Really hope Cowboys don't touch Zaven Collins

fivetwos

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This guy is not soft. I mean, go turn on the SMU tape and watch him play. This guy is a do it all lb. Think
Derrick Brooks or Brian Urlacher.

Carpenter ran around blocks. This kid does not do that. He doesn't avoid contact. He will run through contract to make a tackle and he will time a blitz to avoid a block but he's not a soft lb.

Think about this, who is the last LB, you saw get drafted in the 1st round who was a stack and shed type LB? Those guys go later in the draft. They don't go top 10 or 15.
My concern is how does he fit and how they will use him.

Soft? Tough to say so I'll back off there.

I'm not on board with passing on pressure players for a cover type LB. If he isnt some sort of rusher, the team can do better top 15 IMO, even in this draft.
 

fivetwos

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Kind of like Lve too, where he came from Boise. I did like Lve pick, but knew he needed some development. Unfortunately, he has missed so much time to do so. Collins maybe able to develop as well, but rather go in a different direction.
Maybe Tulsa is the new Boise lol....
 

ABQCOWBOY

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LVE is a good run and chase LB and if we were to take Collins, that would pretty much tell me all we need to know about his situation IMO. Cover LVE up and he can be a ridiculously productive LB but he does have some injury issues. If you draft Collins, that problaby means that LVE is done.
 

Jake

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"With the 44th pick in the 2021 NFL draft, the Dallas Cowboys select..."
 

Cowboyny

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Zaven Collins, Tulsa
Cosell: "Collins is a totally different guy. He's 6-foot-5, 259 pounds, and he plays like an athlete, not like a physical guy. It's strange to say but a guy who's basically 260, he's more of an athletic space, run-and-chase, finesse linebacker than a physical power player despite the size. He's got excellent athleticism. When you see him run, he runs like a much smaller man, he's got a range, he's got speed. "He made some interceptions this year, when he was returning, he looked like a big running back. I think in one game he ended the game – I forget who it was against – with a 96-yard interception return for a touchdown. And when he was running, he looked like just a big running back. I'm not gonna sit here and say he looked like Derrick Henry, but he just got a big running back [look]. "He did not play with a lot of physicality, that's the thing that needs to be developed. Can he play that way? But he's a very multi-dimensional and multi-positional guy, that's the way he was used at Tulsa. He kind of reminded me of the way Bill Belichick uses Kyle Van Noy, but Collins is just a much much bigger man than Kyle Van Noy."
 

Cowboyny

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LVE is a good run and chase LB and if we were to take Collins, that would pretty much tell me all we need to know about his situation IMO. Cover LVE up and he can be a ridiculously productive LB but he does have some injury issues. If you draft Collins, that problaby means that LVE is done.
Lve issues lies within the run game. He needed to get stronger and play with better technique. With him missing so much time, he just hasn't developed quickly as we hoped. We maybe replacing him with a similar prospect.
 

ABQCOWBOY

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My concern is how does he fit and how they will use him.

Soft? Tough to say so I'll back off there.

I'm not on board with passing on pressure players for a cover type LB. If he isnt some sort of rusher, the team can do better top 15 IMO, even in this draft.

He plays a key role in Quinn's scheme. So, the Seattle Defensive scheme uses a front end where the LEO plays a wide 9 to basically flush the qb into the teeth of the Defense. The idea is to force the QB to one side of the field. This limits his ability to use the entire field and pretty much forces him to two reads. Very effective way to force Offense into a limited area of attack. The 3Tech, 1Tech or 0Tech and the 5Tech DE, are basically playing gap control and forcing the pocket back into the backfield. the idea is to give the QB only one option. If the QB is able to break contain, you have one LB that runs and chases everything down. That guy is the guy that makes a tone of plays in your scheme in both the run game and the passing game. He also must be able to cover because he will have coverage responsibilities in max protect or when the D is changing up to simply keep the Offense guessing. But that run and chase LB usually is among the league leading tacklers in the NFL.

Now, as Collins gains more experience and learns the scheme, learns the league, I would not be surprised to see him end up playing LEO. He has the size, the skills, the agility and the natural blitz ability to fill that role. May just need snaps.

Of course, all of this assumes that he gets drafted to the Cowboys but honestly, he could play all three LB position on the team and he could even give us DE snaps. With our situation at LB, how valuable would a guy like that be?

I like the kid but that's just my opinion.
 

ABQCOWBOY

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Lve issues lies within the run game. He needed to get stronger and play with better technique. With him missing so much time, he just hasn't developed quickly as we hoped. We maybe replacing him with a similar prospect.

That's easy to say but you have to be on the field in order to do that. That's the problem. It's not getting stronger or better technique. As I said, I agree that he needs to develop but I'm not entirely sure he will be around long enough to do that.

JMO
 

ABQCOWBOY

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Zaven Collins, Tulsa
Cosell: "Collins is a totally different guy. He's 6-foot-5, 259 pounds, and he plays like an athlete, not like a physical guy. It's strange to say but a guy who's basically 260, he's more of an athletic space, run-and-chase, finesse linebacker than a physical power player despite the size. He's got excellent athleticism. When you see him run, he runs like a much smaller man, he's got a range, he's got speed. "He made some interceptions this year, when he was returning, he looked like a big running back. I think in one game he ended the game – I forget who it was against – with a 96-yard interception return for a touchdown. And when he was running, he looked like just a big running back. I'm not gonna sit here and say he looked like Derrick Henry, but he just got a big running back [look]. "He did not play with a lot of physicality, that's the thing that needs to be developed. Can he play that way? But he's a very multi-dimensional and multi-positional guy, that's the way he was used at Tulsa. He kind of reminded me of the way Bill Belichick uses Kyle Van Noy, but Collins is just a much much bigger man than Kyle Van Noy."

Go watch him play. Don't just read other peoples stuff. He is talented enough to get by the blocks but when somebody locks up on him, he doesn't run around them. He runs through them and then by them.

Just go watch him.
 

Mr_437

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I was a big fan of Zaven until I came across some game where he was soft **. He got blocked and fell to the ground so easily I couldn't believe it. Now dude is 270?

I like what NY posted about him being looked at as a SAM by Dallas which would be a fit, but you can't justify a 1st rounder for that role...Charles Snowden much better pick later in the draft at SAM.

For the record it didn't matter the competition level Reggie Robinson just wasn't a good football player coming out of Tulsa.
 

Gaede

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Still a huge fan of Collins. A very big and versatile LB that can make plays in the pass game, run game, and pass rush. I don't know how you gain 11 lbs in a month, but I'm sure he plays at a lesser weight during the season. I bet Quinn could use him in several ways.

He doesn't look like the prototype, sure, but he could just be an extremely rare dude.
 

john van brocklin

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We heard a lot of buzz about the Cowboys interest in Collins early in the process, but very little until recently. I thought after Quinn was hired they weren't going to consider him as he might be more of a fit for either a 3-4 front or hybrid scheme. That appears not to be the case as Pauline recently said, he could indeed be a trade back target. I heard a rumor that the Cowboys have a top 15 grade on him.

You would think with that size he would be more of a physical player, but he is another finesse type of linebacker that struggles with taking on blocks. He is quite similar to Lve, without the injury concerns. If we are going to take another high linebacker, you would think that player must be a strong run defender, which Collins is not. Give me Parsons, Davis, even Bolton over him as I know our weakness has a chance to improve.
Why,?
Is he radioactive?
 

reddyuta

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teams will forgive a LB if he misses some tackles,they are more interested if he can diagnose the play most of the time and Collins can do that every play.
 
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