Originally Posted by : Overview
Speaks finished strong in his final year in Oxford, sacking the quarterback six times in the team's final six games from the defensive end position. He started all 12 games for the Rebels in 2017, posting 67 tackles, eight for loss which included seven sacks to garner second-team All-SEC by league media. The Jackson, Mississippi native and four-star recruit was a defensive tackle initially, redshirting in 2014 and then starting two of 13 games played the following year (32 tackles, 5.5 for loss, one sack, two pass breakups). Speaks played in every game again as a sophomore, starting seven, making 28 tackles, 1.5 for loss, and a sack.
Originally Posted by : Strengths
Big man with good speed and plus athletic ability
Has experience at a variety of spots along defensive line
Has size and length to play in odd or even front
Punches with good hand placement, arm extension and rolled hips when allowed to two-gap
Has attitude and edge
Flashes potential to become more proficient with hands as a weapon
Able to play ahead of move blocks and disrupt into backside gaps
Plays with plus awareness
Responds well to flow of the play
Offers a little more pass rush than expected as power end
Pairs hands and feet to help free him as interior rusher along the edge
Arm-over move has some potential
Weaknesses
Had just one season of big production
Inconsistent at leveraging gap
Plays top-heavy with high pad level
Allows blockers under his pads when attacking gaps
Hip-tightness leads to narrowing of his base
Struggles to hold ground against down blocks and can be rolled out of the gap
Has straight line speed, but lateral agility and foot quickness are average in tight quarters
Goes over the edge with emotions
Chippy hitter willing to lead with helmet when play is ending
Ejected for targeting against Kentucky and ejected against Mississippi State for two unsportsmanlike penalties
Reid says Brett Veach "wore him out" watching tape on Speaks. Watched all of his snaps from last season, says he never saw him on the ground. Compares him to Tamba Hali with size and metrics.
Originally Posted by Best22:
I'm not down on this pick, but here's the explanation
By trading up to 46 from 54, we were forced to trademark our #78 pick in exchange for a #100 pick
So we now have 46, 86, and 100
Had we stayed put, it's possible Speaks is there at 54, then we would have 78 and 86.
Assuming Breeland would still be there at 54, the value would have been much higher for KC to stay put
Assuming....that's the problem. We cannot assume. Do you really think Veach just decided to trade up just because he likes the colors of the Cinci uniforms? [Reply]
Veach obviously thought someone wanted Speaks before 54 or he wouldn't have made the deal. That's all that really matters. I'd suspect the team that really wanted him was the Chargers.
We got a good player folks... Not sure why everyone's panties are in a bunch. It wasn't a CB, but it didn't HAVE to be a CB... Fuck. [Reply]
Originally Posted by CupidStunt:
Yeah man. What really sucks though is that Pat Mahomes might've been on the board at 197 last year but we took him at 10.
****
I was explaining draft picks to someone else [Reply]
This kid will be fine once our coaches get a hold of him. He looks unpolished. He starts learning good technique and he is going to wreck some shit. It certainly looks like he has a knack for getting in the backfield and making plays. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RunKC:
This guy has never played 3-4 OLB before. He was a 4-3 DE like Tanoh.
Why do I have a bad feeling that this is Tanoh 2.0 and this motherfucker won’t play hardly at all this year?
Well, for starters... Speaks played SEC football. The highest level of college football... and Kpassagnon was at a FCS school. So he’s much more proven and less of a pure project.
I think you can do some interesting and unpredictable things if you have a guy big enough to play 43 DE but versatile enough to drop into space like a 34 OLB. [Reply]
