http://www.cowboysnation.com/2012/04/rush-and-more-rush-dallas-picks-olb.html
Posted by Rafael at Saturday, April 28, 2012
The Cowboys added to their defensive haul by taking Wake Forest OLB Kyle Wilber with the first of two 4th round picks. The Cowboys have now taken a corner, a defensive end and a pass rusher, making good on the debt they owed DC Rob Ryan, who watched the team pick offense in his first year with the team.
I just got a snap report from Wes Bunting on both Wilber and 3rd round pick Tyrone Crawford:
Cowboys Nation: The team is looking for pass rush with these two guys.
Wes Bunting: Yeah.
CN: I pulled up a report you gave on Crawford from February and he reads like a grinder, an under-the-radar guy.
WB: I like him a lot. I thought he was more of a 4-3 base defensive end, a guy who plays on the strong side, but he can play 5-technique. A lot of people I've talked to think he's a 5-technique only. He showed up at the East-West Shrine Game at 285. He's a big, strong kid. He has a little get-off burst but he does a really good job of turning speed into power off the edge, where it looks like he's taking you up the field then he plants his foot in the ground and overwhelms you.
He can stack and shed on the outside. I think he can be a good run stopper in the NFL. I think he's a solid football player.
CN: When I heard your first report, when you described how he was already able to flatten out and get his pads low and blast around the edge, he sounded like a well-developed player. I was surprised when I asked you about his skills and you said he's still pretty inexperienced, and is from Canada and has not played very much.
WB: He's a Canadian kid and he's got a lot of upside to his game. He's going to continue to get better.
CN: He sounds like a high-floor kid. Is that a fair assessment?
WB: He's a high-floor, high-ceiling guy. You know what you're getting but there's a chance he can become a really good power player in the NFL.
CN: Can he play quickly in your opinion?
WB: Yeah, I think he can come right in and be a rotational player early on and if the cards fall into place... That's the thing with these bigger guys. He's playing defensive end, but could he have played tackle? If he goes to a 3-4 team and played the 5-technique maybe he's just more comfortable there than he did playing defensive end.
CN: But he seems to offer rush potential from the 5. I think that's the most intriguing aspect to his game.
WB: Yeah, he does. You can play him inside the tackle as a 4-technique. You can line him up outside shoulder, as the 5, or as the 7 technique and let him fly off the edge in passing situations. I thought he could have been a solid pass rushing option for a 4-3 team and I think he could be a solid option for a 3-4 team.
CN: How did Boise State use him?
WB: They played him as a base 4-3 end. They had McClellin so they flip-flopped them a lot.
CN: So he was the bookend to McClellin?
WB: They moved McClellin all over. He stood up. He blitzed from the inside. These guys were versatile. They would play Billy Winn inside then kick him to defensive end. [Crawford has] played all over.
CN: Could he play inside in a nickel package?
WB: Yeah. Not right away, but I think he could develop in that area.
CN: Let's move to Kyle Wilber. He reads like a guy who could develop into a situational pass rusher early.
WB: Yeah. He's not that quick-twitch explosive guy who's going to fly off the edge. He has an okay first step, but he has long arms, he's smoother so he has some body control when he redirects and changes directions.
Does he close explosively? No. But he uses his length and his short-area quickness and smoothness to keep himself free and he's always working to the quarterback. I liked him a lot on tape when I saw him. Some people initially gave him a free agent grade but I was thinking, man, this could be a pretty good pass rusher. He really helped himself at the East-West Shrine and he just been moving up, moving up.
As a 3-4 guy I think he needs to get a bit stronger against the run, but from day one they're going to use him as a pass rusher. He could mature into a solid 5-8 sack guy in the NFL.
CN: When he fills out, and get some experience, where does he project?
WB: Watching him right now, he's a weak-side 'backer, because I don't know if you could trust him on the strong side at this point, but he does have a big frame and he certainly could develop in that area. Right now I think he's a strong-side pass rusher and you bring him in those nickel situations and he's the 3rd outside rusher on that team.
CN: These are both high-motor guys from the sounds of it.
WB: They're all good football players. 4th round? I don't know, it might be just a touch high, but I can't pick on that. Crawford in the 3rd round? I don't have any complaints about that. He's a tough dude.
