Is Oklahoma LB Brian Asamoah The Next Lavonte David?
April 16th, 2022
Oklahoma LB Brian Asamoah.
As you likely heard in the latest “Ira Kaufman Podcast,” Ira said he would like the Bucs to draft Oklahoma linebacker Brian Asamoah in the third round.
Joe was impressed with Ira’s suggestion. Ira clearly did some research.
One reason Ira wants the Bucs to draft Asamoah is he doesn’t know how much longer Lavonte David will be with the Bucs. David turns 33 in January, hopefully before the 2022 season ends. And he is in the final year of his contract.
David has a knee that flares up with too much work and he’s already dealing with a bum foot (and it’s March). Over a decade of NFL bumps and bruises are starting to catch up.
So after Ira made a compelling case for Asamoah, Joe jumped on the interwebs for a deeper dive. And there it was: Prickly Pete Prisco of CBS Sports wrote a column raving about Asamoah because he said Asamoah reminds him so much of David!
Well, whaddya know, Ira really was onto something!
In putting together this year’s Better-Than Team, I had flashbacks to David when a speedy, athletic linebacker who could go sideline-to-sideline kept showing up on tape. That player is Oklahoma linebacker Brian Asamoah.
At just over 6-feet tall and weighing 224 pounds, his size is almost exactly what David was when he came out of Nebraska. David was just over 6-feet tall and was 225 when he played at Nebraska, although he weighed 233 at the combine in a move he said he hoped would help his draft stock. David’s 40 time was 4.56. Asamoah ran the same exact time at the combine.
The similarities are eerie. The talent is similar too.
Joe saw Asamoah make quite a few plays but the Sooners defense was meh so he slipped off Joe’s radar. Joea culpa.
Over at The Athletic in his “The Beast” draft guide, Dane Brugler has Amamoah as his ninth-best linebacker.
SUMMARY: A two-year starter at Oklahoma, Asamoah lined up at weakside linebacker in former defensive coordinator Alex Grinch’s 3-3-5 base scheme. An offer from Ohio State never arrived for the Columbus native, but he thrived with the Sooners, leading the team in tackles and earning All-Big 12 honors each of the past two seasons. Asamoah plays with the foot speed to make plays downhill, outside the numbers, and when dropping and covering in space. He can be engulfed at times, but he has decent length and should continue to get better taking on contact. Overall, Asamoah is undersized and underpowered, but he has sideline-tosideline speed with dependable tackling skills and upside in coverage. He projects as a run-and-chase linebacker with NFL starting potential.
(Trivia: Asamoah’s cousin is former Buccaneers corner Hey Jude.)
Brugler believes Asamoah will last into the third round. So if the Bucs picked him at No. 60, then that really wouldn’t be much of a reach.
Joe will it short and sweet: any linebacker who reminds people of Lavonte David, Joe wants.
April 16th, 2022 at 12:10 pm
He sounds good to me.
David probably should come off the feild more these days
April 16th, 2022 at 12:12 pm
We need a 3rd LB for sure. I wouldn’t be opposed to this pick.
April 16th, 2022 at 12:17 pm
That would be an excellent pick in the 3rd round!
April 16th, 2022 at 12:22 pm
Sounds Perfect.
1. DT
2. CB
3. LB
Shore up each level of the Defense with our best picks
April 16th, 2022 at 12:23 pm
I don’t think the Bucs draft him unless they find a way to get more picks. They are in win-now mode and a 3rd ILB is a luxury that doesn’t have a clear path to playing time short of a major injury. Rotational positions like d-line and DB will see the field. Guard and TE would see the field.
April 16th, 2022 at 12:25 pm
I don’t see it I’m pretty sure the bucs are high on kj Britt being the 3rd lb they may go RB or tighend in the third not quite sure they are satisfied with Vaughn considering the amount of rbs that they interviewed.
April 16th, 2022 at 12:36 pm
We need a tight end in the 3rd round or a running back in the 3rd round how about Asamoah in the late 4th round otherwise no.
April 16th, 2022 at 12:37 pm
No.
April 16th, 2022 at 12:53 pm
Not opposed to picking a LB in the 3rd if we come up with an extra pick.
April 16th, 2022 at 12:58 pm
That order works for me Pickgrin.
April 16th, 2022 at 1:05 pm
I posted about drafting a cover type LB a few days back. Bucs taking LVD for granted and age his age is now showing.
