12-31-2014, 07:17 AM
What's up guys, happy New Year's Eve. I just spent some time breaking down another prospect and I'd love to share my opinion with you. (As always the folks at www.draftbreakdown.com provide the videos I watch for these things)
So this time we're looking at Bednardrick McKinney, an inside linebacker for Mississippi State. He has old-school LB stature at 6'5, 250 and runs his 40 in the 4.5s. We'll be looking at him to play MLB and the OTTO. The Miss State defense runs a variety of looks which helps us out. He was going up against UAB (rest in peace), LSU, and Auburn, so all in all not a bad series.
As always, let's get the meaningless litany of statistics out of the way first: through three games he racked up 29 tackles,4 missed, 1 catch allowed, 1 pass broken up, 1 fumble recovery, and 2 QB pressures.
Shall we?
Strengths:
Let's get the obvious out of the way first - size is no longer a requirement for inside linebackers in the NFL, but you've got to love a guy with McKinney's build. Aside from looking downright ferocious, it gives him an advantage in swatting passes down that come over the middle. What's also very impressive is the way he moves for a guy his size. While acceleration is more important for inside linebackers, he has more raw speed than most ILBs in the league right now. He shows good vision, always tracking the ball in the run game. He's also adept at run fits, reading the holes and positioning his massive frame inside them before the running back arrives. He is a heck of a blitzer (which is why I think he could work in our OTTO role), and possesses a proficient rip move. Despite the missed tackles in the box score, he's pretty much a sure bet to bring the ballcarrier down. He's got mammoth strength for a linebacker, as befits a man of his size. He also handles the responsibilities of assignments and directing his guys around on the defense. As far as wow plays go, he's got a few. There was one series against LSU where LSU tried four times to get in the endzone from the goal line, and 3 of the 4 plays were stopped by McKinney. He's got the temperament you need - which is to say, no temperament - to play ILB in the NFL. He's passable in coverage as well.
Weaknesses:
McKinney's weaknesses, same as a lot of college LBs, stem from over-aggressiveness and a lack of technique. Throughout the course of these three games he bit on every single play action fake. I'm going to assume that run-stuffing was part of the gameplan because otherwise he'll get burned on that in the league. His technique issues revolve around his inability to disengage if caught up in blocks. This could be easily seen in the Auburn game, where he had only five tackles (to three missed tackles) due to being pushed around by a very physical offensive line. He needs to learn to extend his arms and take advantage of his length. As it is right now, when his initial strength can't throw off a blocker, he has a very tough time disengaging. My main issue with him, however, is his lack of top-flight acceleration. He's stiff in his hips and can struggle to quickly change direction, which is an important skill for ILBs in today's NFL. Compounded with his inability to disengage from blockers, he functions as something of a fire-and-forget missile... if McKinney picks the right hole, you can be sure of a stop, but if he has to adjust he'll be in trouble. There were also some concerns with him taking a few plays off, which is a big no-no for your middle linebacker.
Grade:
Instincts: 8 (He reads run fits like a professional, but was sucked into every single play action fake)
Athleticism: 7.5 (Has elite raw speed, but a lack of top-end acceleration is a concern)
Block Shedding: 6.5 (Big weakness in his game, needs to learn to extend his arms but then he'll be fine here)
Intangibles: 8 (Calls out signals for his defense, and usually plays hard, but occasionally takes some plays off)
Coverage: 8 (Size gives him an advantage to bat down passes, and his speed makes him an equal matchup for any RB or TE)
Strength: 9 (Excellent hits make up for an occasional missed tackle)
Total: 47 out of 60 for an overall grade of 78/100
In summary, Bednardrick McKinney is a massive, strong, and fast middle linebacker whose talent is covered up by a lack of acceleration and arm extension. Two of his three problems, over-aggressiveness and arm extension can probably be coached up to adequacy. His lack of acceleration will always plague him, however. He's my second-ranked ILB behind Denzel Perryman of Miami, but their grades are comparable enough that it's more of which flavor you prefer. I think McKinney could play either ILB or OTTO for us, but I might actually prefer him at OTTO due to his proficiency at blitzing and his length. I would be surprised if the Jaguars ended up with him, however. While I think he has late round 1 talent, his size will probably push him to be the first selected at his position, most likely in the middle of the first round. If he gets his technique problems sorted out, which I think he can, he has a chance to be a really solid player.
