ILB Cameron Smith is interesting pick for Minnesota

I think it was a smart move because the USC coaching staff is really bad right now; could really improve with NFL coaching.

He seemed to have moderate strengths lot of physical weaknesses.  I wondered why they picked him.

• Build is unimpressive and lacking cut
• Plays with some tightness in his lowers
• Not an explosive mover and unlikely to test well at combine
• Lacks trigger juice to light up stat sheet with tackles for loss
• Below-average burst from directional change
• Races ahead of cut-off blocks, exposing him to cutback shots
• Pedestrian top-end speed with range limitations as tackler
• Needs to be more decisive or risk falling behind the play in NFL
• Will struggle to prevent separation against pass-catching backs

• OverviewInside linebacker whose four-year run can best be described as smart and steady. Smith is lacking the physical traits and athletic ability to excite general managers and his tape is hardly splashy. However, he has a keen sense of play development and uses smart angles and proper technique to do his job effectively. He could hear his name called in the middle rounds, but it won't take long for a coaching staff to look beyond his limitations and see a future starter.

The guy who does that draft grades at Walter Football didn't like the pick because we need to find another linebacker who can cover and work in space. This guy is Ben Gedeon 2.0 which is fine if you want to dump Gedeon. We should have traded up and grabbed Cashman before the Jets did. He was graded as high as a 4th round pick and would have been a great value. I thought Spielman once again tried to outsmart everyone else by trading back and giving up draft position too easily instead packaging those extra pics and getting some quality potential starters in the 5th. 

I would rather have seen them not trade down, keep that 5th round pick and taken Daylon Mack. Or how about trading all those shit 6th and 7th round picks to move back up into the 4th and taken Dru Tranquil if they really wanted a LB. Spielman just drove me crazy this year after the Smith pick. 

@"TBro" said:  I thought Spielman once again tried to outsmart everyone else by trading back and giving up draft position too easily instead packaging those extra pics and getting some quality potential starters in the 5th. 

Spileman said that they had tried to bundle picks and move to get another player but it failed.  I also believe I read where the Vikings were interested in Cashman but the Jets grabbed him.  Wonder if this is who they swung and missed on and they ended up with Smith as the next best so they could check their linebacker box.
I know Spielman was talking him up and saying he could play any of the linebacker positions which sounded like a sell job.
All just a guess.

@"supafreak84" said: I would rather have seen them not trade down, keep that 5th round pick and taken Daylon Mack. Or how about trading all those shit 6th and 7th round picks to move back up into the 4th and taken Dru Tranquil if they really wanted a LB. Spielman just drove me crazy this year after the Smith pick. 

@"purpleloki" said:

@"supafreak84" said: I would rather have seen them not trade down, keep that 5th round pick and taken Daylon Mack. Or how about trading all those shit 6th and 7th round picks to move back up into the 4th and taken Dru Tranquil if they really wanted a LB. Spielman just drove me crazy this year after the Smith pick. 

Exactly. The best players are at the beginning of the draft not the 7th. Spielman is a garbage collector. I would rather have traded all those 7th round picks for a 4th or 5th and call it a day. 

The problem this year is CAP space.  Even after ALL the selections we took, we still had something like 11 open slots on the roster to fill.  If we would have traded up, it pushes our CAP availability number down and leaves us with even more UDFA's to bring in.  Which is more signing bonuses.  We are so top heavy in salaries now, we almost have to play it like this to fill out our roster.  Would people be happier bringing in more UDFAs?  I agree, I fully believe they got sniped on Cashman, but that doesn't mean our selection at LB is a waste.  He's a good player, just a player with a different skillset.  He'll need a year, but he could be a replacement for Gedeon when he's up for an extension.  Future cost control, which we'll have to have.     

