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Roquan Smith or Tremaine Edmunds?


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Roquan Smith or Tremaine Edmunds?  

61 members have voted

  1. 1. Who's the better prospect?

    • Roquan Smith, ILB, Georgia
      33
    • Tremaine Edmunds, ILB, Virginia Tech
      29


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4 hours ago, Ozzy said:

Again you want to play semantics then go ahead...  I would define a thumping linebacker as one who can bring power when he arrives to the ball, not how well he knocks guys back or attacks the fullback, usually that is best when defensive lineman do the 'thumping' by your definition and the linebacker gets to the ball.  I believe Smith is better at getting off or around blocks and finding the ball than you think.  

A thumper is pretty universally considered a LB who specializes in run stopping through the stacking and shedding of blocks.

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16 hours ago, jrry32 said:

LVE will be a better player than Poz, and Roquan isn't Lavonte David. Roquan is more Deion Jones than David (which isn't an insult).

LVE is better than Roquan. Roquan is a great athlete with great range, but he gets stuck to blocks like velcro. LVE can do anything and everything. He's less experienced than Roquan, but I'd already take him over Roquan because of his ability to stack blockers and finish plays behind the LOS. You can find multiple plays a game where he plays through a block at the LOS and makes a tackle. I was very disappointed with how easy it was to neutralize Roquan by putting a body on him.

Except blitz. Go watch the WSU game. He was blocked effortlessly most the game. Stonewalled try to blitz repeatedly.

I like LVE a lot. But having watched Smith for his entire career, your assessment is lacking. He will play WLB, in space and be a star. He's not without faults. He can get stuck on blocks. But his instincts and quickness find him winning angles on blockers more often. He beats them to the spot.

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15 hours ago, BrownLeader said:

I'm surprised it's even this close. The biggest difference between the two isn't size it's instincts. Edmunds is the lesser experienced but he really looked lost sometimes this past season. Doesn't matter how big or fast you are if you don't know where the ball is.

LVE had a great bowl game. But when I watched earlier games in the season I wasn't as impressed. I need to go back and check those out.

Glad someone else sees this. Well said.

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6 hours ago, VanS said:

The top ILB is actually Leighton Vander Esch.  Freak athlete with size like Tremaine Edmunds but with better instincts.  Roquan Smith is undersized and not impressive athletically.  His hype is largely because he played at a big school and was the best player on a good college defense.

In terms of pro ceiling, its Leighton Vander Esch then Tremaine Edmunds.

This is so laughably bad. His athletic ability and movement skills are off the charts. There is a small list of LBs who have his range. His ability in coverage is ridiculous. His hype is because he played lights out all season including an SEC and Nat Champ game where he made numerous plays. And he missed only 10 tackles all season. 

People are overthinking Smith.

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Everyone seems to have a different take on Leighton Vander Esch, he seems to be a bit of an enigma. I’ve seen about three of his games and came away thinking he was a quick decision maker, excellent at the point of contact, rarely engulfed and rarely stayed blocked for long. I did have some questions about how freely and quickly he could move laterally, so eager to see how he tests out. According to Daniel Jeremiah, some scouts are expecting him to test through the roof at the combine, so I guess that just adds a little to the mystery.

 

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1 hour ago, big_palooka said:

This is so laughably bad. His athletic ability and movement skills are off the charts. There is a small list of LBs who have his range. His ability in coverage is ridiculous. His hype is because he played lights out all season including an SEC and Nat Champ game where he made numerous plays. And he missed only 10 tackles all season. 

People are overthinking Smith.

I tend to agree with this.

I don’t know if Smith is going to be a stud, but he looks like, at a minimum, a quality starter.

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2 hours ago, goldfishwars said:

Everyone seems to have a different take on Leighton Vander Esch, he seems to be a bit of an enigma. I’ve seen about three of his games and came away thinking he was a quick decision maker, excellent at the point of contact, rarely engulfed and rarely stayed blocked for long. I did have some questions about how freely and quickly he could move laterally, so eager to see how he tests out. According to Daniel Jeremiah, some scouts are expecting him to test through the roof at the combine, so I guess that just adds a little to the mystery.

 

I remember last year everyone said the same about Marcus Williams.  Then he ended up running a 4.56 40 at the combine and stayed in the 2nd round. 

Maybe its just me but I don't care how a guy tests at the combine if the film clearly shows exceptional athleticism.  People use the combine to overthink.

I like to use the combine to confirm what I see in film from guys I have questions about and to also see prospects emerge that I may not have paid mind to earlier.

 

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3 hours ago, big_palooka said:

This is so laughably bad. His athletic ability and movement skills are off the charts. There is a small list of LBs who have his range. His ability in coverage is ridiculous. His hype is because he played lights out all season including an SEC and Nat Champ game where he made numerous plays. And he missed only 10 tackles all season.

People are overthinking Smith.

