I want this guy even if we get White...

[*SHRacerX*]

David Long, Jr

He's lethal fast.  A sure tackler with great balance.  We have two very mobile QBs in our division now, and Baltimore will be running plenty of read-option.  Long has great instincts and could be available in the 3rd round.  I would LOVE to have this guy AND Devin White.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqB2kv3D1TQ&ab_channel=Stadium

And here is his combine numbers and review:

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/david-long?id=32194c4f-4e20-9927-7a66-9bb9ab3a3708

Before anyone says "too small", watch the highlights and how sure a tackler he is, and he even chased down Kyler Murray (and forced a fumble).  He is almost the exact same size as Odell Thurman.  I love his leadership and his nose for the ball.  We need football players like him, not another athlete that has poor instincts (Jefferson and Evans)

And here is his Pro Day numbers where he ran a 4.45 forty yard dash (!)

http://dubvnation.com/pro-day-could-be-stock-helper-for-some-mountaineers/

[impactplaya]

Its imperative we draft LBers that can chase down QBs
and be able to finish.
this defense has lacked fast fluid LBers for so long now.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

Loved watching this guy last year when i got to see West Virginia. I don't care about size with our Linebackers unless they are tiny and don't play with swagger. Long plays with attitude and is a leader. Takes great angles, tackles well and is a great run stopper. My only question with him is how good he is in coverage?

Didn't see him dropping into coverage much in this vid.

Where is that Safety Kenny Robinson projected? He made a nice hit on one of those fumbles?

[Au165]

Not a sure tackler as OP stated. He goes flying in and misses quit a few instead of breaking down for form tackles. He does have some questions in my mind in coverage, specifically he is such a willing run support guy he gets sucked into the wash on PA. I think he has upside, but he could also be Vigil 2.0.

[wolfkaosaun]

(03-30-2019, 02:18 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Loved watching this guy last year when i got to see West Virginia. I don't care about size with our Linebackers unless they are tiny and don't play with swagger. Long plays with attitude and is a leader. Takes great angles, tackles well and is a great run stopper. My only question with him is how good he is in coverage?

Didn't see him dropping into coverage much in this vid.

Where is that Safety Kenny Robinson projected? He made a nice hit on one of those fumbles?

Long typically struggles with play action, as well as RPO.
He plays fast and hard, which is great. He doesn't hesitate. But he will sometimes overshoot his lane or commit to a play when the play is designed to go somewhere else.

He needs to clean up some of his technique, but there's certainly talent there. If he can learn how to read and react better, he'll be a solid starter in the NFL

[Okeana]

The question is do you draft him or Cashman for WILL? Cashman is the better linebacker IMO and his athletic talent shown on tape matches what we saw at the combine.

[Au165]

(03-30-2019, 05:31 PM)Okeana Wrote: The question is do you draft him or Cashman for WILL? Cashman is the better linebacker IMO and his athletic talent shown on tape matches what we saw at the combine.

Cashman strikes me more as a coverage specialist who will be more of a Nickle backer but may not see the field much in base, atleast early in his career.

[Okeana]

(03-30-2019, 07:47 PM)Au165 Wrote: Cashman strikes me more as a coverage specialist who will be more of a Nickle backer but may not see the field much in base, atleast early in his career.

Really?  sure he can cover but he screams WILL to me all day long.  He has extremely high football IQ and can diagnose plays quickly than the speed to get where he needs to be.  He could add a bit more strength, but other than that I really don't understand why this guy isn't getting more buzz.  

[*Synric*]

Issue with David Long Jr. is the 335 defense WVU ran his production isnt likely to translate to the NFL. Like most players coming out of WVU there will be a large learning curve for Long but he is a Devin White or a Devin Bush lite.

Off topic but I'm glad WVU changed coaching staffs because they will use alot more NFL schemes which will help recruiting.

[treee]

After watching his tape vs Oklahoma, I'd take him in the 4th if he's there. If we had a later pick then 3rd would probably be justifiable. Seems like he is in quicksand a bit too often.

[*SHRacerX*]

(03-30-2019, 02:36 PM)Au165 Wrote: Not a sure tackler as OP stated. He goes flying in and misses quit a few instead of breaking down for form tackles. He does have some questions in my mind in coverage, specifically he is such a willing run support guy he gets sucked into the wash on PA. I think he has upside, but he could also be Vigil 2.0.

"One of the better pure tacklers in this class rarely missing one"- Athlon sports

And this backs up every game I watched him play.  He is the unquestioned leader of the defense at WVU.  

[*SHRacerX*]

(03-30-2019, 02:18 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Loved watching this guy last year when i got to see West Virginia. I don't care about size with our Linebackers unless they are tiny and don't play with swagger. Long plays with attitude and is a leader. Takes great angles, tackles well and is a great run stopper. My only question with him is how good he is in coverage?

Didn't see him dropping into coverage much in this vid.

Where is that Safety Kenny Robinson projected? He made a nice hit on one of those fumbles?

He is very solid in coverage, especially on short crossing routes and TEs.  Long has great anticipation and closing speed.  I can't believe he is projected by some as a 5th rounder.  The only knock I can see is his size and he is very similar in size to Devin Bush.  When you watch WVU, he simply jumps off the page.  

Robinson is heading in to his junior season so he may come out next year.  

[*SHRacerX*]

(03-30-2019, 05:31 PM)Okeana Wrote: The question is do you draft him or Cashman for WILL?  Cashman is the better linebacker IMO and his athletic talent shown on tape matches what we saw at the combine.

