Four Fit the Mold at LB

C M Y K E12 DAILY 04-26-07 MD RE E12 CMYK E12 Thursday, April 26, 2007 R The Washington Post Professional Football NOTEBOOK Four Fit Source: Oakland Considering The Mold NFL Draft Today: Linebackers There are no pass-rushing terrors like Shawne Merriman Quinn, Russell and Johnson or DeMarcus Ware in this group, and no likely top 10 Mark Maske said Reese, who selected quarter- choices. But there are four possible first-round By back Vince Young for the Titans with selections. The talent drops off from there, and the Washington Post Staff Writer At LB the third overall choice in last year’s overall linebacker class is not considered particularly The Oakland Raiders, who have draft. strong. the top overall selection in this week- Top Prospects Have end’s NFL draft, have had prelimi- Chiefs Trade Hall to Rams nary contract negotiations with rep- Traditional Skills resentatives for Georgia Tech wide The Kansas City Chiefs traded receiver Calvin Johnson and quarter- wide receiver and kick returner Dan- By Mark Maske backs JaMarcus Russell of Louisiana te Hall to the St. Louis Rams for a Washington Post Staff Writer State and Brady Quinn of Notre fifth-round choice this weekend. Hall Dame, sources familiar with the de- has 11 career touchdowns on punt As the last few NFL drafts ap- Patrick Willis liberations said yesterday. and kickoff returns, but only two of proached, it was difficult to get a Top 10 Ht. Wt. School. The Skinny But according to the sources, who those have come over the last two read on the strength of the line- Patrick Willis 6-1 240 Mississippi Only true inside linebacker among the four possible first-rounders. spoke on the condition of anonymity seasons. backer class. NFL coaches and gen- because the Raiders have not com- “We have filled a need with one of eral managers had become enam- Jon Beason 6-0 236 Miami Competed in the long jump on the Hurricanes’ indoor track team. mented publicly on the matter, it re- the top players in football at his spe- ored of players they liked to call Lawrence Timmons 6-3 232 Florida State Doesn’t turn 21 until next month. mains unclear if the team will sign cialty, returning punts and kicks,” ’tweeners — big but quick defend- the player it intends to choose Satur- Rams Coach Scott Linehan said in a ers who could play outside line- Paul Posluszny 6-1 237 Penn State Played outside LB for three years at “Linebacker U.,” then switched to day before the draft begins, as NFL written statement released by the backer in one alignment or defen- inside LB last season. rules permit. club. “Dante will fit in nicely on our sive end in another. David Harris 6-2 239 Michigan Probably the next-best inside linebacker after Willis. The Raiders aren’t tipping their special teams and can be utilized as a Barriers between positions were hand about which player they prefer. receiver in certain situations.” . torn down and ’tweeners such as Justin Durant 6-1 235 Hampton Must overcome doubts about the level of competition he faced in Most people in the league seem to ex- The NFL warned teams in a memo Shawne Merriman, now with the college. pect the Raiders to pick Russell. But distributed Tuesday not to leak confi- San Diego Chargers, and DeMar- Stewart Bradley 6-4 256 Nebraska Former high school quarterback who also excelled at high school Johnson is regarded by many as the dential draft information. Commis- cus Ware, who is with the Dallas rugby. best player available in the draft and sioner Roger Goodell warned clubs Cowboys, were all the rage. This he apparently remains a strong possi- in the memo that any leaks could be year, however, there is far less talk Rufus Alexander 6-1 227 Oklahoma Is the size of a safety but might not have the speed to make that bility. considered conduct detrimental to about such players and a clearer transition. “There’s probably only one guy in the league and warrant punishment. consensus about the linebackers Buster Davis 5-10 244 Florida State He’s a sure tackler but teams wonder if he’s tall enough. the world who knows what the Raid- The warning comes after Pro available in this weekend’s draft: ers are going to do, and that’s [own- Football Weekly reported last week The class is relatively strong at the Quincy Black 6-2 240 New Mexico Played the safety-linebacker position that Brian Urlacher once played er] Al Davis,” former Tennessee Ti- that Johnson, Clemson defensive end