Paul Dawson come on down to the 49ers!

I can't believe there isn't a thread on this guy. Yeah he had a bad combine but this dude is a badass linebacker who will fill the void left by P52 and Borland.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/paul-dawson?id=2552318


MaDDog's perspective:

Interior backers:
I was freaked out by how poorly Paul Dawson performed at the combine, but then went back to watch his games. Concerns alleviated. He, along with Ray, were the two best defensive players in college football last year. Best instincts of any defensive player. Uncanny he is involved in nearly every play. I think he will perform much better at his Pro Day, but it doesn't matter to me. This guy is a beast on the field. A lot of hype for Stephone Anthony this season, and for good reason. He is a three down backer, has good instincts, can attack the QB, and performed well at the Senior Bowl and Combine. Below Dawson, but solid player. Not nearly as high on Benardrick McKinney of Mississippi State. Long and lean and upright, I think some team is going to move him to DE or Sam at the next level. Strong, but does not have the instincts to be a stud ILB.

As for possible draftees at ILB with Willis' upcoming retirement, the pickins are slim after the top four or five are gone. I have my best five as Dawson, Anthony, Kendricks, Perryman, and McKinney (who I think is shifting to OLB or DE in the NFL). Read more at http://www.49erswebzone.com/forum/nfl-draft/181689-maddog49er-notes-tuesday-march/#Hxhe31XwKgYWtQLt.99

He's a guy a like a lot and fits the kind of player we tend to draft. We haven't met with him yet, but we have met with a couple of other mid round ILBs. Especially with the Borland new, I would not be surprised at all to see us take him in the third. Would be a perfect replacement for Borland.

Originally posted by TexasNiner:
He's a guy a like a lot and fits the kind of player we tend to draft. We haven't met with him yet, but we have met with a couple of other mid round ILBs. Especially with the Borland new, I would not be surprised at all to see us take him in the third. Would be a perfect replacement for Borland.

I would be amazed if they got him in the 3rd! Not sure if he drops that far though.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by TexasNiner:
He's a guy a like a lot and fits the kind of player we tend to draft. We haven't met with him yet, but we have met with a couple of other mid round ILBs. Especially with the Borland new, I would not be surprised at all to see us take him in the third. Would be a perfect replacement for Borland.

I would be amazed if they got him in the 3rd! Not sure if he drops that far though.

He may well go earlier than that. I've seen him anywhere from the 2nd to the 4th. I think our 3rd round pick is about where we are targeting ILB based on prospects we have been scouting. However, with all the likely comp picks we will be getting next year, I think Baalke will be aggressive about moving around to get his guys. So, if he likes someone like Dawson or Anthony and needs to move up into the mid/late second round to get them, I think he will likely do that.

I could easily see him staying at 15 going BPA and trading up in both or either of the 2nd/3rd rounds to either to top of the round or bottom of the previous round to grab a particular target using 2016 mid round picks.

Originally posted by TexasNiner:

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by TexasNiner:
He's a guy a like a lot and fits the kind of player we tend to draft. We haven't met with him yet, but we have met with a couple of other mid round ILBs. Especially with the Borland new, I would not be surprised at all to see us take him in the third. Would be a perfect replacement for Borland.

I would be amazed if they got him in the 3rd! Not sure if he drops that far though.

He may well go earlier than that. I've seen him anywhere from the 2nd to the 4th. I think our 3rd round pick is about where we are targeting ILB based on prospects we have been scouting. However, with all the likely comp picks we will be getting next year, I think Baalke will be aggressive about moving around to get his guys. So, if he likes someone like Dawson or Anthony and needs to move up into the mid/late second round to get them, I think he will likely do that.

I could easily see him staying at 15 going BPA and trading up in both or either of the 2nd/3rd rounds to either to top of the round or bottom of the previous round to grab a particular target using 2016 mid round picks.

Yup agreed the comp picks will help for sure! I wouldn't be shocked if he traded a couple 2016 picks for this year.

Originally posted by fortyninerglory:

I can't believe there isn't a thread on this guy. Yeah he had a bad combine but this dude is a badass linebacker who will fill the void left by P52 and Borland.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/paul-dawson?id=2552318


MaDDog's perspective:

Interior backers:
I was freaked out by how poorly Paul Dawson performed at the combine, but then went back to watch his games. Concerns alleviated. He, along with Ray, were the two best defensive players in college football last year. Best instincts of any defensive player. Uncanny he is involved in nearly every play. I think he will perform much better at his Pro Day, but it doesn't matter to me. This guy is a beast on the field. A lot of hype for Stephone Anthony this season, and for good reason. He is a three down backer, has good instincts, can attack the QB, and performed well at the Senior Bowl and Combine. Below Dawson, but solid player. Not nearly as high on Benardrick McKinney of Mississippi State. Long and lean and upright, I think some team is going to move him to DE or Sam at the next level. Strong, but does not have the instincts to be a stud ILB.

As for possible draftees at ILB with Willis' upcoming retirement, the pickins are slim after the top four or five are gone. I have my best five as Dawson, Anthony, Kendricks, Perryman, and McKinney (who I think is shifting to OLB or DE in the NFL). Read more at http://www.49erswebzone.com/forum/nfl-draft/181689-maddog49er-notes-tuesday-march/#Hxhe31XwKgYWtQLt.99

Dawson is a good player who may fall to the 3rd, but probably not very far into it if he does. You're taking a risk he'll be there if you REALLY like the guy and don't pick him in the second. Question would be for us is, do the 49ers like him that much more than the next prospect at the position? Dawson tends to get fooled an awful lot more than I'd like for a 2nd round pick. His field awareness overall is solid, but misdirection and play action are a major weakness for him and I feel he may carry the risk to give up big plays into the NFL. My other concern is that the talent around him may have helped him more than some of the other prospects in his class.

