Nickel LB'ers

[mancl]

With the emergence of the athletic tight ends it is especially important to find LB
who can cover. Who are some LB's who can play pass defense? Thanks

[bitonti]

the guy from Utah State, Bobby Wagner, would be an ideal nickel linebacker. great in coverage.

[keylime_5]

Antonio Allen from South Carolina. I think that some team will draft him solely for that role. Not sure if he's a safety or a linebacker in the NFL, but he'll be put on the field to play sort of a hybrid role and cover tight ends.

[Dan_Steele]

Zach Brown, this guy runs like a corner. Will be a complete every-down backer at some point, might have to play solely on passing downs as a rookie.

[broncosfan]

Originally Posted by Dan_Steele

Zach Brown, this guy runs like a corner. Will be a complete every-down backer at some point, might have to play solely on passing downs as a rookie.

Hey! That's my guy!

[broncosfan]

Zach Brown has plenty of speed (I expect a sub 4.5 40 time) and size (6-3, 235) to take on TE and be an every-down player. If he puts it all together he will be an excellent linebacker.

[Prowler]

Sean Spence should be pretty good.

[keylime_5]

Zach Brown should be an every down player in the NFL and a great outside 'backer. There seems to be a niche these days for linebackers who only come on the field for nickel packages who are better in coverage, but not every down players. I think guys like Sean Spence, Antonio Allen are more in that mold.

Usually though that spot is filled by younger guys who aren't ready to start but are expected to be future starters, like Sean Lee in Dallas a couple years ago for example.

[mightytitan9]

I'll go with a guy most of you haven't even heard of, Emmanuel Lamur from Kansas State. Guy played Safety in junior college and his first year at K-State. He later moved to OLB because he's physical against the run and with the spread in the big 12, had great speed for a linebacker and could spread out and cover a slot receiver.

Listed at 6'5" 225, he's projected to measure 6'4" 230 and run under a 4.6 at his pro day. Best of all? He's projected to go undrafted

[Babylon]

I guess it's implied that Luke Kuechly is tops so why even mention his name.

[Duffman57]

Originally Posted by Babylon

I guess it's implied that Luke Kuechly is tops so why even mention his name.

IIRC Kuechly isn't a true thumper but he's not all that great in man coverage, with just average athleticism for the position, in man, i think he'll get burnt every day of the week by some of the better TE's.

One guy that i'm amazed hasn't been talked about yet is Nigel Bradham. He runs like the wind (one of the few people that i've seen that chased down Jeff Demps from behind...) and is incredibly athletic without being afraid to physical up and play man on with the more physical TE's. He also has long, 33+ inch arms to help him break passes up. As a 3rd or 4th rounder, he'd be a great TE stopping Nickel with potential to be much more than that.

[Sloopy]

Originally Posted by Duffman57

IIRC Kuechly isn't a true thumper but he's not all that great in man coverage, with just average athleticism for the position, in man, i think he'll get burnt every day of the week by some of the better TE's

This (10 char)

Zach Brown will be an every down guy but when it comes to athleticism, there aren't any better athletes at the LB position this year and he's definitely one of the top cover guys there.

Some are concerned about his weight/ability to shed blockers so he MAY actually end up in this nickel LB role with a chance to be a starter of the future.

On the other hand, he could come out and just be a beast (I want him for the Ravens)