top, with four possible first-round at the school. tans general manager Floyd Reese, Gaines Adams and Louisville defen- selections, but lacks depth after now a draft analyst for ESPN, said sive tackle Amobi Okoye admitted to those players. Redskins’ Interest: Washington gave up a bounty to move up and take Rocky McIntosh a year ago, and during a conference call with report- past marijuana use during interviews Talent evaluators like what they expects him to start. Lemar Marshall provides some depth, but despite all of that team officials still attempted ers yesterday. taped by the league at the NFL scout- see in Patrick Willis of Mississippi, to trade for Chicago’s Lance Briggs. More youth at this position would be a plus, and this regime has yet to Reese said he believes Johnson is ing combine in February and distrib- Jon Beason of Miami, Lawrence develop a young linebacker, making it a strong possibility one will be selected in the later rounds. the best player in the draft, but the uted to the teams. Earlier this week, Timmons of Florida State and Paul Raiders need to take Russell, Reese Players Association chief Gene Posluszny of Penn State. All four Ravens’ Interest: All four starting linebackers were invited to the Pro Bowl last season, so there seems to be said, if they’re convinced that he’s Upshaw said that players no longer are regarded as possible first- little need here. However, Adalius Thomas left in free agency and Ray Lewis turns 32 next month. The Ravens going to be a standout quarterback in would be asked about prior drug use rounders, probably led by Willis. rarely hesitate to bolster their dominant defense, so don’t be surprised if they draft a linebacker—especially the NFL. during those interviews. The dis- They are more traditional line- an OLB—on Day 1 if he meets their “best player available” criteria. “If you need a quarterback, you tribution of the memo to the teams backers than Merriman and Ware, have to take him as soon as you can,” first was reported by USA Today. who have ended up being outside linebackers on NFL teams that play three-linemen, four-linebacker schemes after also being considered before they were drafted as possible defensive ends for clubs with 4-3 setups. This year’s class has players who are more easily categorized, although Pittsburgh Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin said he thinks teams and draft observ- ers might spend too much time worrying about categorizing players. “The great ones, they can play regardless of what the specific X’s and O’s are,” Tomlin said during the Steelers’ predraft news conference. “In today’s NFL, the lines are really starting to get a little blurry, specifically when you start talking about the 3-4 versus the 4-3. I think football players are football players, and guys that can make plays will make plays.” There’s little talk this year of ’tweeners shifting back and forth between defensive end and outside linebacker. But a player like Pos- luszny is versatile enough that scouts can envision him playing outside linebacker on a 4-3 team or inside linebacker on a 3-4 club in the NFL. “I think he’s athletic,” Joey Clinkscales, the New York Jets’ college scouting director, said during a news conference last week. “I think he runs very well. He’ll have a chance to play, whether it be in our [3-4] system or a team that runs a 4-3.” There are no dynamic pass-rush- ers like Merriman or Ware in this group, so no one in this linebacker class is a real threat to be selected among the top 10 or so picks. But Kevin Colbert, the Steelers’ director of football operations, said the overall pass-rushing skills of the available linebackers are satisfacto- ry. There are defensive players to be found in this draft, he said, who can get to the quarterback. “There are some from the defensive end positions . and there are some linebackers,” Colbert said. “I think it is a solid draft that stand- point.” Said Tomlin: “You are always looking for guys that can rush the passer and make the ball come out [quickly] or not at all. I just think that is a big element of the game, particularly in today’s NFL. They are splash playmakers, guys that can get you off the field, guys that can create turnovers.” BY BILL HABER — ASSOCIATED PRESS Miami’s Jon Beason, like the other top linebacker prospects, is a hybrid player a la Shawne Merriman. C M Y K E12.

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