In the end, I would be happy to have him on the team. I grade him a late 3rd rounder overall.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
Dawson is a good player who may fall to the 3rd, but probably not very far into it if he does. You're taking a risk he'll be there if you REALLY like the guy and don't pick him in the second. Question would be for us is, do the 49ers like him that much more than the next prospect at the position? Dawson tends to get fooled an awful lot more than I'd like for a 2nd round pick. His field awareness overall is solid, but misdirection and play action are a major weakness for him and I feel he may carry the risk to give up big plays into the NFL. My other concern is that the talent around him may have helped him more than some of the other prospects in his class.

In the end, I would be happy to have him on the team. I grade him a late 3rd rounder overall.

I think there are several guys, at ILB specifically, that fall into this category. So, do we wait and see who (if) one of them makes it to our spot in the third, which is the general area the ILBs we have scouted are projected to go? Or do we like someone enough to move up? I would imagine that with the Borland news and the number of relatively number of high comp picks we are likely to get next year, and the minimal cost to move up from the mid third to the low second, that if we are at all serious about a guy (at any position) we will not hesitate to make a move.

And I'd be pretty surprised if he made it to the late third. Not blown away, because anyone can go half a round or so earlier or later, but I agree with the initial assessment of if he makes it to the third, he won't last long. I think he's an ideal replacement for Borland. Exact same kind of high energy guy.

Originally posted by TexasNiner:
and the number of relatively number of high comp picks we are likely to get next year,

Where did all this "were gonna hit the comp pick lottery" stuff start. I dont see that happening at all considering theyve signed 4 free agents thus far. Maybe a 4th for Culliver, a 5th or 6th for Cox depending on who else this team signs. Far from the bonanza people are making it out to be.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by TexasNiner:
and the number of relatively number of high comp picks we are likely to get next year,

Where did all this "were gonna hit the comp pick lottery" stuff start. I dont see that happening at all considering theyve signed 4 free agents thus far. Maybe a 4th for Culliver, a 5th or 6th for Cox depending on who else this team signs. Far from the bonanza people are making it out to be.

We probably end up with 3 or 4:

Lost:
Gore
Iupati
Culliver
Cox
Skuta

Gain:
Smith
Wright

Don't count:
Dockett
Bush
Simpson

If we sign Moore, he won't count because he is treated like a cut player because he was non tendered and if Crabtree signs a 1 year deal elsewhere, be can cancle out Wright, so we would get 4 picks, 4th for Culliver, 5th for Gore, probably 6tha and 7th for Skuta and Cox

Even if we just end up with one 4th round pick and 2-3 6th rounders, which is the general consensus at minimum (unless Crabs surprises and signs more than a one year deal), having 3-4 extra picks next year gives us plenty of ammo and incentive to move around in this year's draft when due to so many departures we need an infusion of talent.

Gil Brandt~ "LB Paul Dawson timed from 4.78 to 4.82 in 40 at TCU's pro day, improving on combine time (4.93); obviously, a big help for him." Hmmm.

Originally posted by bdub2588:
Gil Brandt~ "LB Paul Dawson timed from 4.78 to 4.82 in 40 at TCU's pro day, improving on combine time (4.93); obviously, a big help for him." Hmmm.

Lol. He is 82, so maybe he forgot that pro day times are typically at least 0.1 seconds faster than combine times. That time confirms that he's very slow and more of a 4.9 guy. He's probably a 3rd round pick. I definitely wouldn't want him at 46.

Teams are watching his tape... there is no way he falls to the third... I wouldnt be mad if they moved up in the second to get him

I just watched his game against West Virginia and he's not impressive in the least. He put up decent numbers and showed good instincts, but he has almost no explosion and moves more like a defensive lineman. He made plays this game because he was almost always responsible for the RB and blockers rarely got to him, but it doesn't look like he will be effective in coverage or as a pass rusher. He got one interception in the game where the QB was trying to throw the ball away under duress. I don't know why people are assuming he can play in coverage because he had a few interceptions. The guy is a horrible athlete.

I don't think there's a chance he's gone by our pick in the 2nd round and I hope we don't draft him. I'll have to watch other games, but based on the West Virginia game, I'm guessing his stats are more of a result of the defensive scheme and his responsibilities (mainly to stop the run because he's limited in coverage).

Borland was successful because he had incredible instincts and good short-area quickness. This guy only has instincts and I don't know if that's enough at the next level. Kendricks is the linebacker I'd prefer because he moves well to go along with having really good instincts and can play in coverage.

His combine numbers were bad across the board (not just the 40) and support the fact that he's a very limited athlete. He also had the shortest vertical among linebackers (28"), 2nd shortest broad jump (9'1"), and a bad shuttle (4.49). And this is at 235 so he may lose even more if he bulks up to play 3-4 ILB.

Ur crazy bro. He looks good, his instincts are tremendous. Look how he constantly sheds/avoids lineman to meet the RB... Kids stud... Watch some more games..