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TonyHunter87
Nice evaluation.
But not accurate
Barron played WILL linebacker in Williams' 4-3 defense. He was a linebacker, not a safety. And even when Rams went 30 dime he was a linebacker not a safety. And in the positioning of the WILL backer in the defenses in essentially inside, it's not that different from what will be asked of him in Phillips defense
I went over this in January [
ramsrule.com]
The deal with Barron is not whether he can play the position, he can do it, he's proven he can be an NFL linebacker. Leading the NFL in tackles behind the line of scrimmage is a big deal. The question is can he sustain it? I posted that he didn't make the big plays in 2016 that he did in 2015.
No one can see the future, but it is a fair question to ask if Barron can sustain what he did for a long period of time. I don't know that answer. I was not a fan of his contract when he got it.
I would, for sure, like two inside backers who can be excellent in the new scheme. But in terms of size and so on, Barron has enough to do it, and as I mentioned in Jan the Buchanon comparison is good because the Cards run a 3-4 one gap scheme and have for a long time. Now, Buchanan was not as effective in 2016 as he was in 2015. It's possible the gimmick of a smaller linebacker caught up with both he and Barron or maybe both jsut had poorer years due to the teams both having poorer years.
I certainly would draft an ILBer in this draft, sometimes they can be found in middle rounds (4-5) and have him compete with Barron. But I certainly expect for at least 2017 Barron to be the Mo. As I said Jan 12.
