Linebacker On Special Teams?
April 25th, 2020
Seventh-round pick Temple LB Chapelle Russell.
It is hard to believe a seventh-round pick will have any legit chance to break the starting lineup of the linebacker-heavy Bucs short of a series of injuries.
So Joe is going to guess the selection of Temple linebacker Chapelle Russell is a special teams stab.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic has Russell as his No. 37-ranked linebacker.
SUMMARY: A three-star recruit out of high school, Chapelle Russell, who grew up in a Navy family and moved around, went by the last name Cook before taking the last name of his father, who died in 2015 from cancer. He played quarterback, running back and linebacker at Lakewood High, rushing for 1,586 yards in his prep career. He committed to Temple over Pitt and Rutgers and overcame back-to-back ACL tears in his right knee in 2016 and 2017, starting all 26 games at will linebacker the last two seasons. Russell, who earned his single-digit jersey due to his toughness, plays with pop in his hands, but he is too slow in his stack-shed action, struggling to leverage blocks due to average play strength. He is a smooth-moving athlete with balanced feet and untapped upside in coverage. Overall, Russell is able to mirror runners to the hole with his reaction quickness, but his suspect take-on skills, processing speed and durability cloud his NFL projection.
From the way Brugler types, it sounds like this guy is a quick linebacker who cannot tackle. There is not much of a market for linebackers who struggle tackling.
To be fair, he may still be recovering from his two knee surgeries.
April 25th, 2020 at 6:35 pm
Trey Adams next c’mon.
April 25th, 2020 at 6:37 pm
Raymond Calais will be the kick returner in 2020.
April 25th, 2020 at 6:38 pm
Yea, seems like special teams depth.
April 25th, 2020 at 6:38 pm
He’s a 7th rounder for a reason. Has speed, and started for 2 years, so you figure he has to be able to tackle at least somewhat. In any case you can be taught to tackle – if they think coaching was an issue it can be fixed. But he just sounds like a special teams guy.
April 25th, 2020 at 6:40 pm
Licht tries to out think and out guess Licht. Sigh.
April 25th, 2020 at 6:42 pm
B+ draft
April 25th, 2020 at 6:45 pm
Na, dont like this pick….but it is a 7th.
April 25th, 2020 at 6:47 pm
I hate to say it, but who cares who the 7th round picks are. Take your shot. Odds are stacked against them.
April 25th, 2020 at 6:47 pm
Rather see us pick up a QB prospect, rather than a guy that may likely never play as a starter..
April 25th, 2020 at 6:50 pm
The way Licht seems to take players with bad knees, one has to ask if he has a hidden stake in Florida Orthopedic Center.
Just kidding of course.
Maybe this was an Arians pick, since he was coach at Temple, and Licht owed him a pick, since Licht took a player from his old school Nebraska ?
April 25th, 2020 at 7:14 pm
I consider any pick after round 4 to be either projects or ST guys.
And even Round 4 is iffy.
April 25th, 2020 at 7:34 pm
Not being able to tackle isn’t what I gathered from this at all. But it does seem like he may have trouble shedding blocks to get the ball carrier.
April 25th, 2020 at 8:24 pm
Safe to assume, a 7th rounder is not often counted on as a starter (duh), and especially LBs are prime special teams candidates. He doesn’t sound like a guy who has a place on defense.