Taylor Mays at OLB?

From time to time the ideas of moving Mays to OLB has come up. In Matt Barrows live chat this afternoon, he said that with Mays being 6'3" and 230 lbs. he may not be built to chase around quicker NFL receivers. I happen to agree. My suggestion would be to move Mays to OLB, have him cover TEs and the edge and blitz occasionally. With his great, straight line speed, he is perfectly suited to that. He may even be a new kind of weapon the Niners could use to pressure the QB.

Now...he would undoubtedly have to gain about 10 lbs. to do that because he will have to fight off blocks more but I think he could do that too. To me, this seems like a much better scenario by which he could succeed in the NFL. As a safety (even a SS), he will probably always be a liability in coverage.

What do you Zoners think?

Not another Darnell Bing

Originally posted by nw9erfan:
From time to time the ideas of moving Mays to OLB has come up. In Matt Barrows live chat this afternoon, he said that with Mays being 6'3" and 230 lbs. he may not be built to chase around quicker NFL receivers. I happen to agree. My suggestion would be to move Mays to OLB, have him cover TEs and the edge and blitz occasionally. With his great, straight line speed, he is perfectly suited to that. He may even be a new kind of weapon the Niners could use to pressure the QB.

Now...he would undoubtedly have to gain about 10 lbs. to do that because he will have to fight off blocks more but I think he could do that too. To me, this seems like a much better scenario by which he could succeed in the NFL. As a safety (even a SS), he will probably always be a liability in coverage.

What do you Zoners think?

I certainly think we could create some plays to utilise his speed but I think we need to address our issues with the OLBs first. They'll be rushing on every play.

Originally posted by boast:

Originally posted by FLYPxSYDE:

Originally posted by boast:

Hmm...worth a look, I guess. It might be better for Mays blitzing and cover TEs than him covering WRs (see loss to Panthers). But not sure how effective he'd be in run support and his comfort level playing in a totally new position...especially since he's already struggling now. So, back to SS he goes where he'll have more time to learn.

somebody shoot me already

Originally posted by boast:

Well...to quote Richard Dreyfuss in "Jaws"....."You got any better suggestions?"

Originally posted by mcbaes72:
Hmm...worth a look, I guess. It might be better for Mays blitzing and cover TEs than him covering WRs (see loss to Panthers). But not sure how effective he'd be in run support and his comfort level playing in a totally new position...especially since he's already struggling now. So, back to SS he goes where he'll have more time to learn.

this is exactly why he shouldn't be moved. he'd be a friggin' 3 year project if he moved positions.

Mays doesn't have any pass rush moves. And I don't know how his weight has anything to do with chasing down receivers. He ran a 4.43 40 at the combine weighing in at around that same weight so speed isn't a problem.

His problem is agility and instincts and those things aren't going to get any better by a move to OLB.

Originally posted by nw9erfan:

Originally posted by boast:

Well...to quote Richard Dreyfuss in "Jaws"....."You got any better suggestions?"

yeah. let's let the new staff make a decision on Mays future.