Dion Jordan, OLB, Oregon

[kerouac9]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMoel8E3HaE

Chopper's been all over Dion Jordan, so I thought I'd watch some tape of him against maybe the best OL in the Pac12: Stanford. Here's what I saw.

• Kid's got great size, and he has the frame to add 15-20 lbs of muscle.
• He's got great worth ethic and effort. Never saw him give up on a play.
• He's got great balance; I never saw him lose his feet, despite getting caught up in a lot of garbage.
• He's got good, light feet.
• He's good in coverage, smooth-hipped in turning and running, including with split wide receivers. Stanford never seemed to see him as a mis-match.

The Bad stuff, though, makes me wonder why he's considered a Top 10 pick.

• He doesn't have elite get-off. He's never the first guy off the line of scrimmage, and he doesn't have a quick first step.
• He's just too big. Every player on the offensive line is going to be able to get under his pads.
• Because he's such a big target, he's going to have to learn how to use his hands. The Stanford OLT was able to lock him up and out every time he got his hands on him.
• He doesn't seem particularly instinctive. A couple of times he got completely embarrassed by the read option.
• He doesn't seem to have a great bull rush. One of the things that I've taken with me from Horton's time here is that Horton used to say that OLB prospects have to be able to bull rush the passer; they can't be pure speed rushers. This may change under Bowles, but keep in mind that Bowles isn't a very good defensive coordinator.

I'd love to have this kid if we didn't already have Sam Acho, because I think he's great in coverage. But we do have Sam Acho, and I'd like to see a guy who can get after the passer against elite talent.

I didn't see that in the Stanford tape.

 

[WildBB]

I really didn't see much of anything that would prevent me from taking him.

I saw that he really uses his hands extremely well to disengage and he's all over the field.

He turns the corner pretty well and got some good pressures. Almost got a near game clinching sack before the 2:20 mark and Stanford driving.

He plenty quick. He was responsible for contain a few times on the outside.

But you can line this kid up anywhere on the outside and with his rush ability, yeah I'd take him.

 

[kerouac9]

I really didn't see much of anything that would prevent me from taking him.

I saw that he really uses his hands extremely well to disengage and he's all over the field.

He turns the corner pretty well and got some good pressures. Almost got a near game clinching sack before the 2:20 mark and Stanford driving.

He plenty quick. He was responsible for contain a few times on the outside.

But you can line this kid up anywhere on the outside and with his rush ability, yeah I'd take him.

His rush ability where he got 0 sacks in a game when Stanford threw the ball 36 times, or the rush ability where he had 5 sacks in the entire 2013 season?

 

[GatorAZ]

I like that he's an all around OLB (I can't stand 1 dimensional guys like Porter) but I wish he'd get in the backfield more. Not sure sacks but pressuring the QB. Too much unknown for me. I'd have trouble choosing between Jordan and Mingo.

On a related note i think Acho will comeback and play well after his sophomore slump. He produced well in short stints as a rookie but needs to get his conditioning at a 16+ games level. A few more lbs to better support the run would be solid.

 

[Jay Cardinal]

I would really love for the local boy to be successful, but I am really torn whether he will ever be a dominant pass rusher. When I watch Jordan on film, I see a tall player that plays too high. When you play too high, you are playing without leverage and it shows in that he doesn't get a real natural push. Compared to Jarvis Jones who uses his body and leverage to really force the issue with offensive lineman.

I agree he has all of the physical abilities, just think we need an elite pass rusher if we are drafting an OLB this high.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Jordan has all the makings of an oustanding player. I have no problem taking him at 7, one game against Stanford not withstanding. As for his sack totals, he wasn't strictly used as a pass rusher. He can become a very good all around LB in the NFL. Once he get NFL coaching and weight training, the sky's the limit for him.

 

[SissyBoyFloyd]

You guys are all over the place. Who is the next suggestion of who we might/should draft? How about that Sandcastle kid.

 

[kerouac9]

Hey--I'm not trolling here on Dion Jordan. I went into that link looking to see what all the fuss was about and hoping to be impressed. I just wasn't.

If he's a very good all around LB, that's great--but then it's using the 7th overall pick in the draft on A.J. Hawk, and I don't want to do that. We have Sam Acho. Acho was a better pass rusher than Dion Jordan was in college.

Keep in mind that Bowles' defense used Joey Porter, Cameron Wake, and Jason Taylor. This isn't a defense that looks for multi-functional players; it's a defense with fairly well-defined roles.

You want your "very good all around" players in rounds 2-4, not with a top 10 pick.

Again, if there's tape that shows that Jordan can be a dynamic pass rusher, please let me know what it is. Is it the one multi-sack game that he had last year? It was 2 sacks.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

I think he can be an all around LB player like all pro Chad Greenway. He's not too shabby and one of the best LB's in the NFL. If you want your "all round players" playing like him to come from rounds 2-4, you're counting on drafting pretty well and likely going to be disappointed.

Greenway's career stats:
19.5 sacks
15 INTS
13 Forced fumbles
765 tackles

 

[kerouac9]

Chad Greenway was drafted 17th overall and plays OLB in a 4-3 defense where he doesn't have to worry about rushing the passer, because he's had 2 very good pass rushers playing in front of him.

