Rd 1, #9 pick: Leonard Floyd, LB - Georgia

College football and the NFL Draft

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UOK
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[video][/video]

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OVERVIEW
It's tough not to think of former Georgia star linebacker Boss Bailey when watching Floyd, a long, lean pass rusher. An all-state pick in his Georgia high school days, Floyd played a year at Hargrave Military Academy before heading to Athens (as many Georgia recruits do). He started eight of 13 games played in 2013, receiving All-Freshman SEC notice after making 9.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. Floyd was awarded the Bulldogs' Defensive MVP in 2014 (though he missed the team's bowl game having knee surgery) to go along with honorable mention all-conference honors from league media (8.5 tackles for loss, six sacks). In his final year between the hedges, Floyd led the Bulldogs in sacks for the third straight year (4.5) and tied for the team lead with 10.5 tackles for loss, garnering second-team All-SEC notice from league coaches. The 2015 Butkus Award finalist is no joke off the edge, as many college tackles would confirm.

PRO DAY RESULTS
Vertical: 35 inches
Short shuttle: 4.32 seconds
3-cone: 7.18 seconds

ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS Unique combination of length and athleticism. Extremely rangy with great chase speed from sideline to sideline. Good change of direction for taller player. Long limbs and twitch to spring into a tackle from a mile away. If unblocked, will chase down line of scrimmage from backside and foil run plans. Elusive in open space dodging blockers and sifting through traffic in pursuit of the ball. Has the traits to be highly effective in man coverage. As an edge rusher, able to shoot out of the starting blocks and cover substantial ground with long second and third strides. Not a great bender, but has ankle flexion necessary to lean at 45-­degree angle and buzz inside the rush arc. Substantial pass rush potential with a variety of options to the quarterback. Pet move is upfield burst followed by jump­-cut inside tied with inside club. Able to dip and rip around the corner. Dangerous on T/E twists and blitzes underneath. Able to worm his way through the A-­gap as standup blitzer.

WEAKNESSES All thin everything. Gangly frame produces marginal play strength. Built like a wide receiver and needs to live in a team cafeteria and weight room. Not an edge-­setter. Gets long arms into defender effectively, but struggles to gain extension. Loses fight for neutral zone at point of attack. Issues shedding blocks forces him into downfield tackler rather than backfield playmaker. Drag-­down tackler with little pop behind pads as a hitter. Must work to keep pad level lower on inside rush move.

DRAFT PROJECTION Round 1

NFL COMPARISON Eli Harold

BOTTOM LINE
Floyd is painfully thin and will struggle to matchup with the strength of NFL players, but he is rangy in space, plays with a good motor and has traits as a pass rusher that would be a mistake to ignore. Floyd's ability to cover close to five yards in three strides is rare for edge rushers. Add to that his inside counter and ability to play in space and you have a prospect who will be heavily scrutinized. Floyd's lack of functionality could limit him to sub­-packages unless he proves he can add more beef to his frame.
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UOK
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Cost of the trade to move up from 11 to 9 was the 11th pick and one of their 4ths.
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IF Floyd works out..good trade up..?

A Fox type guy..
Last edited by docc on Thu Apr 28, 2016 8:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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crueltyabc
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Didn't like him at 11, hate him at 9


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Otis Day
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Not a draftnik like most of you guys, but was this worth it? This dude looks awfully thin. Didn't see anything about his strength, bench press. He just looks like he is gonna h ave problems with the strong fluid OTs.
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Boris13c
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they traded 2 picks to move up 2 spots to pick a guy who would have been there at 11

I don't get it

I'm not thrilled with the pick ... and I really don't understand the reason for the trade for him ... my only hope is he proves me wrong
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Boris13c wrote:they traded 2 picks to move up 2 spots to pick a guy who would have been there at 11
False. Giants were going to take him at 10. The Bears taking Floyd & the Titans taking Conklin wrecked their draft, essentially.
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I have few words.
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Otis Day
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Mayock was saying he doesn't think this guy can hold at 244 lbs which he was listed at on NFL network. Stated he was more like 225 now.
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I don't like it.

I read like 4 or 5 articles about this guy, apparently Pace doesn't give a damn what I think.
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UOK wrote:
Boris13c wrote:they traded 2 picks to move up 2 spots to pick a guy who would have been there at 11
False. Giants were going to take him at 10. The Bears taking Floyd & the Titans taking Conklin wrecked their draft, essentially.
I'll take your word for that

and if the Giants did take him at 10, so what?

