The Chicago Bears Drafted a Special Player in Leonard Floyd
I know you are wondering who Leonard Floyd is, and just what the Chicago Bears got when they traded up to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers spot at nine to get him. Just wait to be blown away.
Floyd was the best linebacker in the draft, and he was rapidly moving up the draft board after his excellent combine. When watching Floyd on tape the first thing that jumps out at you is his incredible height. Leonard comes in at 6’6″ which is crazy for a linebacker. While his height makes him seem slim, he is packing 244 lbs in that 6’6″ frame, so the view is rather misleading.
Harris Highlights, a highlight reel channel on YouTube proclaims that he is the best LB in the draft, and while I might be inclined to agree (total homer…) it is hard to disagree when you watch his speed and ability to rush the edge.
Where I can see some issue is if Floyd can convert that speed into power at the NFL level. His body seems to be the type that NFL lineman will be able to manage, toss around, and even running backs at the pro level will be able to handle him heads up.
Flip side, Vic Fangio played a part in another tall lanky dude drafted out of college and it turned out pretty well. Aldon Smith, a 6’4″ linebacker immediately found success at the pro level under Fangio’s tutelage. Grabbing 14 sacks his rookie season, and 19.5 sacks in his sophomore (NFL) season, Smith is a very comparable player to Floyd at this point. In fact, that is the exact point NFL.com’s Mike Mayock made when the Bears nabbed him.
“Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was in San Francisco when it drafted Aldon Smith. Floyd is very similar. He is one of the most polarizing conversations in entire draft. He has a ‘wow’ get-off and he bends like Gumby. I don’t know if he can convert speed to power in that pass rush. He has the best burst and get-off in this entire draft. He’s a sub-package, designated pass rusher on Day 1, just like Aldon Smith was in San Francisco.”
Additionally, NFL.com had this to say about Floyd.
He has the quickness to chase down players sideline-to-sideline, and his reach gives him a unique ability to grab someone that isn’t within a typical tackle distance. He not only is quick off the block, but his long stride give him a deceptive ability to close. Can rush the edge, or dip inside and worm through a gap on his way to the quarterback.
They are very concerned about his thinness. Strength could be an issue at the NFL level, especially when matched up against blockers 100 plus pounds heavier, and a ton stronger than he is. He also has troubles with anything that you could imagine requires a great deal of strength. Shedding blocks, extending arms when provoking contact, losses fights in the neutral zone, can get pushed back. He is basically built like a wide receiver playing a physical position.
Floyd is a guy that is uber talented, but needs to eat a sandwich and do some bigtime lifting.
But he is more than his scouting report.
“At this point teams are looking for edge rushers and he’s got the best first step in this entire draft,” Mayock mentioned. “He bends like Gumby. This kid’s got a chance to be special coming off the edge.”
That he does. With teams like the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers with quarterbacks that get rid of the ball quickly, the Bears need someone that is extremely quick off the snap. With Floyd’s ability to then close on a QB or even a running back quickly, will help the Bears defense force opposing quarterbacks into poor decisions or throwing the ball away.
So what do the Bears have in Floyd?
Let’s take a trip down to Georgia and the OnlineAthens who has covered this beast over the past several years. When asking his teammates who Floyd reminds them of, the most popular answer was Lebron James, and not just because of his huge frame.
“I don’t think any football player compares to him, so that’s why I went with Lebron,” Georgia OLB Davin Bellamy said. “If you see him at that 6-foot-6 frame running all over the field, doing the things he could do.”
He, like former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, had played at several levels within the defense in college and excelled at every one of them.
With Floyd set to join new comers – safety Omar Bolden, LB Jerrell Freemen, DL Akiem Hicks, and LB Danny Trevathan – the Chicago Bears defense will certainly be a special unit in 2016.
#BearDown