Vikings draft pick and former USC linebacker Cameron Smith molded for Minnesota
Cameron Smith is a versatile linebacker. He loves to hunt, make wine and tackle ball carriers.
Not necessarily in that order.
The Vikings ended their run of drafting offensive players by taking the University of Southern California linebacker in the fifth round Saturday. They picked an inside linebacker/outdoorsman who went to a high school called Granite Bay and played in a college scheme similar to Mike Zimmer’s defense.
“I just feel like it was meant to be,” Smith said.
First, the football component. Smith became a starter his freshman year at USC and finished his career with 354 tackles. He was the first USC defender to lead the team in tackles three consecutive seasons since the late 1970s. (A perfect farewell pick for outgoing Vikings scout Scott Studwell.)
Smith was so advanced physically as a kid that he played middle school football as a fourth-grader. His grandfather, Bob Lakata, played basketball for Duke in the 1950s, but Smith ran into issues in that sport.
“I always fouled out around the second quarter,” he said.
Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman believes Smith can play all three linebacker spots, and he praised the linebacker’s intelligence and character. The NFL’s pre-draft process exposes every measurable possible in a prospect, but Smith chose something unquantifiable in defining his style of play.
“I use my brain a lot and do a lot of pre-snap recognition,” he said.
Smith lost 22 pounds before his senior season, whittling to a playing weight of 230 pounds. He picked up yoga to improve his flexibility and eliminated unhealthy snacks.
His reason for returning for his senior year rather than enter the draft last spring demonstrates impressive self-awareness.
“I felt like I had a lot to work on,” he said. “I just didn’t want to look back and think that I rushed out of college.”
OK, about that winemaking.
Smith became interested in wine a few years ago and scored an internship at Melville Winery in Lompoc, Calif.
He gained experience in all facets of the business. He worked in the fields, in the tasting rooms and in the cellar racking barrels.
“I even got to go up to Los Angeles a few times and work on the business part of it,” he said, “which is not my favorite.”
Smith said he finds the whole process — especially the agriculture aspect — “fascinating.”
“It’s so much more in-depth than just drinking it,” he said. “I love learning about what goes into a bottle. It’s adjusted my taste for wine and my palate.”
His palate prefers a good pinot, especially Melville’s.
“Their pinot noir is off the chain,” Smith said. “It’s very light and pretty and elegant. I feel like most people look at me like I am going to be a big body heavy Cabernet. I like the lighter, prettier looking pinot noirs that taste really good to me. Some of the whole cluster that adds a little more veggie to it, I think tastes great.”
He’ll find better fishing than wine tasting in his new home. Smith’s love of the outdoors is a family avocation, passed down by his father and his grandfather.
“That’s one of the things that I’m so excited to go to Minnesota for is the outdoors part of it,” he said. “I like to photograph some of our hunts. It’s almost carefree out there.”
He loves to hunt ducks, geese and turkeys.
“We actually shoot a lot of ducks in California, so people always look at me a little dumbfounded when I say that,” he said. “The best time for me — for football players in general — to hunt is probably turkey season because you’re only going to catch the latter half of waterfowl season. All of deer season is pretty much a busy time. Going to school in Los Angeles, it was my way to get away and do some things that I love and come back Up North and go to Chico and hunt and wear my boots and jeans and get after it a little bit.”
A winemaking, boot-wearing, waterfowl-shooting linebacker? Bud Grant will be proud.
http://www.startribune.com/vikings-draft-pick-and-former-usc-linebacker-cameron-smith-molded-for-minnesota/509171512/

I'm glad to see someone above said he's a slow LB.  I haven't watched much USC so I didn't see him play that much, but just watching his highlight videos, he looked slow as heck.

@"NorthwestNorseman" said: I'm glad to see someone above said he's a slow LB.  I haven't watched much USC so I didn't see him play that much, but just watching his highlight videos, he looked slow as heck.

Lacks trigger juice? Don't believe I would want to be the one testing him for that.

@"StickyBun" said:

@"NorthwestNorseman" said: I'm glad to see someone above said he's a slow LB.  I haven't watched much USC so I didn't see him play that much, but just watching his highlight videos, he looked slow as heck.

But slow doesn't equate to being a bad player: there are a bunch of 'slow' players in the NFL, especially at LB. Instincts are important. Fans get WAY to caught up in the measurables, especially during draft time. Being able to diagnosis at LB saves you false steps, which is time.

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"StickyBun" said:

@"NorthwestNorseman" said: I'm glad to see someone above said he's a slow LB.  I haven't watched much USC so I didn't see him play that much, but just watching his highlight videos, he looked slow as heck.

But slow doesn't equate to being a bad player: there are a bunch of 'slow' players in the NFL, especially at LB. Instincts are important. Fans get WAY to caught up in the measurables, especially during draft time. Being able to diagnosis at LB saves you false steps, which is time.

this a million times over.   the combine is a joke and so are pro days.  yes they are measurables and for some athletes that is important, but as we all know the best athletes dont necessarily make the best football players.   how often do we see speedsters slow down once they pads are on and they have to worry about getting hit?   how often do those guys with great bench numbers end up getting killed in the pros because thier technique sucks or they have no bend in their play?

maybe the kid will be to slow,  but the wheels between the ears are equally importants as the ones below the waist.

@"TBro" said:

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"StickyBun" said:

@"NorthwestNorseman" said: I'm glad to see someone above said he's a slow LB.  I haven't watched much USC so I didn't see him play that much, but just watching his highlight videos, he looked slow as heck.

But slow doesn't equate to being a bad player: there are a bunch of 'slow' players in the NFL, especially at LB. Instincts are important. Fans get WAY to caught up in the measurables, especially during draft time. Being able to diagnosis at LB saves you false steps, which is time.

this a million times over.   the combine is a joke and so are pro days.  yes they are measurables and for some athletes that is important, but as we all know the best athletes dont necessarily make the best football players.   how often do we see speedsters slow down once they pads are on and they have to worry about getting hit?   how often do those guys with great bench numbers end up getting killed in the pros because thier technique sucks or they have no bend in their play?

maybe the kid will be to slow,  but the wheels between the ears are equally importants as the ones below the waist.

