Lee - Vander Esch - Smith

[TheCount]

Interesting that people think LB is solved now.

Lee is great, but isn't playing at his best position (ILB) due to fear of injury.

LVE will be a rookie taking a big step up in competition, but has the physical tools even if there are questions about his play strength.

Jaylon was all over the place last year and showed a lack of instincts and/or control, is also ideally a weakside LB but will never see the position because Lee is there so now he's forced to play strong side.

There are still a lot of questions here, and only one of these guys has proven to be an NFL talent.

 

[Staubacher]

Smith was a Jerrah gamble pick that was another big fail. Thankfully there was none of that this draft.

 

[Section446]

Unless Smith has improved drastically he's a huge liability

 

[ItzKelz]

By the end of the season Jaylon was taking snaps from a healthy Hitch and played every game. LVE should be able to start day one. The only concern at this point is Lee staying healthy.

 

[ItzKelz]

Interesting that people think LB is solved now.

Lee is great, but isn't playing at his best position (ILB) due to fear of injury.

LVE will be a rookie taking a big step up in competition, but has the physical tools even if there are questions about his play strength.

Jaylon was all over the place last year and showed a lack of instincts and/or control, is also ideally a weakside LB but will never see the position because Lee is there so now he's forced to play strong side.

There are still a lot of questions here, and only one of these guys has proven to be an NFL talent.

Im betting Jaylon will play all 3 positions next year. He was forced to play 2 last year. Thrown to the wolves because of injuries. Lee will not play all 6 games and LVE wont play every snap at Mike.

 

[chicago JK]

This team is slow to fit pieces that fit their defense. I think they have the corners and linebackers who fit the scheme they want to run. I like some of their lineman but still think they need that one interior lineman who gets pressure. Irving has the talent but due to injury and character, I don’t think you want to rely on him being the “Guy”. They also need safeties who complement the corners and linebackers. Maybe Woods is one....but that is a lot to ask from such a young player.

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

Well he was on the bench 80% of snaps when Lee and Hitchens were available in the last few games of the year. If he couldn't beat out Anthony Hitchens, I sure hope he doesn't beat out our stud #1 pick.

FYI- as per Pro Football Reference, here are 2017 defensive snap counts:

- Jaylon Smith: 55.02% (suited up every game) https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SmitJa05/fantasy/2017
- Sean Lee: 59.42% (Lee obviously missed a few games) https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LeexSe99/fantasy/2017
- Anthony Hitchens: 52.15% (no snaps games 1-4) https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HitcAn00/fantasy/2017

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/2017-snap-counts.htm

 

[Dorsett33]

LVE and Sean Lee are every down backs.

If Jaylon is getting a lot of playing time, something has gone horribly wrong.

If you guys want to blindly believe he'll be good one day because of pics on Twitter of him working out without a brace, suit yourselves.

But what makes you think LVE will be good and you haven't seen him play ONE NFL down?

 

[charron]

FYI- as per Pro Football Reference, here are 2017 defensive snap counts:

- Jaylon Smith: 55.02% (suited up every game) https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SmitJa05/fantasy/2017
- Sean Lee: 59.42% (Lee obviously missed a few games) https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LeexSe99/fantasy/2017
- Anthony Hitchens: 52.15% (no snaps games 1-4) https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/H/HitcAn00/fantasy/2017

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/2017-snap-counts.htm

Shows smith played 30% or more of the defensive snaps in all but 5 games including the last 3 where he dipped to less than 20 snaps each game.

 

[ItzKelz]

But what makes you think LVE will be good and you haven't seen him play ONE NFL down?

The same thing that makes scouts think LVE will be good without him taking an single NFL snap?

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

Shows smith played 30% or more of the defensive snaps in all but 5 games including the last 3 where he dipped to less than 20 snaps each game.

looks true....I tried cross-referencing the games when both Lee and Hitch were available, which were a few more than the last 4, but it does appear Jaylon's snap counts fell off a cliff during those occurrences

 

[DanA]

Week 7
Lee 49 snaps
Hitchens 4` snaps
Smith 32 snaps

Week 8
Lee 57 snaps
Hitchens 26 snaps
Smith 17 snaps

Week 9
Lee - 54 snaps
Hitchen - 28 snaps
Smith -17 snaps

Smith was definately no.3 but he didn't exactly fall off a cliff when Hitchens/Lee were both available. I think there's room for three LB's given the health issue Lee has faced.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

He had 1 year to learn the game, and train other part of his body, quite disappointing.

Another 2nd round bust.

How do you learn the game on the sideline?

 

[xwalker]

Well he was on the bench 80% of snaps when Lee and Hitchens were available in the last few games of the year. If he couldn't beat out Anthony Hitchens, I sure hope he doesn't beat out our stud #1 pick.

He averaged being on the bench 69% of the snaps in the last 4 games.

 

[Nexx]

But what makes you think LVE will be good and you haven't seen him play ONE NFL down?

You can only assume since he was your first pick. Just like every other NFL team who hasn’t seen their first round pick play assumes their pick will start and be good. Is that you Mickey?

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

Week 7
Lee 49 snaps
Hitchens 4` snaps
Smith 32 snaps

Week 8
Lee 57 snaps
Hitchens 26 snaps
Smith 17 snaps

Week 9
Lee - 54 snaps
Hitchen - 28 snaps
Smith -17 snaps

Smith was definately no.3 but he didn't exactly fall off a cliff when Hitchens/Lee were both available. I think there's room for three LB's given the health issue Lee has faced.

Games when either Lee or Hitchens were not available, Jaylon was seeing 80+% of snaps. When both were on the field, as other posters noted earlier, Jaylon's snap count fell to below 30%. Depends on what we interpret as falling off a cliff but the difference is significant and yes, he was surely viewed as #3 on the depth chart.

 

[OmerV]

Week 7
Lee 49 snaps
Hitchens 4` snaps
Smith 32 snaps

Week 8
Lee 57 snaps
Hitchens 26 snaps
Smith 17 snaps

Week 9
Lee - 54 snaps
Hitchen - 28 snaps
Smith -17 snaps

Smith was definately no.3 but he didn't exactly fall off a cliff when Hitchens/Lee were both available. I think there's room for three LB's given the health issue Lee has faced.

It’s also reasonable to believe the team didn’t want to push him given that he had been recovering from an injury for almost 2 years

 

[CWR]

His issue is that he cannot change directions.

If you want to send him on a blitz or to blow up/plug a hole, he's ok.

In a passing league, he's a guy you simply cannot have on the field very often.

No doubt he was still recovering. No one here should be satisfied with his level of play last year.

The question remains, can he be the player he used to be and will it translate to the league?

He showed enough promise before injury not to bury him prematurely. He has the tools and a good head on his shoulders. I wouldnt bet against him, but this season will make or break him going forward imho.

 

[Dorsett33]

You can only assume since he was your first pick. Just like every other NFL team who hasn’t seen their first round pick play assumes their pick will start and be good. Is that you Mickey?

Exactly! So we don't know if he'll be better than Smith or not.

 

[Dorsett33]

The same thing that makes scouts think LVE will be good without him taking an single NFL snap?

And if always went by that we'd always have superstars.