I see a good player when I study Roquan Smith.  I just don't see special.  And FYI, I'm actually a huge SEC football fan so I have watched him a lot.  And not just this year.  All I know is in watching him play so many games in the SEC, he doesn't jump off my screen as a great athlete.  Good athlete?  Sure.  But he's not in the same class athletically as Leighton Vander Esch.  That guy is a freak with perennial All-Pro potential.  Roquan Smith is guy with the potential to be a solid starter in the league for 10 years.

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4 hours ago, big_palooka said:

This is so laughably bad. His athletic ability and movement skills are off the charts. There is a small list of LBs who have his range. His ability in coverage is ridiculous. His hype is because he played lights out all season including an SEC and Nat Champ game where he made numerous plays. And he missed only 10 tackles all season. 

People are overthinking Smith.

Yeah there is nothing wrong with Roquan's athletic traits. He's small and can't disengage from blockers. Aside from that, he's flawless.

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54 minutes ago, VanS said:

I see a good player when I study Roquan Smith.  I just don't see special.  And FYI, I'm actually a huge SEC football fan so I have watched him a lot.  And not just this year.  All I know is in watching him play so many games in the SEC, he doesn't jump off my screen as a great athlete.  Good athlete?  Sure.  But he's not in the same class athletically as Leighton Vander Esch.  That guy is a freak with perennial All-Pro potential.  Roquan Smith is guy with the potential to be a solid starter in the league for 10 years.

How you can say you're an SEC fan and Smith doesn't jump off the screen as a great athlete is just ridiculous. The SEC Champ game and Nat Champ games alone he was as dominate a player as you'll see in college football. Repeatedly making splash plays. He did EVERYTHING for UGA. 

LVE has one speed. I am interested in his 3 cone and movement skills.  Boise rarely had him in man coverage. They asked him to blitz, alot.... and he was horrible at it. He's often cleaning up on the play rather than making it. One year starter, so room to grow. But calling him a potential All-pro certainly fits your MO of overhyping players you like. 

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15 minutes ago, BleedTheClock said:

Yeah there is nothing wrong with Roquan's athletic traits. He's small and can't disengage from blockers. Aside from that, he's flawless.

Agreed. And as you see in that play, he's hard to lock on because he can beat blockers with quickness and anticipation. Inside is where he can get washed out at times, but as a WLB he will dominate 

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1 hour ago, big_palooka said:

How you can say you're an SEC fan and Smith doesn't jump off the screen as a great athlete is just ridiculous. The SEC Champ game and Nat Champ games alone he was as dominate a player as you'll see in college football. Repeatedly making splash plays. He did EVERYTHING for UGA. 

LVE has one speed. I am interested in his 3 cone and movement skills.  Boise rarely had him in man coverage. They asked him to blitz, alot.... and he was horrible at it. He's often cleaning up on the play rather than making it. One year starter, so room to grow. But calling him a potential All-pro certainly fits your MO of overhyping players you like. 

I'm just weird like that.  I'm also the same guy who was not impressed with Leonard Fournette leading up to last year's draft when everyone else and their mama was proclaiming him the next big thing.

I look for specific traits in prospects.  Size/speed/athleticism is one of them.  If a guy is undersized (as is the case with Roquan Smith) then for him to overcome that limitation he needs to be freakishly athletic to get my attention.  Sorta like how Aaron Donald is incredibly undersized but also incredibly athletic for that size.  Roquan Smith looks like just another guy when I watch him play.  Yes he was productive and he made a couple of wow plays here or there.  But he did not consistently dominate in a fashion that leads me to believe he can overcome his size limitation to be dominant in the NFL.

Roquan Smith will be a good NFL player.  I just don't see greatness in him.

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1 hour ago, Elusive_Tiger said:

Edmunds. Smith can't shed blocks well and Edmunds has the size advantage.

I love how people just ignore instincts and football IQ. Size over instincts!!

With Smith, show me where him not "shedding blocks well" has ever hurt him. He made 137 tackles, 14 TFL and 6.5 Sacks. Missed all of 10 tackles all season and was voted the nations best LB. Maybe someone should have blocked him? 

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3 hours ago, VanS said:

I remember last year everyone said the same about Marcus Williams.  Then he ended up running a 4.56 40 at the combine and stayed in the 2nd round. 

Maybe its just me but I don't care how a guy tests at the combine if the film clearly shows exceptional athleticism.  People use the combine to overthink.

I like to use the combine to confirm what I see in film from guys I have questions about and to also see prospects emerge that I may not have paid mind to earlier.

 

Some guys have an athleticism jumps off the tape, others can be difficult to ascertain. The eye can deceive due to the way a player moves or even the color of a jersey as weird as that sounds. It's also true that players at certain positions have set assignments that might be muting untapped athleticism. The combine isn't bible, but can also be useful to provide insight especially in explosive measures. 

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