Asamoah is the perfect choice! Nice job Sage!
April 16th, 2022 at 1:07 pm
Pickgrin … Totally agree that we have to shore up our defense with our best picks. No question in my mind that we need a DT (Suh will re-sign I’m convinced, but this is most likely his last year, with us at least). A CB would be real nice, but it’s not as critical IMO as drafting a DE/OLB (JPP MIGHT re-sign, but at best on a 1-year contract; and re-signing Nelson next year will be costly).
So to me it comes down to CB or ILB. Bucs have a decent stable of CBs right now, although next year may be a very different story. When LVD said the other day that he’s currently at 60%, just kept thinking that we’d better find his replacement NOW. Britt & Stuard don’t do anything for me (in terms of being LVD’s replacement), so I’d now prefer to draft a ILB this year.
Oklahoma’s Asamoah might end up being OK, but I’m seeing him rated as a ‘Backup LB or Special Teamer’ on several sites. A little smallish (6’1″ & 228 lbs) but he makes up for it by being slow (4.56 in the 40-yd at the Combine).
The ILB I like instead is Penn State’s Brian Smith. Bigger (6’3″ & 241 lbs) and a little faster (4.52 in the 40-yd). Supposedly very good at pass coverage and at playing the run. Ranks 1 space ahead of Asamoah so they should draft at roughly the same point.
April 16th, 2022 at 1:08 pm
Goatfarmer, not sure why you’d just say No. You just dont like the pickor think we are pat at LB?
April 16th, 2022 at 1:15 pm
1st Rd DE
2nd Rd CB
3rd LB
4th G
April 16th, 2022 at 1:24 pm
Most mocks have him going in the second round.
If we get him in the late third round I would be both happy and shocked…
April 16th, 2022 at 1:40 pm
I’d rather he reminded people of Brooks instead of David, and I mean that with all do respect.
April 16th, 2022 at 1:47 pm
When I do mock drafts, for fun, he’s always there in the 2nd round – seems like a perfect fit to learn behind David. The issue is who you took in the 1st round and if you have the option to pick a LB who can sit and learn for a year. What I do in my mock drafts is just trade back and he’s still there in the middle of the 3rd. So just do what I do Arians, and pick from the list of options that other teams send you offering up picks and letting you choose from the various options.
April 16th, 2022 at 2:04 pm
@ Robert
Why pick up another mediocre guard in the 4th?
We already have Stinnie, Hainsey, Johnson, Leverett, Molchan and Hutch?
That’s 6 mediocre guards already competing for one open spot. Do we really need another one?
I like the rest of your draft though…
April 16th, 2022 at 2:28 pm
The word that is missing in the last sentence is “make”; that’s why it doesn’t make sense.
April 16th, 2022 at 2:29 pm
I don’t he’s lasting until Round 3 (for sure not the middle or end of the 3rd round).
But a Player who could also be had in the 2-3rd round range, who’s also similar to David, who ran a faster 40 time in the 4.4’s….and the best part is the one reservation you seem to have about Asomoah is playing on a horrible Defense, well CHRISTIAN HARRIS is all that (and same, if not better measurables) AND has played on one of the best teams/dynasties and defenses in the Country.
Both are not bad options at all though, if there to be had at value. Not against that move looking into the future whatsoever. Good work Ira!
April 16th, 2022 at 2:46 pm
We also need TE, RB, SS, OLB…
We currently only have two TEs – we normally carry 4. We only have 3 RBs we normally carry 4.
I highly doubt the Bucs will finish this draft without adding one TE and one RB…
April 16th, 2022 at 2:47 pm
Marine Buc need to trade at least 3 of those guards to anybody that would give is another pick. I can’t believe the last two are still on the team. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Licht picks another one in R1 or R2
April 16th, 2022 at 2:53 pm
Need to give our 27th pick and 60th pick to Seattle for their 40th and 42st pick and TE Noah Fant and we send the two guards and wrs Johnson or Darden.
April 16th, 2022 at 2:57 pm
41st not 42nd pick
April 16th, 2022 at 3:36 pm
Nadobe Dean !
Or whatever his name is
Stud in the mold of #55
April 16th, 2022 at 3:39 pm
I agree. If this guy is available in the 3rd. We need a DT, OT, CB and TE in this draft that can step in and play.
