Let’s compare Devin White with Jaylon

[ondaedg]

Not a Jaylon defender by any means

But his stats would be much better with Suh and Vea up front lol

Agreed. I personally feel Jaylon has some skill gaps that can’t be overcome but yes a good DL like they have would make his or any other LB more productive.

 

[jazzcat22]

This is part of the problem. Jaylon sits back about 6 yds but his reads are almost always a tick slower than other LBers. His other challenge is he struggles with play actions and id’ing the ball carrier.

That was mostly due to Nolan and his stupid scheme, and injuries. He was not like that before.
I will hold off any judgement until I see him, and others on the field this season.

I was not happy with Jaylon's play last season, nor others. But not going to hate on the players either.
Enough of that in here already.

 

[ondaedg]

The number that blows me away is they got 9 sacks out of the mlb position at a salary of $675k. That is just incredible.

 

[thunderpimp91]

I agree brother. I cant forget 2018, he looked awesome. I dont understand the drop off. Coming into last season I said the same thing. That said our DTs were terrible so nothing changed. I still believe there has to be a way to rediscover 2018 Jaylon. I haven't given up completely, but I do wish we hadn't re-signed him.

Can’t disagree with that. I’d rather not have Jaylon, but with the cap hit and number of other holes to fill you almost have to roll the dice on a slight rebound from him.

 

[starfan1]

Maybe the tackles are 7 yards downfield, because he plays 7 yards off the LOS and the DL can't do their job.
But no, fans do not think of logic. And many times he has to chase them down if they are not on his side of the ball.

its a combination of both I believe. You are right our Dl sucks but Jaylon essentially has 1 good leg and cannot change directions flawlessly. Plus his read and react may leave a little to be desired

 

[OmerV]

Drafting linebackers early is frowned upon now so I wanted to show the production you can get from him. Not sure any other MLB in the league had anything close to 9 sacks.

Something to consider is what you said about no other MLB having close to 9 sacks. Does that mean Devin White is an anomaly, and not something a team could expect from a LB drafted in the top 5?

 

[ondaedg]

Something to consider is what you said about no other MLB having close to 9 sacks. Does that mean Devin White is an anomaly, and not something a team could expect from a LB drafted in the top 5?

Possibly. He may be the fastest LB in football. But it’s the same thing with every Mahomes, Rice etc. More importantly it shows the impact a mlb can have on the game such as White’s performance in the super bowl.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

I don;t hate Jaylon....I just hate the way he RUNS like he's protecting an ankle injury.

 

[OmerV]

Possibly. He may be the fastest LB in football. But it’s the same thing with every Mahomes, Rice etc. More importantly it shows the impact a mlb can have on the game such as White’s performance in the super bowl.

I don't at all disagree that a high quality MLB can have a big impact. I personally think Jaylon Smith is out of place in the middle. His talent is in chasing down plays, but a MLB has to be tough taking on blocks to plug up the middle, and that's not Jaylon.

 

[Winonesoon]

“But those tacklez tho!!!!!! Heeeeeehaaaaw.....heeeehaaaaaw!!!!”

yeahbut 7 yards deep doesn't help a lot.

 

[ondaedg]

I don't at all disagree that a high quality MLB can have a big impact. I personally think Jaylon Smith is out of place in the middle. His talent is in chasing down plays, but a MLB has to be tough taking on blocks to plug up the middle, and that's not Jaylon.

Agreed 100%. He shuffles his feet when an OL is bearing down on him. He is definitely a pursuit guy.

 

[fivetwos]

Since they need to fix DT AND LB.....may as well fix DT first and see if that plus the scheme change helps any.

Personally I dont think it will in 54s case. I've never seen someone play so awkwardly with seemingly a complete lack of instinct.

I have no clue what happened in 18, but every other season for him has been that way.

 

[Aven8]

I can’t find a comparison to Jaylon. I can’t remember a Cowboys LB that is this bad. He makes Bradie James look like an all pro.

 

[ondaedg]

Since they need to fix DT AND LB.....may as well fix DT first and see if that plus the scheme change helps any.