He is a smart linebacker who excels at making tackles behind the line of scrimmage on run defense. What he does not excel at is covering TE's and RB's out of the backfield. He ranked 87th in that category which is a direct indication of how slow he is and the lack of lateral quickness. Like I said, he is a cheaper version of Gedeon and Downs. With our cap issues, maybe that was the strategy behind this pick when we were unable to get our target. Replace some of these veterans with cheaper rookies to save cap space. He just isn't a coverage linebacker and that is where we could use some additional talent. 

I seriously doubt he will be on the opening day roster.  The scenario for him is making the practice squad.  He will be nothing more than insurance if there were to be a rash of injuries to the linebackers that are on the active roster.  With the cap such as it is, the Vikings can't go out and sign any free agent linebackers to come in.

@"TBro" said:

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"StickyBun" said:

@"NorthwestNorseman" said: I'm glad to see someone above said he's a slow LB.  I haven't watched much USC so I didn't see him play that much, but just watching his highlight videos, he looked slow as heck.

But slow doesn't equate to being a bad player: there are a bunch of 'slow' players in the NFL, especially at LB. Instincts are important. Fans get WAY to caught up in the measurables, especially during draft time. Being able to diagnosis at LB saves you false steps, which is time.

this a million times over.   the combine is a joke and so are pro days.  yes they are measurables and for some athletes that is important, but as we all know the best athletes dont necessarily make the best football players.   how often do we see speedsters slow down once they pads are on and they have to worry about getting hit?   how often do those guys with great bench numbers end up getting killed in the pros because thier technique sucks or they have no bend in their play?

maybe the kid will be to slow,  but the wheels between the ears are equally importants as the ones below the waist.

He is a smart linebacker who excels at making tackles behind the line of scrimmage on run defense. What he does not excel at is covering TE's and RB's out of the backfield. He ranked 87th in that category which is a direct indication of how slow he is and the lack of lateral quickness. Like I said, he is a cheaper version of Gedeon and Downs. With our cap issues, maybe that was the strategy behind this pick when we were unable to get our target. Replace some of these veterans with cheaper rookies to save cap space. He just isn't a coverage linebacker and that is where we could use some additional talent. 

@"Jor-El" said:

@"TBro" said:

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"StickyBun" said:

@"NorthwestNorseman" said: I'm glad to see someone above said he's a slow LB.  I haven't watched much USC so I didn't see him play that much, but just watching his highlight videos, he looked slow as heck.

But slow doesn't equate to being a bad player: there are a bunch of 'slow' players in the NFL, especially at LB. Instincts are important. Fans get WAY to caught up in the measurables, especially during draft time. Being able to diagnosis at LB saves you false steps, which is time.

this a million times over.   the combine is a joke and so are pro days.  yes they are measurables and for some athletes that is important, but as we all know the best athletes dont necessarily make the best football players.   how often do we see speedsters slow down once they pads are on and they have to worry about getting hit?   how often do those guys with great bench numbers end up getting killed in the pros because thier technique sucks or they have no bend in their play?

maybe the kid will be to slow,  but the wheels between the ears are equally importants as the ones below the waist.

He is a smart linebacker who excels at making tackles behind the line of scrimmage on run defense. What he does not excel at is covering TE's and RB's out of the backfield. He ranked 87th in that category which is a direct indication of how slow he is and the lack of lateral quickness. Like I said, he is a cheaper version of Gedeon and Downs. With our cap issues, maybe that was the strategy behind this pick when we were unable to get our target. Replace some of these veterans with cheaper rookies to save cap space. He just isn't a coverage linebacker and that is where we could use some additional talent. 

@"TBro" said:

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"StickyBun" said:

@"NorthwestNorseman" said:
I'm glad to see someone above said he's a slow LB.  I haven't watched much USC so I didn't see him play that much, but just watching his highlight videos, he looked slow as heck.

But slow doesn't equate to being a bad player: there are a bunch of 'slow' players in the NFL, especially at LB. Instincts are important. Fans get WAY to caught up in the measurables, especially during draft time. Being able to diagnosis at LB saves you false steps, which is time.

this a million times over.   the combine is a joke and so are pro days.  yes they are measurables and for some athletes that is important, but as we all know the best athletes dont necessarily make the best football players.   how often do we see speedsters slow down once they pads are on and they have to worry about getting hit?   how often do those guys with great bench numbers end up getting killed in the pros because thier technique sucks or they have no bend in their play?

maybe the kid will be to slow,  but the wheels between the ears are equally importants as the ones below the waist.

He is a smart linebacker who excels at making tackles behind the line of scrimmage on run defense. What he does not excel at is covering TE's and RB's out of the backfield. He ranked 87th in that category which is a direct indication of how slow he is and the lack of lateral quickness. Like I said, he is a cheaper version of Gedeon and Downs. With our cap issues, maybe that was the strategy behind this pick when we were unable to get our target. Replace some of these veterans with cheaper rookies to save cap space. He just isn't a coverage linebacker and that is where we could use some additional talent.