Long would be more of a MLB in base, and could also project as a nickel next to White/Bush/Vigil.  

[Au165]

(03-31-2019, 09:12 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: "One of the better pure tacklers in this class rarely missing one"- Athlon sports

And this backs up every game I watched him play.  He is the unquestioned leader of the defense at WVU.  

I can pull a quote from a site too...

“Tape is full of missed tackles”- NFL.com

“Though he does a good job of getting pieces of ball carrier, he isn’t a sound tackler who generally will give ground when tackling.”- Draft Network

I’d say watch more games. I have my notes at work and I think I started counting missed tackles. I’ll see if I can post my notes tomorrow if I have time. He gets over aggressive at times dropping his head selling out and just misses.

[NATI BENGALS]

And he is from Cincinnati. I am all about loading the roster with local products. In hopes they have they same shitty taste in their mouth that i do from all the losing. This is a city that needs a championship.

[*SHRacerX*]

(03-31-2019, 11:01 AM)Au165 Wrote: I can pull a quote from a site too...

“Tape is full of missed tackles”- NFL.com

“Though he does a good job of getting pieces of ball carrier, he isn’t a sound tackler who generally will give ground when tackling.”- Draft Network

I’d say watch more games. I have my notes at work and I think I started counting missed tackles. I’ll see if I can post my notes tomorrow if I have time. He gets over aggressive at times dropping his head selling out and just misses.

I don't know if they would credit it as a missed tackle, but he got to really speedy receivers, backs, and QBs on the move and sometimes was barely able to get a leg-grab, but he would slow them up enough to have someone finish them or the would ultimately drag them down.  The amazing thing to me is to watch what he does in space and see a site call him a "drag and drop tackler".  I guess the likes of our LB corps wouldn't get that insult because they would never get close enough to get a hold on them.  

Watch his game tape vs. Oklahoma...one of the best offenses in the league.  And it wasn't like he had an All-Pro defensive line in front of him.  

He is as fast as Bush and White, comparable in size, and amazing going sideline to sideline.  If we don't get a first round LB, I think he is a great option.  

[Au165]

(03-31-2019, 12:29 PM)SHRacerX Wrote: I don't know if they would credit it as a missed tackle, but he got to really speedy receivers, backs, and QBs on the move and sometimes was barely able to get a leg-grab, but he would slow them up enough to have someone finish them or the would ultimately drag them down.  The amazing thing to me is to watch what he does in space and see a site call him a "drag and drop tackler".  I guess the likes of our LB corps wouldn't get that insult because they would never get close enough to get a hold on them.  

Watch his game tape vs. Oklahoma...one of the best offenses in the league.  And it wasn't like he had an All-Pro defensive line in front of him.  

He is as fast as Bush and White, comparable in size, and amazing going sideline to sideline.  If we don't get a first round LB, I think he is a great option.  

Yea, he isn’t a bad option. My issues were him dropping his head and missing some tackles and him wanting to play the run too aggressively and getting burned on PA because he didn’t get deep enough drops. There are worse options in this draft.

[*Synric*]

(03-30-2019, 02:18 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08 Wrote: Where is that Safety Kenny Robinson projected? He made a nice hit on one of those fumbles?

Quit trying to steal my future pro bowl safety early Nate. WVU gets to keep him for at least one more year.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(03-30-2019, 03:32 PM)wolfkaosaun Wrote: Long typically struggles with play action, as well as RPO.
He plays fast and hard, which is great. He doesn't hesitate. But he will sometimes overshoot his lane or commit to a play when the play is designed to go somewhere else.

He needs to clean up some of his technique, but there's certainly talent there. If he can learn how to read and react better, he'll be a solid starter in the NFL

Thanks Wolf, always love your analysis man. Sounds like a great 3rd round pick to me.

(03-31-2019, 09:17 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: He is very solid in coverage, especially on short crossing routes and TEs.  Long has great anticipation and closing speed.  I can't believe he is projected by some as a 5th rounder.  The only knock I can see is his size and he is very similar in size to Devin Bush.  When you watch WVU, he simply jumps off the page.  

Robinson is heading in to his junior season so he may come out next year.  

Awesome Racer, that is what i wanted to hear about Long. Coverage is a must.

He did jump off the screen to me when i watched WVU. These are types of players i want here.

Thanks for that on Robinson, didn't know.

(03-31-2019, 12:26 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: And he is from Cincinnati. I am all about loading the roster with local products. In hopes they have they same shitty taste in their mouth that i do from all the losing. This is a city that needs a championship.

Cool that he is from Cincy, no doubt Cincy needs a championship brother...

(03-31-2019, 02:14 PM)Synric Wrote: Quit trying to steal my future pro bowl safety early Nate. WVU gets to keep him for at least one more year.

Haha, maybe we can get Long this year and Kenny next year eh?

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(03-30-2019, 08:47 PM)Okeana Wrote: Really?  sure he can cover but he screams WILL to me all day long.  He has extremely high football IQ and can diagnose plays quickly than the speed to get where he needs to be.  He could add a bit more strength, but other than that I really don't understand why this guy isn't getting more buzz.  

I need to study up more on Cashman i see. The one position at LB i think we might be okay at is WILL though.

Vigil plays decent at WILL and not so decent at SAM. We need a SAM and a MIKE backer to backup Preston if he doesn't play well. Really hoping to see Malik Jefferson make the jump but it sure was puzzling to me how he didn't get a shot last year while a terrible player like Nickerson saw the field. So happy Haslett is gone...