Basically, if we draft Jordan, we're throwing up our hands and saying that we can't identify and impact player in this draft class, and are drafting for depth.

2nd team All Pro. We already have Daryl Washington. Took him 6 seasons to get there. And I like Chad Greenway a ton, but not at 7th overall.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

At this point I would say Bowles is a question mark. There isn't much to go off of in order to say he is bad. Let's see how he looks with some talent and an off-season to work with.

 

[Chopper0080]

I guess this is where I respond.

Dion Jordan is all about potential and his development in areas he can makes changes.

Jordan doesn't have a great first step, but he is also new to defense. He has only played defense for three years and before he was a TE. He thinks too much which is why I believe he struggles to get off on the snap. He was used in so many different ways at Oregon, I don't believe he ever got to concentrate on rushing the passer.

He can gain weight and learn better technique which will help both his speed rush and his bull rush. He doesn't use many counter pass rush moves which is because he was asked to do much more at Oregon than just rush the passer. Technique will also help him with his hands and allow him to create separation from blockers.

Jordan is a developmental pass rusher, but what works in his favor is that he can learn on the job because he is not a liability in coverage. He has all of the physical ability of an Aldon Smith, but he is not restricted to 3rd downs while he develops his technique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UwVrBRruEk

Highlights for those who want to look.

I see a guy who can get the edge very quickly and has the athleticism to chase down the Russell Wilsons, Aaron Rodgers, and Colin Kaepernicks of the NFL.

 

[The Commish]

I would really love for the local boy to be successful, but I am really torn whether he will ever be a dominant pass rusher. When I watch Jordan on film, I see a tall player that plays too high. When you play too high, you are playing without leverage and it shows in that he doesn't get a real natural push. Compared to Jarvis Jones who uses his body and leverage to really force the issue with offensive lineman.

I agree he has all of the physical abilities, just think we need an elite pass rusher if we are drafting an OLB this high.

Reminds me a lot of Calais Campbell before the draft.

 

[kerouac9]

I guess this is where I respond.

Dion Jordan is all about potential and his development in areas he can makes changes.

Jordan doesn't have a great first step, but he is also new to defense. He has only played defense for three years and before he was a TE. He thinks too much which is why I believe he struggles to get off on the snap. He was used in so many different ways at Oregon, I don't believe he ever got to concentrate on rushing the passer.

He can gain weight and learn better technique which will help both his speed rush and his bull rush. He doesn't use many counter pass rush moves which is because he was asked to do much more at Oregon than just rush the passer. Technique will also help him with his hands and allow him to create separation from blockers.

Jordan is a developmental pass rusher, but what works in his favor is that he can learn on the job because he is not a liability in coverage. He has all of the physical ability of an Aldon Smith, but he is not restricted to 3rd downs while he develops his technique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UwVrBRruEk

Highlights for those who want to look.

I see a guy who can get the edge very quickly and has the athleticism to chase down the Russell Wilsons, Aaron Rodgers, and Colin Kaepernicks of the NFL.

Fun fact: Aldon Smith was considered a reach at #7 overall in the 2011 NFL draft. He had only 3 sacks his redshirt sophomore year at Mizzou, but 11.5 sacks his redshirt freshman year. Seriously, did he get hurt or something his Soph season? 8 tackles in 2010?!

Jordan did have 7.5 sacks his JR. year, so that's something.

I dunno. I don't think you can use the 7th overall pick in the draft on a guy that might be able to rush the passer. I walked away way more impressed with Werner's tape that I watched, and he's nearly as inexperienced as Jordan is (but Werner is clearly not an OLB to me).

I don't as a rule watch highlight reels if I don't have to. The highlight reel on Tayvon Austin looks awesome. The cutup on him looks less impressive. What's a game that I can watch that will make me feel better about his ability to pressure the passer?

I'm going to watch tape on Mingo and the kid from A&M tomorrow; I'll let you know what I see there.

 

[Buckybird]

His rush ability where he got 0 sacks in a game when Stanford threw the ball 36 times, or the rush ability where he had 5 sacks in the entire 2013 season?

You want your "very good all around" players in rounds 2-4, not with a top 10 pick.

Again, if there's tape that shows that Jordan can be a dynamic pass rusher, please let me know what it is. Is it the one multi-sack game that he had last year? It was 2 sacks.

I've been 100% on board with ya k9. This guy has Aaron Curry written all over him!!!

Is he an athletic freak? Yes. IMO the red flag is that U of O used him more in coverage than as a pass rusher. In the 3-4 an OLB is going to be asked to rush the passer about 70-80% of the time & this kid has never shown that ability on the field or the production. This isn't Von Miller

Buyer beware!!!

 

[Russ Smith]

His rush ability where he got 0 sacks in a game when Stanford threw the ball 36 times, or the rush ability where he had 5 sacks in the entire 2013 season?

To me he is what Dick Vitale calls "all airport" in that he looks great walking through an airport, but when the game starts he doesn't make enough plays.

But then I thought the same thing about Calais Campbell in college and he's a stud.

But obviously totally different positions.