I tend to pay way closer attention in the preseason when it comes to backups. Last preseason I liked Morgan as a competent backup LB with good speed, but thought the LEO experiment was a joke. I never really noticed him in real games.
I thought he added weight, but everywhere I look still lists him at 226. That's a freakishly low weight even for a 4-3 LB, and it's insane for a guy at the LOS. That's why I laughed at both the concept and the results of the team trying Morgan at LEO last preseason.
In the game last week though, some of his best plays came right at the line while engaged by a blocker. It reminded me some of KJ Wright in 2012 when he played SAM LB and lined up most plays at the LOS.
I dunno. Bottom line with Morgan is that he just kind of exists. I can't remember any plays where he looked terrible and I can't remember any jaw-dropping plays that made me think he was really onto something big.
LBs who run in the 4.4s don't grow on trees, they are freakish and rare. Seattle's entire LB core- other than KJ Wright- ran a pre-draft 4.50 or faster. That's remarkable. It would be like the Mariners insisting that they fill out their entire bullpen with lefties who all throw at least 97 MPH. That would be really hard to do as there are only a small handful of those kinds of relievers in baseball. LBs who run in the 4.4 are similarly rare, and Seattle has loaded up on them and made it work.
But to get that many fast linebackers, that usually means acquiring players who are less heralded than say, Luke Kuechly. Having four or five of these kinds of players means the team is going to have some backup LBs who have questionable talent initially, or who are merely competent and just exist.
