Paul Dawson come on down to the 49ers!

Originally posted by eastcoast49ersfan:

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

To me, he will be a better version of Brandon Spikes, who was a good college player at ILB, who bombed worse than Dawson in his testing. A lot worse, but still became a very productive player.

Dawson and Spikes were pretty similar across the board in testing. Spikes had a slightly better vertical (29"), broad jump (9'3"), and had a pretty impressive 3 cone for a limited athlete (6.97 which would likely have been significantly faster than Dawson's). He had a terrible 40 yard dash at his pro day (5.05), but he was a lot bigger than Dawson with better length (6'2 7/8" 249, 33 3/8" arms compared to 6' 1/8" 235, 31 1/2" arms). I wouldn't say that his testing was a lot worse considering the difference in sizes and the fact that Dawson only beat him in one drill which varies a lot by attempt.

They're both 2 down linebackers in my opinion. Do you still think Dawson is the 15th best prospect in the class even though you expect him to be taken in the second round and are comparing him to another 2 down linebacker?

Originally posted by MadDog49er:

Had a feeling he would bounce back well at his Pro Day. The key thing was to get momentum back on his side. He is going to have to satisfy those who are concerned about tardiness issues in the past, but he will be gone before the end of the second round. My guess is that he lands in that 40-55 area.

To me, he will be a better version of Brandon Spikes, who was a good college player at ILB, who bombed worse than Dawson in his testing. A lot worse, but still became a very productive player.

Do you see Dawson as a 2 down LB like spikes?

Keep in mind TCU runs a 4-2-5 so he had to be able to do alot of things and his stats and film constitute optimism (for him being an every down LB).

Originally posted by bdub2588:
Keep in mind TCU runs a 4-2-5 so he had to be able to do alot of things and his stats and film constitute optimism (for him being an every down LB).

I completely disagree with this. They had 5 defensive backs on the field, so Dawson rarely had coverage duties and had more opportunities to make tackles.

Originally posted by eastcoast49ersfan:
I completely disagree with this. They had 5 defensive backs on the field, so Dawson rarely had coverage duties and had more opportunities to make tackles.

That's not true, Dawson was almost always one of two LBs on the filed and had to cover the TE often or backs in the flat.

Originally posted by eastcoast49ersfan:
Dawson and Spikes were pretty similar across the board in testing. Spikes had a slightly better vertical (29"), broad jump (9'3"), and had a pretty impressive 3 cone for a limited athlete (6.97 which would likely have been significantly faster than Dawson's). He had a terrible 40 yard dash at his pro day (5.05), but he was a lot bigger than Dawson with better length (6'2 7/8" 249, 33 3/8" arms compared to 6' 1/8" 235, 31 1/2" arms). I wouldn't say that his testing was a lot worse considering the difference in sizes and the fact that Dawson only beat him in one drill which varies a lot by attempt.

They're both 2 down linebackers in my opinion. Do you still think Dawson is the 15th best prospect in the class even though you expect him to be taken in the second round and are comparing him to another 2 down linebacker?

Dawson's Pro-Day numbers improved from the combine numbers you have posted here. If you look at both their Pro Days, Dawson had an inch better at 30" vert., 9 inches more at 10' in the broad, was somewhere in that 4.78-.4.83 range in the forty, but undoubtably was smaller than Spikes.

The reason I compared the two for the board was to show that a bad combine is not the end all for a player. Spikes also had horrific testing numbers.

I've seen about 7 games of Dawson this year, and he can drop into coverage in nickel situations. I didn't see a liability in coverage. In fact, many of those turnovers happened in 3rd down situations (4 INTs, forced fumble, forced INT).

As a guy who mostly plays with only one other LB at a time, he was forced to cover more of the field toward the LOS, not run much in reverse, since they had 5 DBs to drop in coverage.

Dawson's got some straight ahead speed and makes tackles...but, per NFL Draft profiles:

Weaknesses Not a wrap-up tackler and needs work in finishing blocks. Freelances and sometimes lacks discipline to maintain assignments. Instincts of a middle linebacker but likely too small for the position. Has to win with speed over power as a blitzer. Scouts are very worried about his personal character and say he's not beloved within the program. Questions have been raised about his commitment to the process. Not a film studier.

I think we'd be a lot better off with either Anthony or Bernardrick because they have multiple skills, are bigger dudes and better students of the game.

Originally posted by CorvaNinerFan:
Dawson's got some straight ahead speed and makes tackles...but, per NFL Draft profiles:

Weaknesses Not a wrap-up tackler and needs work in finishing blocks. Freelances and sometimes lacks discipline to maintain assignments. Instincts of a middle linebacker but likely too small for the position. Has to win with speed over power as a blitzer. Scouts are very worried about his personal character and say he's not beloved within the program. Questions have been raised about his commitment to the process. Not a film studier.

I think we'd be a lot better off with either Anthony or Bernardrick because they have multiple skills, are bigger dudes and better students of the game.

McKinney isn't know as a great coverage ILBer either and Anthony might be a 1st round pick. There really aren't any studs at ILB in this draft and I don't see the point in reaching for one. Bowman and Borland were 3rd round picks and Wilhoite was a UDFA.

Do you really want an ILB who's only 6 ft, doesn't like to view film and isn't a student of the game? I don't. ILB's in our 3-4 defense are expected to do a lot more than show straight ahead speed...that might work in college, but it won't in the NFL. All I'm saying is there are better options...players with more size who can do more things.

Originally posted by CorvaNinerFan:

Do you really want an ILB who's only 6 ft, doesn't like to view film and isn't a student of the game? I don't. ILB's in our 3-4 defense are expected to do a lot more than show straight ahead speed...that might work in college, but it won't in the NFL. All I'm saying is there are better options...players with more size who can do more things.

Agree
I'd rather have Trey DePriest before Dawson

Dude goes straight to the ball.

Instincts are great and vets will keep him in line as far as film study. He's a playmaker but I'm not sure he's cut out to play Ted where taking on fullbacks and h backs is part of the job. I still think he's a good prospect and a tackling machine.

Not high at all on this guy

Cut by the Seahawks. A possible end to a career that never was.