Aaron Donald....at the Buck?

[mightyguru]

Why not...Levon Kirkland II, I say. 6'1" 285 runs a 4.6 and has very good cone numbers, better than Mosley...bench presses houses.

Far fetched but I love the idea.

 

[slashsteel]

hmmmmmmm a 4/3 D might disagree

 

[steelpastor]

.

Well... I would not want to be the one to tell him he will be living on rice cakes, tuna fish and watercress for the next ten years!


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[LT Dan]

He's a top 10 prospect and one you want on your team, but not that badly out of position. The man is a disruptive force on the defensive line not a LB.

 

[Vincent]

Aaron Donald reminds me of Kirkland too. He's the kind you build whole defenses around. He's fast enough and athletic enough to be an ILB and would be devastating at that position. I would take him over ANY other player in this draft. And if he's there at 15, its a nanosecond decision.

 

[TMC]

To my knowledge, he has never played as a standing player. He was a DL in college and played both DL and OL in high school. He has always been a down lineman.

If you draft him and he fails to be able to read the play standing, he is useless. Not only have you tossed away your first round pick on a gamble, you have screwed him out of 4 years of playing in a scheme he can fit and really reduced his 2nd contract potential. It would likely be a disaster.

Why not just draft someone that fits what you do?

 

[Hineswardkickedurpanzyass]

Because there are special players that you just don't pass on. IMO Donald is one of those players. It's not like he has to learn how to play football, and his work ethic and motor are as high as anyone in the game. And it is not like we are going to be playing the exact same type of D 4 years from now, things change and Donald will bring a skill set that we simply do not have on our D right now.

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

Fitting square pegs into round holes is not smart strategy.

 

[TMC]

Four years is a lifetime in the NFL. Hell, the majority of NFL careers do not last 4 years. As for special players you do not pass on, teams pass on "special players" that do not fit their scheme all the time. If you ran a West Coast offense, you would not draft Jerome Bettis, because he sucks as a receiving back and you throw a lot to your backs. If you ran a defense where you asked your cornerback to support the run, Deion Sanders is not the guy you look to place on that island, because he did not support the run. If I run a passing offense based on timing, I do not draft Ben Roethlisberger because he is not a timing guy.

The Jets drafted James Farrior and played him as an edge rusher, and he blew. They moved him to more of a traditional LB role (which he played here) and he was much better. Hell, same with Timmons. The idea is to draft good players that fit, so you can put them in a position to succeed, not see if they can overcome.

Why not just play him at NT? We do not have a guy with his skill set at NT either.......

 

[slashsteel]

Because there are special players that you just don't pass on. IMO Donald is one of those players. It's not like he has to learn how to play football, and his work ethic and motor are as high as anyone in the game. And it is not like we are going to be playing the exact same type of D 4 years from now, things change and Donald will bring a skill set that we simply do not have on our D right now.

because yinz have insidah info that the Steelers will be switching schemes 4 years from now?

ahhhhhhhhhhh um no

 

[Hineswardkickedurpanzyass]

Four years is a lifetime in the NFL. Hell, the majority of NFL careers do not last 4 years. As for special players you do not pass on, teams pass on "special players" that do not fit their scheme all the time. If you ran a West Coast offense, you would not draft Jerome Bettis, because he sucks as a receiving back and you throw a lot to your backs. If you ran a defense where you asked your cornerback to support the run, Deion Sanders is not the guy you look to place on that island, because he did not support the run. If I run a passing offense based on timing, I do not draft Ben Roethlisberger because he is not a timing guy.

The Jets drafted James Farrior and played him as an edge rusher, and he blew. They moved him to more of a traditional LB role (which he played here) and he was much better. Hell, same with Timmons. The idea is to draft good players that fit, so you can put them in a position to succeed, not see if they can overcome.

Why not just play him at NT? We do not have a guy with his skill set at NT either.......

fine with me, he would get into the backfield on passing plays....and that is what we have been lacking.

 

[Hineswardkickedurpanzyass]

Four years is a lifetime in the NFL. Hell, the majority of NFL careers do not last 4 years. As for special players you do not pass on, teams pass on "special players" that do not fit their scheme all the time. If you ran a West Coast offense, you would not draft Jerome Bettis, because he sucks as a receiving back and you throw a lot to your backs. If you ran a defense where you asked your cornerback to support the run, Deion Sanders is not the guy you look to place on that island, because he did not support the run. If I run a passing offense based on timing, I do not draft Ben Roethlisberger because he is not a timing guy.

The Jets drafted James Farrior and played him as an edge rusher, and he blew. They moved him to more of a traditional LB role (which he played here) and he was much better. Hell, same with Timmons. The idea is to draft good players that fit, so you can put them in a position to succeed, not see if they can overcome.

Why not just play him at NT? We do not have a guy with his skill set at NT either.......

fine with me, he would get into the backfield on passing plays....and that is what we have been lacking. Of course our OLB that we drafted first round last year fit our scheme and he was suppossed to be in the backfield....only difference is Aaron will actually get there.

 

[mightyguru]

It was just a passing thought. No way it actually happens...just daydreaming, friends. I know he's a 4/3 lineman.

It's just that he has amazing athletic skills....and I can't bear the thought of him playing for Dallas.

 

[bermudasteel]

I like Donald too - if he could fit, I'd put him at DE to replace the Beard.

 

[EdReed4Prez]

Donald looks good enough to switch to a 4-3 for. That first step is brutally fast. Him as a #2 DT would be scary. Staying with a 3-4 he's a waste of a pick though.

 

[TMC]

fine with me, he would get into the backfield on passing plays....and that is what we have been lacking. Of course our OLB that we drafted first round last year fit our scheme and he was suppossed to be in the backfield....only difference is Aaron will actually get there.

He might get into the backfield, he might not. See, if he were with us, he would either play a 5 tech or be over the nose. If he were over the nose, teams could double him because he would not have the space eater beside him that 4-3 teams employ. If he were on the edge, he would face much quicker tackles, who may be able to handle him.

Drafting Jones has little to do with Donald. Just because people said Jones fits does not make him a great player. If that is your premise for drafting, then we should never, EVER draft a player that fits our scheme based on Jones alone.

But, we also drafted undersized and quick at runningback with Chris Rainey, so that would kill Donald because we blew a pick projecting.....

Damn, using that logic, pretty soon we won't be able to draft anyone.

 

[Wingman]

It seems that many folks look at these players and project them as athletes first. Switching positions just on athletic talent alone does not work as often as people would like it to. Look at all the failed defensive ends to linebacker projects that did not work out. This guy maybe the next Ziggy Hood, a guy that worked hard played a position that he did not do as well at as he likely would have as a 4-3 tackle. The guy maybe fast as a lineman because he reads other linemen well put him somewhere else and he may be just a guy.

 

[tapeANaspirin2it]

Timmons can't make the switch to Buck and we should draft a DT at 15 and give him a shot at it? That's crazy. Donald is good but let's not go crazy on him being some unstoppable force.

He appears to be a scheme specific player. He is best at beating interior linemen with his quickness. I have no idea why any team would draft him and ask him to do anything else.

Ziggy was a similar player. Steelers forced him to play 3-4 DE and it took away everything that made him good. Drafting Donald would be repeating that mistake.