re: Clifton Garrett to JUCO

quote:

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Beckwith isnt going to be projected 2nd or 3rd round. Unless he takes a major step back, he is a 1st rounder. I would almost call that a lock.

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Let's pump the brakes a bit...

Beckwith is a beast and will be a beast this upcoming season for us as well. But do you know how many ILBs have been drafted in the 1st round recentl in the last 5 drafts? 5. And all but 2 were taken in the 2nd half of the first round and only 1 was taken too 10, Luke Kuechly at #9.

Beckwith could be 1 of the top rated ILB for the draft and still could go in the mid-late 2nd round. MLB is just 1 of those positions that doesn't have a high value in the draft, like OG, Center, and Safety. And, with it being a passing league, teams run more 3-4 and focus on getting after the QB with versatile players. And ILBs typically aren't that versatile, except for a rare few like Keuchly, Hightower, Collins, etc. Only a few ILBs in the NFL possess the talent and ability to be good vs the run and pass. It's extremely rare to find a ILB with athletic ability to stuff the run, guard TEs, slots, RBs, and get after the QB when blitzing. And have the football smarts and IQ to read the plays, play multiple spots and do all of those things at a high level.

It's way more realistic to say that Beckwith will be drafted in round 2 or 3 than saying he's a lock for round 1. And I'm a huge Beckwith fan and think he's really good and might be our best player on D. But, considering how the NFL values the position he plays in the draft and that he's only started 7 games for us so far and is still sort of an unknown on a national level, he most likely will go 2nd or 3rd round.

Now, Steele does bring a lot of diff schemes to the table and if he lets Beckwith move around a bit (OLB 3-4, DE is pass rushing situations, etc, doubtful though because we are so thin at ILB now) and let him blitz a lot more, he could improve his stock. But there are just so few ILBs taken in the 1st round that it will be tough for him to be a 1st round pick.