April 16th, 2022 at 3:46 pm
The Bucs are in a win now mode.
They need to draft players that will be on the field helping the Bucs win the Super Bowl.
Asomah would be a terrific Day 1 player for the Bucs at LB.
TE in this draft are not guaranteed to help our team on day #1. This TE class is very weak.
DE is never a position that contributes right away unless you are someone like LT or Bosa. The same is true of DT, unless you are someone like Aaron Donald or Reggie White.
LB can contribute day 1 in the NFL. The Bucs need LB depth help.
WR and RB can contribute Day 1 in the NFL.
CB/Safety can contribute Day 1 in the NFL.
OG can contribute Day 1 in the NFL.
The Bucs need to free up some cap space to sign DE, DT and TE.
The Bucs need to focus on getting players in the draft who can immediately help us for TB12’s Last Dance.
April 16th, 2022 at 4:16 pm
BelleGladeBuc … Yes we’re in a ‘Win Now’ mode, but we still have holes in our DEFENSIVE STARTING LINEUP that have to be filled. Right now we’re got Vea (good for 607 def snaps in 16 games last year … 56%), plus Gholston (good for 507 def snaps in 17 games last year … 46%), plus RNR (good for 415 def snaps in 16 games last year … 38%) under contract. That equates to about one & a half DTs & we typically need 3 DTs. Even IF we re-sign Suh, we’d still need another starter-quality DT in our lineup. Makes sense to get that player via the draft, since a couple of others are quite old. Hard to find ‘starter-quality’ in the later rounds; heck even the 2nd Rnd may be too far down.
April 16th, 2022 at 4:30 pm
Troy Andersen is a small school guy who has great measurables. He is limited in experience at LB, converting from QB/RB earlier in his collegiate career, however has had success at LB in his short time there. Has received praise for his coverage skills and can match up well with tight ends. May slide to lower rounds and be great value.
I think LB is a good choice for a couple of reasons. We saw how DW pressed when LD was out. Having an athletic backup can help that out. Also, a little out of the box thinking, but, DW had success as a blitzer in 2020. Having another competent LB can free him up to do more blitzing in certain packages.
April 16th, 2022 at 4:54 pm
@ Letsgo
If Zion johnson is available at pick #27 than I would be ok with that pick.
But we don’t need anymore “mediocre” talent at guard. We already have six mediocre guards on the roster…
So why pick up another mediocre talent guard with our 4th round pick. I would rather go safety with that pick.
Jordan Whitehead was a 4th round pick…
April 16th, 2022 at 6:58 pm
I like where this is heading. Might be a bigger need then we all think with LVD. I’m the biggest fan of his. He’s bin a tru pro his entire career and the only bright spot in the lost decade but if we can find someone close to him even at number 1 then get them. It will help keep LVD fresh going into the post season when we will need him most
April 16th, 2022 at 7:57 pm
I saw him play a couple times. He is sideline to sideline and fast! He’s also very good in coverage, which is needed. I would have absolutely no problem with that pick!
April 16th, 2022 at 8:32 pm
Watched a lot of tape. Kid is good!
A Okay by me.
April 16th, 2022 at 8:43 pm
He is am OK choice, but I would like to see more speed!
A 4.56 40 was a good time for a linebacker, once upon a time, but not today.
I have seen too many receivers flat run away from LeVonte David, and this guy is no faster, nor is he extremely rangy either.
Arians said he wants to upgrade our team speed, so I think we should look for a faster Linebacker.
April 17th, 2022 at 5:52 am
Not in the 2nd or 3rd….not when we can get Dmarco Jackson in the late rounds. Id worry about finding a starting ilb next year.
April 17th, 2022 at 6:59 am
When the summary says undersized and underpowered-no thanks. If you want a GREAT LB Devin Lloyd will be a 10 year starter and All Pro. Lloyd has a nose for the ball and plays fast due to high football IQ and decision making. At 6-3 220 he is neither undersized or underpowered. If you look at his highlight reel you will notice that he brings the lumber and makes one on one tackles in space with ease. Bucs will have to move up 6 or 7 spots to get Lloyd , but Lloyd is not going to be just a replacement for LVD, Lloyd with a wee bit of seasoning will become an upgrade at the position.
April 17th, 2022 at 12:35 pm
Either way y’all not getting him lol