Posted by Rafael at Saturday, April 28, 2012
The Cowboys added to their defensive haul by taking Wake Forest OLB Kyle Wilber with the first of two 4th round picks. The Cowboys have now taken a corner, a defensive end and a pass rusher, making good on the debt they owed DC Rob Ryan, who watched the team pick offense in his first year with the team.
I just got a snap report from Wes Bunting on both Wilber and 3rd round pick Tyrone Crawford:
Cowboys Nation: The team is looking for pass rush with these two guys.
Wes Bunting: Yeah.
CN: I pulled up a report you gave on Crawford from February and he reads like a grinder, an under-the-radar guy.
WB: I like him a lot. I thought he was more of a 4-3 base defensive end, a guy who plays on the strong side, but he can play 5-technique. A lot of people I've talked to think he's a 5-technique only. He showed up at the East-West Shrine Game at 285. He's a big, strong kid. He has a little get-off burst but he does a really good job of turning speed into power off the edge, where it looks like he's taking you up the field then he plants his foot in the ground and overwhelms you.
He can stack and shed on the outside. I think he can be a good run stopper in the NFL. I think he's a solid football player.
CN: When I heard your first report, when you described how he was already able to flatten out and get his pads low and blast around the edge, he sounded like a well-developed player. I was surprised when I asked you about his skills and you said he's still pretty inexperienced, and is from Canada and has not played very much.
WB: He's a Canadian kid and he's got a lot of upside to his game. He's going to continue to get better.
CN: He sounds like a high-floor kid. Is that a fair assessment?
WB: He's a high-floor, high-ceiling guy. You know what you're getting but there's a chance he can become a really good power player in the NFL.
CN: Can he play quickly in your opinion?
WB: Yeah, I think he can come right in and be a rotational player early on and if the cards fall into place... That's the thing with these bigger guys. He's playing defensive end, but could he have played tackle? If he goes to a 3-4 team and played the 5-technique maybe he's just more comfortable there than he did playing defensive end.
CN: But he seems to offer rush potential from the 5. I think that's the most intriguing aspect to his game.
WB: Yeah, he does. You can play him inside the tackle as a 4-technique. You can line him up outside shoulder, as the 5, or as the 7 technique and let him fly off the edge in passing situations. I thought he could have been a solid pass rushing option for a 4-3 team and I think he could be a solid option for a 3-4 team.
CN: How did Boise State use him?
WB: They played him as a base 4-3 end. They had McClellin so they flip-flopped them a lot.
CN: So he was the bookend to McClellin?
WB: They moved McClellin all over. He stood up. He blitzed from the inside. These guys were versatile. They would play Billy Winn inside then kick him to defensive end. [Crawford has] played all over.
CN: Could he play inside in a nickel package?
WB: Yeah. Not right away, but I think he could develop in that area.
CN: Let's move to Kyle Wilber. He reads like a guy who could develop into a situational pass rusher early.
WB: Yeah. He's not that quick-twitch explosive guy who's going to fly off the edge. He has an okay first step, but he has long arms, he's smoother so he has some body control when he redirects and changes directions.
Does he close explosively? No. But he uses his length and his short-area quickness and smoothness to keep himself free and he's always working to the quarterback. I liked him a lot on tape when I saw him. Some people initially gave him a free agent grade but I was thinking, man, this could be a pretty good pass rusher. He really helped himself at the East-West Shrine and he just been moving up, moving up.
As a 3-4 guy I think he needs to get a bit stronger against the run, but from day one they're going to use him as a pass rusher. He could mature into a solid 5-8 sack guy in the NFL.
CN: When he fills out, and get some experience, where does he project?
WB: Watching him right now, he's a weak-side 'backer, because I don't know if you could trust him on the strong side at this point, but he does have a big frame and he certainly could develop in that area. Right now I think he's a strong-side pass rusher and you bring him in those nickel situations and he's the 3rd outside rusher on that team.
CN: These are both high-motor guys from the sounds of it.
WB: They're all good football players. 4th round? I don't know, it might be just a touch high, but I can't pick on that. Crawford in the 3rd round? I don't have any complaints about that. He's a tough dude.
