Not a flashy pick, but a solid football player. Not considered an "elite player" in the making, but neither were Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews, Chad Greenway, or Jon Beason when they were coming out.
I really think you put this guy in at either OLB spot and he'll at minimum be a solid starting defender for the next 5-8 years and quite possibly a Pro Bowl caliber linebacker. He's currently projected right around 10-12, so taking him at 8-9 would by no means be a huge reach.
IMO, he's the best pick we could make outside of someone dropping to us unexpectedly. All the other players seem to have a much higher bust potential; Coples (takes plays off), Brockers (needs development + a reach at 8-9), Still (injuries), Jeffery (slow), Kirkpatrick (weed bust, not fast/agile enough to play CB?), etc.
Kuechly isn't as flashy as those guys, but you'll find very little wrong with his game. The dude can flat-out play football. He runs well, hits well, tackles well, and is solid in coverage (just check out all those INT's in the video). On top of that, you put him next to Beason and across from Anderson and it'd make him even better.
A linebacker corp. of Anderson-Beason-Kuechly would be absolutely sick, IMO. Again, by no means a "flashy" pick, but I have little doubt it wouldn't be one we'd find fault with 3-5 years down the road and I honestly can't say that about some of the other names I've been hearing.
Edited by Second City Panther, 28 January 2012 - 05:52 AM.
