Why no love for Clay Johnson LB Baylor?

[Seahawkwalt1967]

He looks outstanding... any first hand knowledge from anyone?

[youtube]D4CMy2oanjQ[/youtube]

 

[cheese22]

I've liked him for a while too after seeing his tape posted by someone else. But, analysts say his arms are too short, he leans too much in pursuit, his hips are too tight, he's always injured, blah. To me, he's the perfect example of a guy who can play...flat out. Very instinctive, tough as can be, never misses a tackle. Sounds like the kind of guy you want if you want to be the bully and negate the oppositions run game.

 

[chris98251]

I've liked him for a while too after seeing his tape posted by someone else. But, analysts say his arms are too short, he leans too much in pursuit, his hips are too tight, he's always injured, blah. To me, he's the perfect example of a guy who can play...flat out. Very instinctive, tough as can be, never misses a tackle. Sounds like the kind of guy you want if you want to be the bully and negate the oppositions run game.

So Brian Bosworth in 2020 and even wears his number.

 

[cheese22]

I've liked him for a while too after seeing his tape posted by someone else. But, analysts say his arms are too short, he leans too much in pursuit, his hips are too tight, he's always injured, blah. To me, he's the perfect example of a guy who can play...flat out. Very instinctive, tough as can be, never misses a tackle. Sounds like the kind of guy you want if you want to be the bully and negate the oppositions run game.

So Brian Bosworth in 2020 and even wears his number.

I'm not sure how to respond, but I'll try.
The idea that there's only been one other LB to be drafted out of college with substandard measurements or draft grades is kind of short sighted. There have been others who have been productive without soaring through the combine measurements. Or, going by your theory (?), we wouldn't need talent evaluators. They could just do all the measurements and draft the highest rated guy.
Luke Kuechly had short arms. Bobby Wagner was considered too small to play MLB in the NFL. As well as London Fletcher, James Harrison, Wes Welker, etc.
And I didn't say I'd use an early 1st on him. If Boz was drafted where Johnston is projected, it would have been considered a steal.

 

[onanygivensunday]

I'd rather have the Hawks sign LB Dante Olsen from Montana as an UDFA. He's a tackling machine.

 

[RockinHawks]

Dude FLIES to the ball. He takes terrific angles.

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

I'd guess it's a couple things:

1. First and foremost, he blew out his ACL last October. No medicals on him. Won't likely play in 2020.
2. Calling him a T-Rex is kind of an insult to T-Rexes. At 30" arms and a stunningly short 73" wingspan -- that's hard to ignore.

Other things I've heard, though don't really know if true -- is that he tends to be a bit of a gambler (perhaps scheme allowed?). Seattle's run gap scheme is extremely rigid. It doesn't matter how good of a player one is, if they can't play disciplined in their run fits, they don't see the field period in our scheme. So it's possible he may not be a scheme fit for us. I have no way to verify that though so take it with a ton of salt.

I'm thinking it's the medicals. That and the LB class is not exactly blowing teams' hair back. I doubt he gets drafted due to the medical issue.

His short wingspan hasn't generally resulted in a lot of missed tackles. I would say that Clay has adapted his play to his own physical shortcomings. Much like Wilson is short, but doesn't get more balls batted down. He adapted and rendered the shortcoming moot. I'm not altogether inclined to knock him for the wingspan in that regard. However in a game of inches, particularly in coverage -- he's conceding several.

Also, he's not exactly great in coverage. Very solid in zone. Suspect in man coverage where his short arms and generally average to below average foot speed presents opposing offenses with immediate mismatches that they can exploit. That's going to be a problem for him in the NFL for some teams.