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Many, including me, liked the thought of landing Luke Keuchley at 10 last year. He wasn't super athletic or flashy but was solid and productive. Some felt it was a reach and he would never be great.
He just won Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Will he ever be as good as Patrick Willis? Probably not. But would he have been a difference maker in the middle of our defense? Yes, I think he would have.
To me Manti Te'o has very similar skills. He's not overly flashy but he's solid overall. He had a bad game in the national championship but his game overall is solid.
At this point, the story appears to be that the guy was just dumb and satisfied to be in a relationship with a "woman" he had never met. Football players don't all have to be intelligent. Especially at LB'er. I think the bizarreness of the story will affect him on draft day more than any real character issue. It looks to me like at the worst he lied to his father and misled the media after he found out that the woman was not real and also not dead. The honesty part raises a concern but i do feel like it was all so embarrassing that I can see someone lying to keep the truth from coming out. Just for fear of the weirdness being uncovered and making him look foolish. He's gone public now, he's owning his part of it. If the current story is true I really don't hold it against him that much.
On the field, I think he can be very productive and the sort of strong leader and competitor that we really need. I see Kuechley's demeanor and skills in him. They seem similar to me. Limited upside but likely to be very solid and productive. I'm good with that.
I would not take Te'o at 8. But, I would be fine taking him in the 2nd if he falls that far and I think it's possible. But I also think it's very possible that he still is drafted in the 1st round. Football wise he's still one of the top 3 ILB's in this draft IMO.
Thoughts?
He just won Defensive Rookie of the Year.
| SEASON |
GP | COMB | TOTAL | AST | SACK | FF | FR | YDS | INT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | PD | STF | STFYDS | KB |
| 2012 | 16 | 164 | 103 | 61 | 1.0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 22 | 11 | 25 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 30 | 0 |
To me Manti Te'o has very similar skills. He's not overly flashy but he's solid overall. He had a bad game in the national championship but his game overall is solid.
At this point, the story appears to be that the guy was just dumb and satisfied to be in a relationship with a "woman" he had never met. Football players don't all have to be intelligent. Especially at LB'er. I think the bizarreness of the story will affect him on draft day more than any real character issue. It looks to me like at the worst he lied to his father and misled the media after he found out that the woman was not real and also not dead. The honesty part raises a concern but i do feel like it was all so embarrassing that I can see someone lying to keep the truth from coming out. Just for fear of the weirdness being uncovered and making him look foolish. He's gone public now, he's owning his part of it. If the current story is true I really don't hold it against him that much.
On the field, I think he can be very productive and the sort of strong leader and competitor that we really need. I see Kuechley's demeanor and skills in him. They seem similar to me. Limited upside but likely to be very solid and productive. I'm good with that.
I would not take Te'o at 8. But, I would be fine taking him in the 2nd if he falls that far and I think it's possible. But I also think it's very possible that he still is drafted in the 1st round. Football wise he's still one of the top 3 ILB's in this draft IMO.
Thoughts?
Alec Ogletree
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