(Thanks for reading guys. Leave your comments below or at the hub of my scouting work, the link to which is in my signature. God bless you and have a happy New Year)
So this time we're looking at Bednardrick McKinney, an inside linebacker for Mississippi State. He has old-school LB stature at 6'5, 250 and runs his 40 in the 4.5s. We'll be looking at him to play MLB and the OTTO. The Miss State defense runs a variety of looks which helps us out. He was going up against UAB (rest in peace), LSU, and Auburn, so all in all not a bad series.
As always, let's get the meaningless litany of statistics out of the way first: through three games he racked up 29 tackles,4 missed, 1 catch allowed, 1 pass broken up, 1 fumble recovery, and 2 QB pressures.
Shall we?
Strengths:
Let's get the obvious out of the way first - size is no longer a requirement for inside linebackers in the NFL, but you've got to love a guy with McKinney's build. Aside from looking downright ferocious, it gives him an advantage in swatting passes down that come over the middle. What's also very impressive is the way he moves for a guy his size. While acceleration is more important for inside linebackers, he has more raw speed than most ILBs in the league right now. He shows good vision, always tracking the ball in the run game. He's also adept at run fits, reading the holes and positioning his massive frame inside them before the running back arrives. He is a heck of a blitzer (which is why I think he could work in our OTTO role), and possesses a proficient rip move. Despite the missed tackles in the box score, he's pretty much a sure bet to bring the ballcarrier down. He's got mammoth strength for a linebacker, as befits a man of his size. He also handles the responsibilities of assignments and directing his guys around on the defense. As far as wow plays go, he's got a few. There was one series against LSU where LSU tried four times to get in the endzone from the goal line, and 3 of the 4 plays were stopped by McKinney. He's got the temperament you need - which is to say, no temperament - to play ILB in the NFL. He's passable in coverage as well.
Weaknesses:
McKinney's weaknesses, same as a lot of college LBs, stem from over-aggressiveness and a lack of technique. Throughout the course of these three games he bit on every single play action fake. I'm going to assume that run-stuffing was part of the gameplan because otherwise he'll get burned on that in the league. His technique issues revolve around his inability to disengage if caught up in blocks. This could be easily seen in the Auburn game, where he had only five tackles (to three missed tackles) due to being pushed around by a very physical offensive line. He needs to learn to extend his arms and take advantage of his length. As it is right now, when his initial strength can't throw off a blocker, he has a very tough time disengaging. My main issue with him, however, is his lack of top-flight acceleration. He's stiff in his hips and can struggle to quickly change direction, which is an important skill for ILBs in today's NFL. Compounded with his inability to disengage from blockers, he functions as something of a fire-and-forget missile... if McKinney picks the right hole, you can be sure of a stop, but if he has to adjust he'll be in trouble. There were also some concerns with him taking a few plays off, which is a big no-no for your middle linebacker.
Grade:
Instincts: 8 (He reads run fits like a professional, but was sucked into every single play action fake)
Athleticism: 7.5 (Has elite raw speed, but a lack of top-end acceleration is a concern)
Block Shedding: 6.5 (Big weakness in his game, needs to learn to extend his arms but then he'll be fine here)
Intangibles: 8 (Calls out signals for his defense, and usually plays hard, but occasionally takes some plays off)
Coverage: 8 (Size gives him an advantage to bat down passes, and his speed makes him an equal matchup for any RB or TE)
Strength: 9 (Excellent hits make up for an occasional missed tackle)
Total: 47 out of 60 for an overall grade of 78/100
In summary, Bednardrick McKinney is a massive, strong, and fast middle linebacker whose talent is covered up by a lack of acceleration and arm extension. Two of his three problems, over-aggressiveness and arm extension can probably be coached up to adequacy. His lack of acceleration will always plague him, however. He's my second-ranked ILB behind Denzel Perryman of Miami, but their grades are comparable enough that it's more of which flavor you prefer. I think McKinney could play either ILB or OTTO for us, but I might actually prefer him at OTTO due to his proficiency at blitzing and his length. I would be surprised if the Jaguars ended up with him, however. While I think he has late round 1 talent, his size will probably push him to be the first selected at his position, most likely in the middle of the first round. If he gets his technique problems sorted out, which I think he can, he has a chance to be a really solid player.
(Thanks for reading guys. Leave your comments below or at the hub of my scouting work, the link to which is in my signature. God bless you and have a happy New Year)