I think Floyd is rated much higher than he should be ... now I hope I am 100% wrong
Last edited by Boris13c on Thu Apr 28, 2016 8:29 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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I'm cautiously optimistic.

But check this - if Kevin White gets hurt again and/or sucks this season & Floyd is Shea McClellin 2.0? Not good, man.
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Maybe he is a strong safety. I saw him play out side as a db a lot.
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wab
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UOK wrote:
Boris13c wrote:they traded 2 picks to move up 2 spots to pick a guy who would have been there at 11
False. Giants were going to take him at 10. The Bears taking Floyd & the Titans taking Conklin wrecked their draft, essentially.
The Giants would have taken him at 10. Have said that, this pick sucks.
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I hope this is your "Hub throwing the pen in disgust" moment for these boards.
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mmmc_35
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UOK wrote:I hope this is your "Hub throwing the pen in disgust" moment for these boards.
Let's hope.
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edep12
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Damn, I'm a UGA fan (son is a student and I live in Atlanta). I've seen his entire career. He is freaky long but he will never be big enough to set the edge or bull rush LTS with good feet. The kid is a WR playing defense. Great pick at 25, but with Jack and Tunsil on the board???
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Yep..no Jack ?
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mmmc_35
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edep12 wrote:Damn, I'm a UGA fan (son is a student and I live in Atlanta). I've seen his entire career. He is freaky long but he will never be big enough to set the edge or bull rush LTS with good feet. The kid is a WR playing defense. Great pick at 25, but with Jack and Tunsil on the board???
I was hoping your opinion would be here.
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Floyd is a bad fit for this defense. He'll struggle to stay at an NFL weight and he'll struggle to get off blocks. He's no more than a 3rd down player.

He's Dion Jordan, but Jordan was a better prospect. Mingo was a better prospect. Beasley was a better prospect. Gregory was a better prospect. And all of those guys have struggled because they are gangly and weak.
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wab wrote:Floyd is a bad fit for this defense. He'll struggle to stay at an NFL weight and he'll struggle to get off blocks. He's no more than a 3rd down player.

He's Dion Jordan, but Jordan was a better prospect. Mingo was a better prospect. Beasley was a better prospect. Gregory was a better prospect. And all of those guys have struggled because they are gangly and weak.
I hope he breaks the rookie record for sacks.
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Tunsil dropping due to pics of him smoking some ganja.
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mmmc_35 wrote:
edep12 wrote:Damn, I'm a UGA fan (son is a student and I live in Atlanta). I've seen his entire career. He is freaky long but he will never be big enough to set the edge or bull rush LTS with good feet. The kid is a WR playing defense. Great pick at 25, but with Jack and Tunsil on the board???
I was hoping your opinion would be here.
Thanks. My last post was a bit emotiona because I really do like the kid. I just have SERIOUS doubts that he can put on enough weight to not get abused by NFL lineman. He's a project in that respect and my opinion is that top 10 picks need to be a bit more polished than that....and I REALLY wanted Elliot or Jack and was sure when they traded up it was for Jack, Lawson, or Tunsil (all of which were probably better options at that pick.

IMO Floyd is a guy you trade back into the late 1st to take as your second 1st rounder. If someone else grabs him top 10...you let them.
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I would have drafted Tunsil. Clearly they wanted a speed rusher, and Floyd is the only one really out there. I just don't get it.
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UOK wrote:
wab wrote:Floyd is a bad fit for this defense. He'll struggle to stay at an NFL weight and he'll struggle to get off blocks. He's no more than a 3rd down player.

He's Dion Jordan, but Jordan was a better prospect. Mingo was a better prospect. Beasley was a better prospect. Gregory was a better prospect. And all of those guys have struggled because they are gangly and weak.
I hope he breaks the rookie record for sacks.
Well yeah. Me too.

I can disagree with the pick and give reasons why I think so. I'm not an NFL general manager. But it's not like I'm the only one that thinks these things about Floyd.
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Edep your right at 25 I wouldn't be annoyed.
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Giants wanted him, Fangio must have signed off on him, and the GM that used to be a DE picked him.

He's getting love from some pretty high places in the pass rushing world.
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He's certainly different than the rushers the Bears have on the roster. I don't think he's a starter, but clearly the Bears saw something. I guess that's good enough for me.
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Fangio did use A. Smith as a corner in San Fran for a bunch of plays that I remember. Georgia did with Floyd. Maybe they saw a similar skill set?
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Anyone know if Pace is expected to talk tonight?
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