Originally posted by WRATHman44:
It's not like an OLB's coverage responsibilities are difficult, lol. Covering the flat 90% of the time is easy as hell. Bosa could do it well enough (not as well as Allen, who is primarily a space athlete), but Burns showed all the tools to excel (and likely outperform Allen) in that role when he flew through the LB drills like a DB at the combine. Regardless, if you are drafting an edge in the top ten, you want the best edge rusher, not the best flat defender. Bosa is the best edge rusher. Burns has the most potential, the best bend, the 2nd best technique, and he is the best athlete (in games) of the group. You go with the guy who is ready to dominate now (Bosa), or you trade back to get the guy who is ready to contribute now, but who could be the best of the class in three years (Burns). I don't understand why Allen is even discussed as a top 5 pick, to be honest. He got a lot of sacks by running around lesser athletes. He got shut out when he went against good OTs (Taylor in Florida and both those beasts in Georgia).
Also, maybe Allen's basketball background is a plus in coverage, but his lateral movement is somewhat average. So, not sure his coverage tool is elite. Burns probably has more potential there. IMO Allen's tape and measurements box him in as a very good OLB, but with some chance to become a versatile tool.
Originally posted by WRATHman44:
IMO, wingspan only matters if you know how to rotate your torso on contact to create length from your shoulders, like Mack or Miller do in the NFL. Allen has not shown that at all.
Maybe his hand contact will throw off OTs.
[ Edited by zonkers on Apr 22, 2019 at 5:40 PM ]
