Can Jaylon play SLB next season?

[Corso]

If... IF Jay can fully heal both physically and mentally- he's a Will.
And he could be a pretty good one. But there are some monster IF's in front of him.

 

[Sarge]

We're drafting a LB in either round 1 or 2.

 

[Corso]

Or draft a stud WILL and move Lee (or Hitchens) back to MIKE. Jaylon Smith is not a MIKE. He needs to play SAM, so he can blitz and stay close to LOS.

After gaining his weight- you may be right.
I might have to retract my last statement...

Not yet though.

 

[xwalker]

What do you think of Jaylon so far?

As bad as some are saying?

No instincts? Hesitating due to injury?

Genuinely curious.

He makes a lot of mental mistakes. He runs well in a straight line but his start/stop and lateral agility is limited.

He'll obviously be at least a little better next year but I don't know if it's enough.

The team has to be realistic this offseason in regards to not counting on him or Lee. They need to add a legit LB or 2 if Hitchens leaves.

 

[LocimusPrime]

I'd sign any player in the top 10 of this list

Zach Brown was a cheap free agent this year. Reeeeeal cheap

 

[tm1119]

The cowboys will not target any legit starters in free agency. Don’t be silly

 

[xwalker]

I expect we re-sign Hitch. He's a valuable piece and won't cost a ton of money. But we clearly need another LB

They've made him share reps with Jaylon. Some team will offer him a legit starting job.

 

[xwalker]

I'd sign any player in the top 10 of this list

Zach Brown was a cheap free agent this year. Reeeeeal cheap

Zack Brown looks good relative to his 1 year, 2.5M contract.

Note: I just noticed that I used "relative to" which must indicate I've spent too much time listening to Jerry...

 

[Idgit]

Hitchens has always been a solid player. Under valued and needs to be re-signed.

Yep. He's a guy like Church was who came in athletically badmouthed, and got better and better and better.

When Lee's in there, especially, Hitchens has a coach on the field and ups his game even more. I think the coaches like him, and we try to keep him. I'd hate it if a team came in and gave him an offer too good to match. It'd create another big whole in a thin LB corps.

 

[Proximo]

He makes a lot of mental mistakes. He runs well in a straight line but his start/stop and lateral agility is limited.

He'll obviously be at least a little better next year but I don't know if it's enough.

The team has to be realistic this offseason in regards to not counting on him or Lee. They need to add a legit LB or 2 if Hitchens leaves.

I don't understand the mental mistakes.

By my own admission I do not closely follow college ball, but it seemed like around draft time NO ONE was saying that this guy might "not get it" when it comes to the mental side of the game. All of the chatter was about the leg injury.

Very weird to see him whiffing so badly in some of those post game clips. I know clips can be cherry picked but some of those are real head scratchers.

 

[CF74]

Wilson and Jaylon need to swap but we really should just draft 2 lb’s.

 

[haleyrules]

We're drafting a LB in either round 1 or 2.

No sooner than the 2nd rd. unless there is a killer LB available in the 1st.

 

[Sasquatch]

In my opinion, Jaylon is a classic weakside linebacker.

SAM requires a defender to play disciplined gap football, hold up against contact, and stay on his feet. You can't have a guy that thinks he's done his job because he dove into a crowd and felt contact.

WILL's are typically quick and agile, he doesn't have to deal with the TE nearly as often and is asked to chase the play from the weakside as teams typically go to the strong side, meaning he has to deal with less trash.

Think about someone like Telvin Smith who racks up crazy numbers at Will because he just gets to fly around as a 215 lb linebacker.

The problem is that Will's are asked to cover quite a lot, and Jaylon has a ways to go there since (at least right now) he's a downhill player.

The problem is that Lee plays Will and they are using the fact that will's face less trash to try and preserve Lee's health.

They won't play Lee at SAM or at WILL ever again, so now they have to force a round peg into a square hole and pretend Jaylon is a different kind of linebacker.

We knew this when he was drafted.

 

[CWR]

We're going to give him a contract appropriate to his level of play, and everybody is going to ****. But it's going to be worth it in the scheme of things.

We'll still need another LB who can play, though.

Hitch is better than hes given credit for on here.

 

[xwalker]

I don't understand the mental mistakes.

By my own admission I do not closely follow college ball, but it seemed like around draft time NO ONE was saying that this guy might "not get it" when it comes to the mental side of the game. All of the chatter was about the leg injury.

Very weird to see him whiffing so badly in some of those post game clips. I know clips can be cherry picked but some of those are real head scratchers.

I can't explain it. Maybe the leg somehow distracts him mentally.

 

[Jake]

Did you see this clip....it makes me sad and worried

It's baffling. Read the back, read the play, and meet him at the hole.

 

[Doomsay]

I remember that play when it happened. I rewatch it and try to see what Jaylon could have possibly seen that made him run there. I’m sure field level looks different because the view we are seeing is so bizarre that I can’t imagine any other player on our team regardless of position running where he ran.

Similar to the goal line dive, on the wrong side of the pile.

 

[IheartRomo]

Similar to the goal line dive, on the wrong side of the pile.

He dives or jumps at the end of nearly every single play. He's terrified to have his foot planted with anyone around him. He's just not healthy enough to be taking meaningful snaps at this point in time.

 

[Big D]

Did you see this clip....it makes me sad and worried

IMO Jaylon just needs to be more patient. He's trying so hard to make every play that he's overly aggressive and counters are killing him. He bites on anything and everything. I think once he gets a handle on that he'll be fine.

 

[Nightman]

In my opinion, Jaylon is a classic weakside linebacker.

SAM requires a defender to play disciplined gap football, hold up against contact, and stay on his feet. You can't have a guy that thinks he's done his job because he dove into a crowd and felt contact.

WILL's are typically quick and agile, he doesn't have to deal with the TE nearly as often and is asked to chase the play from the weakside as teams typically go to the strong side, meaning he has to deal with less trash.

Think about someone like Telvin Smith who racks up crazy numbers at Will because he just gets to fly around as a 215 lb linebacker.

The problem is that Will's are asked to cover quite a lot, and Jaylon has a ways to go there since (at least right now) he's a downhill player.

The problem is that Lee plays Will and they are using the fact that will's face less trash to try and preserve Lee's health.

They won't play Lee at SAM or at WILL ever again, so now they have to force a round peg into a square hole and pretend Jaylon is a different kind of linebacker.

He might only be suited for the 3-2-6 alignment were he can rush the passer or drop quickly and help defend the pass but not be the sole defender

Otherwise he can play back-up WILL and maybe move Lee inside on passing downs