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redskins 7th round 250 selction: ILB. Kevin Simon

skinfan09

By skinfan09
in The Stadium

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ratbert_rizzo

ratbert_rizzo

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SUMMARY

Simon is an undersized linebacker who has been injured throughout his college career, so he had a low grade coming into his senior season. He is a smart and instinctive linebacker who consistently reads and reacts to the play quickly. He accelerates to ball fast and has a very good closing burst to finish plays. He drops off the ball into zone coverage quickly and smoothly, reads the quarterback pass very well, breaks and closes fast and uses his front arm to break up passes well. He has the athleticism and playing speed to cover tight ends/runningbacks in man-to-man coverage and can make hard tackles right after the catch. Obviously, the biggest concern is whether Simon's body can hold up physically in the NFL after all his injuires at Tennessee. Overall, Simon will not be drafted as high as he's rated now, but in time he will develop into a good starting linebacker who consistently makes a lot of tackles and is always around the ball. But until he becomes a starter, he will be a very good special teams player.

CRITICAL FACTORS

Athletic Ability Initial Quickness Play Strength Competes Play Speed Instincts

6.5 6.5 4.0 6.0 6.5 6.5

STRONG POINTS

Simon is a very good athlete who consistently reads and reacts to the play in a flash and has the playing speed to chase down plays in pursuit. He moves through traffic quickly and uses his hands well to keep blockers from getting a hold of him and has an explosive closing burst to the ball to finish plays. He has the flexibility to bend his knees so that he can drive up into the ball carrier to make hard/physical tackles/hits. He is smooth and fluid dropping off the ball into zone coverage, reads the quarterback pass well, breaks and closes on passes in front of him fast and can make the hard hit right after the ball arrives.

WEAKNESSES

Simon is clearly undersized and struggles to get free from blockers once they lock up on him and can drive him out of the play. He lacks the playing strength to hold ground at point of attack vs. blockers. He has a tendency to try and go around/behind blockers instead of taking them on aggressively at the point of attack. He struggles to break up high passes due to a lack of height. Simon's biggest problem is that he has been hurt a ton at Tennessee, which has led him to miss many games and due to his lack of size he will struggle to stay healthy in the NFL.

POSITIONAL FACTORS

Grade Category Comments/Description

6.5 Read & React Consistently reads and reacts very quickly to the play -- both vs. the run and pass.

6.5 Initial Quickness Foot quickness and instincts enable him to get started toward the ball very quickly at the snap.

4.0 Play Strength Can be a strong tackler, but lacks strength at the point of attack vs. blockers and can be driven out of the play.

6.0 Tackling He is not always pretty, but usually he's a good form tackler and always gets man down.

5.0 Shed Blocker Flashes ability to jolt blocker and stay free, but if blocker gets a hold of him he cannot shed consistently.

5.5 Run at Him Has trouble making plays when he has to defeat a block, but does avoid blocks and makes his share of plays.

6.5 Pursuit/Range Quick to read and react and his playing speed makes him very good chasing down plays in pursuit.

6.5 Closing Burst He has an explosive closing burst to the ball to finish plays when he gets close to it.

6.0 Zone Coverage Drops off the ball very smooth and quick, breaks and closes fast and can make hard hits right after ball arrives.

5.5 M/M Coverage Can run with running backs/tight ends all over the field in tight man-to-man, but cannot get up to break up higher passes.

5.0 Pass Rush Ability Flashes burst through the hole to get pressure, but is not an explosive blitzer who consistently gets pressure.

6.0 Errors Does not make mental errors and consistently reads and reacts well to the play.

ATHLETIC ABILITY Section Grade: 6.5

Simon is a very good athlete who has consistently been highly productive when healthy. He has very quick feet to get started toward the ball fast, accelerates to full speed fast and has the playing speed to make plays from sideline to sideline. His agility and balance make him fluid and smooth dropping off the line of scrimmage into zone coverage and help him to transition to break and close quickly on passes in front of him. He has the playing speed to chase down running backs in backside pursuit and to get deep down the seam in the 'Tampa 2 Defense'. He really shows his athleticism popping up off the ground and getting back into the play after getting cut to the ground.

