Originally posted by OnTheClock:Originally posted by NCommand:Originally posted by OnTheClock:I'm really intrigued by the potential of Patrick Choudja. I know he's not an official signing, but reports are that the team really likes him and there's a strong chance after the mini-camp tryouts he gets a deal.
Dude has freakishly long arms (34 1/2 inches) and appears to use them well. Looks quite raw, but you see he's got some ability. Also, don't look at his 40-time range of 4.89 - 4.99, what you want to look at is his 10-yard split. He had a 10-yard split of 1.65 -- to put that into perspective, Bradley Chubb had a handheld split of 1.64 (electronic 1.62) -- that is terrific. Choudja unquestionably has the athleticism and length to play DE in our scheme. I hope he shows enough to get a deal to go into TC.
Perhaps a SAM with some ER ability who can challenge Pita...Harold is gone.
Choudja looks like a developmental LEO to me. The combination of size, explosiveness, and rare length would make him a problem for OTs should he be given a chance to develop and harness that ability. Of course there's more to football than athleticism; the mental aspect can sink even the best athletes if they don't have the XO smarts on the whiteboard or the instincts/football IQ to seamlessly function within the system.
Great call. That's exactly where I had him slated to compete.
SAM: Eli Harold; Pita Taumoepenu, Dekoda Watson & Patrick Choudja
This is from Lynch in March.
According to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, Lynch said Harold, who played mostley strong-side linebacker in 2017, could be moved to the "Leo" defensive end position, which is the team's spot for its best pass rusher.
"We think Eli's got some skills," Lynch told Barrows. "We felt like he made some great progress at the SAM linebacker spot last year, but we do believe he has some rush ability that is untapped. And we need to tap it. And we're going to give him that opportunity."
Harold, a 6-foot-4, 235-pounder, was a third-round pick of the 49ers in 2015 out of Virginia, where he played defensive end. He came into the league with a reputation of being a strong pass rusher, but has had just five sacks over 48 games in three seasons.
Taumoepenu, a 6-foot-1, 243-pounder who was a sixth-round pick from Utah in 2017, played in just two games as a rookie. But Lynch believes he could make an impact as a pass rusher and will get a chance at the "Leo" and strong-side linebacker positions.
Taumoepenu is a former rugby player from Tonga who was an impact player at Utah as a defensive end. A year ago, Lynch said Taumoepenu's work ethic, skills and passion were things the 49ers loved about him.
Lynch wants to see that this summer. Lynch believes Taumoepenu can be a strong pass rusher.
"You need someone with great speed and you need someone with relentless effort," Lynch said just after last year's draft. "And that's the one thing that jumped off the screen. He can run and he plays with his hair on fire."
[ Edited by NCommand on May 8, 2018 at 5:36 AM ]
