff. SI.com has him rated as the #23rd ranked player in this years draft.

[The Lone Panther]

I have a feeling we won't take him in the 1st, but trade up in the 2nd to get him. 

[Bartin]

35 minutes ago, Matthias said:

These are his pro day results:

40-yard dash: 4.69 seconds 
Vertical: 30 1/2 inches 
Short shuttle: 4.41 seconds 
3-cone: 6.92 seconds

Looking at these numbers, he will probably be a second round pick.  For teams interested in him at linebacker, I think they would be more willing to take him in the middle of the pack in the 2nd.  While teams interested in him playing safety, could consider him a 3rd rounder.  Honestly that 40 time scares me if we are considering him at safety.  I looked at Harper's time for reference, and according to google he ran at the 4.5 range.  Yet I'm not as familiar with the "Short shuttle" or "3-cone" drills.  Are his times there considered explosive?

The vert is pretty low, the 3 cone is slightly above average for a safety and good for a LB and the short shuttle is terrible for a safety and bad for a LB. For comparison, Shaq had a 6.98 3 cone and 4.08 short shuttle with a 33.5" vert last year. Shaq's short shuttle was elite.

[KDawg004]

Better for us. Let him fall to our 2nd round pick.

[jumpman910]

2 hours ago, Bartin said:

The vert is pretty low, the 3 cone is slightly above average for a safety and good for a LB and the short shuttle is terrible for a safety and bad for a LB. For comparison, Shaq had a 6.98 3 cone and 4.08 short shuttle with a 33.5" vert last year. Shaq's short shuttle was elite.

Just say you don't like the guy and let's move on. 

[Bartin]

1 minute ago, jumpman910 said:

Just say you don't like the guy and let's move on. 

Someone asked for context on those times so I provided it. I actually do like him, but only as a LB.

[Double Trouble]

PLEASE. My favorite trojan.  His instincts are crazy. He is a first round caliber player but people will look too much into his measurables which will cause him to fall. Late 2nd round he would be a steal.

[TheSpecialJuan]

Conclusion: The NFL has changed a lot in the last decade. Safety-linebacker hybrids like Michael Boulware used to come into the NFL without a defined position and tended to fade away quickly. But in today’s multiple pass defenses, where nickel and dime coverage have become the dominant base concepts, “tweeners” are more valuable than they’ve ever been. Many see Cravens as a traditional weakside linebacker, but I see him as a more valuable piece in the mold of what the Cardinals were smart enough to do with Deone Bucannon.

Arizona took Bucannon with the 27th pick in the 2014 draft and played him as a primary strong safety in his rookie season. Then, after losing Daryl Washington to suspension and Karlos Dansby to free agency and failing to fill those holes, they put Bucannon in a “Moneybacker” or “$LB” role, where he roamed from middle depth and made all kinds of non-traditional plays. The team that takes its nickel package and adjusts it to personnel, as the Cardinals did with Bucannon, may be the team that can get the most out of Cravens as a range player with rare positional depth.

Pro Comparison: Deone Bucannon, Cardinals (first round, 2014, Washington State)

[TheSpecialJuan]

Just now, TheSpecialJuan said:

Conclusion: The NFL has changed a lot in the last decade. Safety-linebacker hybrids like Michael Boulware used to come into the NFL without a defined position and tended to fade away quickly. But in today’s multiple pass defenses, where nickel and dime coverage have become the dominant base concepts, “tweeners” are more valuable than they’ve ever been. Many see Cravens as a traditional weakside linebacker, but I see him as a more valuable piece in the mold of what the Cardinals were smart enough to do with Deone Bucannon.

Arizona took Bucannon with the 27th pick in the 2014 draft and played him as a primary strong safety in his rookie season. Then, after losing Daryl Washington to suspension and Karlos Dansby to free agency and failing to fill those holes, they put Bucannon in a “Moneybacker” or “$LB” role, where he roamed from middle depth and made all kinds of non-traditional plays. The team that takes its nickel package and adjusts it to personnel, as the Cardinals did with Bucannon, may be the team that can get the most out of Cravens as a range player with rare positional depth.

Pro Comparison: Deone Bucannon, Cardinals (first round, 2014, Washington State)

http://www.si.com/nfl/2016/03/29/nfl-draft-big-board-prospects-william-jackson-sua-cravens