Q.A.B. Quick Feet C.O.D. Flexibility Coordination

6.5 6.5 6.5 6.0 6.5

COMPETITIVENESS Section Grade: 6.0

Simon has shown very good toughness fighting/rehabbing his serious injuries to get back on the field, but on field he does not show toughness at the point of attack vs. blockers. In 2005, Simon consistently stepped up and made big plays on important snaps. But the trouble is that due to his injury problems, he has not had the chances to make impact plays throughout his career. His overall production when he plays is very good -- gets involved in one play out of every seven snaps, which is excellent. But after missing all of the 2001 season, six games in 2002 and nine games in 2004, he has not played enough to have more than adequate overall production. There's no question however, about him being a team player and having a no-quit attitude after seeing him fight through injury after injury to get back on the field and become a starter again in 2005.

Toughness Clutch Play Production Consistency Team Player Pride/Quit

5.5 5.0 5.0 6.5 6.5 7.0

MENTAL ALERTNESS Section Grade: 6.0

Simon is a smart player and it shows in his sharp pass drops and good tackling technique. He has very good instincts, which combine with his foot quickness to let him consistently read and react fast to the play. When he is in coverage, he breaks and closes quickly on passes in front of him and makes plays/hits onthe receiver right as ball arrives. He plays with good concentration, which helps him to consistently be around the ball making plays when he is in the game.

Learn/Retain Instincts/Reactions Concentration

6.0 6.5 6.0

STRENGTH/EXPLOSION Section Grade: 4.0

Simon is a well built middle linebacker, but is clearly shorter than ideal, which hinders his ability to make plays on ball in man-to-man coverage and to get free from blocks once they lock up on him. His ability to stay healthy is a major question mark when you consider that he is short and has missed the majority of three different seasons while at Tennessee -- including one entire season. So he is going to have to prove he has overcome the injury bug to be a durable NFL linebacker. He has an explosive closing burst to the ball to finish plays and can be a strong and explosive tackler when he bends his knees and drives up into the ball carrier. The trouble is that he is undersized and can be engulfed and driven out of the play by offensive linemen and cannot hold his ground when he fills the hole aggressively.

Body Type Durability Explosion Play Strength

4.0 1.0 6.5 4.0

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Shadowplay

Shadowplay

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hopefully if he makes the team he will work his way into the starting lineup then.

I don't know about that, but you never know. I'd look for him to be able to contribute on special teams first.

I'm already missing the draft. No other non-sports sporting event yields this much fun and intrigue. Excluding the ESPYs of course....

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SkinsNeverDie

SkinsNeverDie

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4.91 in the 40? Doesn't sound like great speed. Also he's pretty small at 5'10".

Special teamer, maybe--I know Gibbs puts a premium on those kinds of guys. I can't complain I guess. You can't expect a great pick in the bottom of the 7th round.

Lofa Tatupu didn't have the measurables either. If you got the heart and desire you can play in this league. Of course you have to have some skills :laugh: .

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asacks

asacks

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Liking this pick---looks like a good guy to take a shot on in the 7th round, if he can get past his injury history, he's got a shot to get playing time on this team as backup LB and on teams, at least according to nfl.com and espn scouting reports (which were consistent with each other for once).

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Shadowplay

Shadowplay

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UT Alum...watch all UT games.....Simon is a STUD when healthy. Best UT LB since Al Wilson IMO.

Yeah he was pretty good when healthy. Smart too. Played with a lot of passion. Didn't they have another linebacker named Burnette or am I imagining things?

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OriginalWhizzinator

OriginalWhizzinator

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Yeah he was pretty good when healthy. Smart too. Played with a lot of passion. Didn't they have another linebacker named Burnette or am I imagining things?

Yeah we had Kevin Burnett, who was flashier, and not as injury prone. Went to cowgirls 2nd round last year...IMO Simon was the better LB *when healthy*. He was always flying around the ball making plays...

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Swift

Swift

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4.91 in the 40? Doesn't sound like great speed. Also he's pretty small at 5'10".

Special teamer, maybe--I know Gibbs puts a premium on those kinds of guys. I can't complain I guess. You can't expect a great pick in the bottom of the 7th round.

Maybe not the best comparison, but Zach Thomas ran a 4.7-4.8 and is only 5'10. Same story there though - great motor, has a knack for reading plays. That's helped him tremendously in the league. Hopefully Simon can pan out like Thomas did.

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