Personally I dont think it will in 54s case. I've never seen someone play so awkwardly with seemingly a complete lack of instinct.

I have no clue what happened in 18, but every other season for him has been that way.

Once the game film came out and the Rams exposed him a bit teams knew how to attack him.

 

[ccb04]

White is a great player no doubt. But he also plays behind a much better front 4...alongside David, etc. White also didn't suffer a devastating career threatening injury, and benefits from better coaches/scheme. The Bucs defense as a whole was very impressive during their win streak, in the playoffs, and especially in the super bowl.

Yes, I dislike Jaylon's incessant celebrations.
But this is hardly an apples-to-apples comparison. Guys like Vea help keep White clean. When he blitzes, the Bucs can have David, an outstanding coverage LB, sitting back.
Compare that to the Cowboys.

 

[speedkilz88]

Bucs play a 3-4 and it allows you disguise blitzes if you have the talent which is partly why he has 9 sks.

LB is a much more valuable position to a 3-4 because of that and the Bucs have been so bad for so long they have a lot of high picks on that roster and especially that defense. Look at that front seven. Suh, Vea, and Gholston on the DL with Pierre Paul, White, David, and Barrett? They were loaded this year. And kudos to them for making some very wise FA additions. The Cowboys need to do more in this area.



DE 93 SUH, NDAMUKONG U/LAR
NT 50 Vea, Vita 18/1
DE 92 Gholston, William 13/4


OLB 90 PIERRE-PAUL, JASON T/NYG 98 Nelson, Anthony 19/4
ILB 45 White, Devin 19/1 51 MINTER, KEVIN SF18
ILB 54 DAVID, LAVONTE 12/2 48 Cichy, Jack 18/6
OLB 58 Barrett, Shaquil U/Den 49 Gill, Cam CF20


CB 24 Davis, Carlton 18/2
SS 31 Winfield Jr., Antoine 20/2 32 Edwards, Mike 19/3
FS 33 Whitehead, Jordan 18/4 26 Adams, Andrew SF19
RCB 35 Dean, Jamel 19/3 23 Murphy-Bunting, Sean 19/2 29 Smith, Ryan 16/4
NB 43 Cockrell, Ross SF20

 

[birdwells1]

Not a Jaylon defender by any means

But his stats would be much better with Suh and Vea up front lol

No they wouldn't, Jaylon is still suffering from drop foot and plays with that in mind. He guesses (because of the foot), he tries to go around blockers instead of taking them on (because of the foot), he's slow (because of the foot),and he catch tackles instead taking them head on (because of the foot) . The reason they keep him because he has a good story (because of the foot). None of his faults would change with better DT play, he's just not that good (because of the foot).

After watching Devin White it doesn't even seem like he and Jaylon play the same position.

 

[9darter]

Not a Jaylon defender by any means

But his stats would be much better with Suh and Vea up front lol

No, his stats would be even more fake and deceptive.

 

[JoeKing]

I was really impressed with Devin White’s play this year and thought we should compare him with another highly touted lb coming out of college in Jaylon. Keep in mind that Devin played in 15 games vs Jaylon’s 16.

Total tackles
Jaylon 154
Devin 140

Solo tackles
Jaylon 89
Devin 97

Sacks
Jaylon 1.5
Devin 9 (wow!)

Tackles for loss
Jaylon 5
Devin 15

QB hits
Jaylon 4
Devin 16

The Bucs proved that spending a top 5 pick on a lb is not a mistake.

Not all LBs coming out for the draft are created equal. Just because one may be an acceptable top 5 pick doesn't mean the rule that it's a mistake to draft one in the top 5 picks is wrong. It just means you found the exception. Drafting Jaylon Smith 34th overall wasn't a mistake either. The mistake happened when the Jones boys decided to give Jaylon a contract extension.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Something to consider is what you said about no other MLB having close to 9 sacks. Does that mean Devin White is an anomaly, and not something a team could expect from a LB drafted in the top 5?

Its odd he graded out so low even with those sacks...what on earth is he doing in coverage?