Part I of an interview with NFL Draft analyst, and former scout and front office executive, Russ Lande.
We’ll let him give you his scouting report in his own words. How gracious of us!
… “Robert Quinn is best suited as a 4-3 guy, but he’s so gifted that he’d probably be fine as a linebacker. I’m not saying it’s his best position, but he’s so talented that they could make it work with him. If Quinn makes it there I could see them taking him and letting him and Brian Orakpo crash off the corners all day.”
… “Knowing people that worked with Mike Shanahan and his method, you draft the flashiest and look at the best plays. Quinn’s best plays are as good as anyone’s in this draft. There’s a lot of risk in him, but when you talk about his best plays he’s a freak. There’s a lot of games where he’s a non-factor or a minimal factor. But there are one or two plays and sometimes five or six he does things that are freak-like. He explodes off the ball. He’ll be by that tackle before the tackle is a full step into his slide to reach for him. I’m not a big fan. I have him as the No. 5 end and that doesn’t include the 3-4 guys. I have him as a second-round player, but he’s going to go in the top 15. I don’t know how much motor Quinn has. At times he didn’t compete. It’s odd because all the guys you talk to say off the field he’s a great worker, a tremendous kid. He’s what you want off the field. He’s phenomenal. But his motor is not there all the time.”
… “Knowing what they want in a 3-4, I could see them looking at Cameron Jordan from Cal. He’s a guy that fits perfectly, a big physical kid who is very athletic. His father played in the league and that would carry weight with a lot of teams. He’s very competitive, very explosive and a very powerful kid. He would fit well. I like him. I like him higher, but I don’t know if he’ll go that high. …[Another guy is] Aldon Smith from Missouri; for their scheme he’s an outside linebacker. He’s a long, linear explosive kid and very powerful and raw. He’s a little like Quinn. If you put his highlight reel together, it’s off the chart. He does things that make you go wow.”
… “Ten is way too high to consider [Phil Taylor]. But I could see them saying, ‘We watched film of his 15-20 best plays and he’s a top-10 player based on those plays. Nose tackles are impossible to find so we’ll take this kid here.’ The only thing that would scare them off is having just dealt with Haynesworth. It’s not that Taylor is a bad kid, but he was dismissed from one school and until this year he was significantly overweight. There are rumors that Houston has four guys they want before him, but if they’re all gone they would take Taylor at 11.”
… “The last name I’ll throw out at you, and I don’t like him because I don’t think he’s competitive, is Justin Houston out of Georgia. You will get at least three plays every game where you jump out of your seat. He’s a special athlete. But he’s not a real competitive kid. He can’t go backward. He’s just phenomenal rushing the passer. I don’t think he’s competitive but wow is he special. His top 30 plays would warrant him being up there with Bowers, Fairley, anybody. And Shanahan often takes guys that nobody expects. He’s your sleeper – and Taylor.”
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