2016 NFL Draft Analytics: Darron Lee
By James Cobern
Darron Lee is considered to be one of the best linebackers in the 2016 NFL draft class, but does his athleticism write checks his game film can’t pay?
The 2016 NFL draft linebacker class started out very promising, but as the draft process unfolded very few linebackers delivered the goods. The linebackers I wanted to test well didn’t test well, and the ones I wasn’t high on tested like potential superstars including Ohio State linebacker Darron Lee.
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But in a draft class that seems to have less proven studs by the hour, one of my biggest challenges is what to do with Darron Lee. He has the size, arm length, age and athleticism of multiple All-Pro to Pro Bowl linebackers.
But the real problem shows up in his production. Lee was not an elite or very good off ball linebacker at the Ohio State.
And the tape backed this up where he looked lost and out of place in most games. The times he made a big play were lackluster within the context of the film.
Meaning all the highlight plays Lee made, weren’t moments of celebration, but moments of frustration as to why he doesn’t make more of those plays.
Why an elite level athlete with amazing speed and explosiveness couldn’t even produce like Dhani Jones from a historical perspective? Bottom-line there hasn’t been a single multiple All-Pro or Pro Bowl linebacker with Lee’s production based on over a 1,000 linebackers since the 1996 draft class.
And it becomes really hard to determine where you draft a player like this. Especially in a draft class where the lack of talent should push him up.
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But the issues continue where Lee is one of the few, if not only linebacker in this class with proven starter athleticism. Jaylon Smith is out due to his recovery from a knee as is Myles Jack with similar production issues.