Lou Young CB..a closer look

[davos]

I believe it will be inevitable as things pick up this summer that there will be a focus on Lou Young.  Some have mentioned the staff liking him and I think it's important to note that after Peanut went down, he was the DB not signed off the street mid-season (Finnegan, McClain) that we promoted to the active roster. 

Some facts/stats on Lou Young

• 24 years old; 3-year starter at Georgia Tech
• 6'1 205  |  32 3/8 arms  |  Has recorded 40s between 4.37-4.48 
• Over that time: 134 tackles, 4 INTs, 12 pass break-ups (40 tackles, 2 INTs his last year at GT)
• Almost made the Broncos squad as a UDFA but was one of the final cuts to 53
• Not much to find with the online "scouting reports"
• Speed, size, length, nickel experience, and good in zone coverage (Checks a lot of our supposed boxes at DB)

 

Quote

Strengths

Outstanding size. Nice zone awareness -- plays the ball well in front of him. Good recover speed when he loses position. Offers nickel experience.

Weaknesses

Limited press strength and physicality supporting the run for as big as he is. Average lateral agility and transitional quickness. Selective hitter. Does not play with confidence and often loses awareness downfield. Marginal ball skills -- 12 career pass breakups and only four career interceptions.

per nfl.com

--

So it appears he could be a better ballhawk, develop his technique further but he has very interesting measurables and I see why our staff apparently likes him.  To piggyback off of the 8 cbs thread, we've got Bene and the 3 rookies meanwhile--McClain, Young, Teddy, & Richardson.  Basically: I think Young has a legitimate shot at making the 53 over McClain Teddy, and Richardson. 

McClain has the "experience" (not quite the size and speed), Teddy is a pure ST contributor at this stage and has already been in the league for 5 seasons, and Richardson is in the dark at the moment but does have the college resume and size (Though being drafted in the 5th and moving around so much gives some hesitation).  This kid Young likely knows the system pretty well at this point and heck, he could get more playing time than some of the rookies depending on how things roll out early on. 

So TL,DR: He may begin to be one of the annual buzzed about UDFA types to be hyped up this offseason/preseason but I think it could be warranted depending on how he does in camp and whatnot.

[MHS831]

We did not use him last year, instead, opted for McClain and Finnegan.  Was Young not ready?  He has the tools, I agree.

[mc52beast]

Basically there's a good chance the guys who don't make our team will be starting for someone else;

Not a bad problem to have

[davos]

1 hour ago, MHS831 said:

We did not use him last year, instead, opted for McClain and Finnegan.  Was Young not ready?  He has the tools, I agree.

Yeah he may have not been ready and still a bit unpolished...but making the 53 in January is big no matter the injury situation.  Another thing is that we've got Steve Wilks teaching these young guys up and that has a great effect.  Kind of OT--I think Wilks has HC potential one day. 

[davos]

Just now, Promethean Forerunner said:

I thought he was part of our roster heading into January but was likely a last resort? I could have sworn we promoted him.

That was what I thought--he was PS and promoted to the 53 in January.  (Correct me if I'm wrong though)

[caatfan]

They apparently like him but nobody even wanted to spend a 7th round pick on him, and he's been released by Denver, Baltimore, and Jville. If he turns out to be more than a marginal contributor I'll definitely join the Steve Wilks fan club.

[KB_fan]

3 hours ago, davos said:

That was what I thought--he was PS and promoted to the 53 in January.  (Correct me if I'm wrong though)

Correct.  He was promoted to the 53 for the three post-season games, but he was never activated.

[General_Purr]

Ive been pushing for Lou to be playing CB last year.. but we went with Mcclain.. 

 

Mcclain is a safe smart choice but for sure he will not win you any games. We went a little too far with the fitting the system deal with that one. He got torched lets be real.

Lou is a playmaker 

[morgan55]

2 hours ago, General_Purr said:

Ive been pushing for Lou to be playing CB last year.. but we went with Mcclain.. 

 

Mcclain is a safe smart choice but for sure he will not win you any games. We went a little too far with the fitting the system deal with that one. He got torched lets be real.

Lou is a playmaker 

According to who?? 

[Thorrez]

5 hours ago, Promethean Forerunner said:

He also made it in Denver but there wasn't much room for him there.

Young reminds me a lot of Dockery.

What do you mean with made it in Denver? He was cut and never made the roster, was not signed to the practice squad until two weeks later and was terminated from after four weeks. 

That's not "made it" regardless of the competition on the team. 

[Ivan The Awesome]

The way I see it is. He has potential. Potential is dangerous.  It is something uncertain.  Could work could not. 

Drafting three corners two of which are potential replacements for young don't encourage me. 

[shaqattaq]

23 hours ago, davos said:

Weaknesses

Limited press strength and physicality supporting the run for as big as he is. Average lateral agility and transitional quickness. Selective hitter. Does not play with confidence and often loses awareness downfield. Marginal ball skills -- 12 career pass breakups and only four career interceptions.

Wilkes and House can make him stronger, more confident and more aggressive. Has he bulked up any since last season?  I look forward to seeing him in OTA's.

I didn't realize that he played nickel at GT. A little versatility always helps your chances. If they do opt to keep McClain (or Richardson?), I think Young at least gets stashed on the PS again.