Leonard Floyd a Falcon?

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Leonard Floyd a Falcon?

Linebacker Leonard Floyd
(Photo by John Kelley)

 
 
In the most recent NFL mock draft on NFL.com, Daniel Jeremiah puts UGA outside linebacker Leonard Floyd in the Atlanta Falcons 17th slot in the first round.
 
 
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/mock-drafts/daniel-jeremiah/290600
 
 
Here is how the site sees Floyd’s strength and weeknesses:
 
[su_quote style=”modern-light” cite=”NFL.com” url=”http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/leonard-floyd?id=2555285″] STRENGTHS – Unique combination of length and athleticism. Extremely rangy with great chase speed from sideline to sideline. Good change of direction for taller player. Long limbs and twitch to spring into a tackle from a mile away. If unblocked, will chase down line of scrimmage from backside and foil run plans. Elusive in open space dodging blockers and sifting through traffic in pursuit of the ball. Has the traits to be highly effective in man coverage. As an edge rusher, able to shoot out of the starting blocks and cover substantial ground with long second and third strides. Not a great bender, but has ankle flexion necessary to lean at 45-­degree angle and buzz inside the rush arc. Substantial pass rush potential with a variety of options to the quarterback. Pet move is upfield burst followed by jump­-cut inside tied with inside club. Able to dip and rip around the corner. Dangerous on T/E twists and blitzes underneath. Able to worm his way through the A-­gap as standup blitzer.
 
WEAKNESSES – All thin everything. Gangly frame produces marginal play strength. Built like a wide receiver and needs to live in a team cafeteria and weight room. Not an edge-­setter. Gets long arms into defender effectively, but struggles to gain extension. Loses fight for neutral zone at point of attack. Issues shedding blocks forces him into downfield tackler rather than backfield playmaker. Drag-­down tackler with little pop behind pads as a hitter. Must work to keep pad level lower on inside rush move.

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Greg is closing in on 15 years writing about and photographing UGA sports. While often wrong and/or out of focus, it has been a long, strange trip full of fun and new friends.