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.
Speaks has a weird personality to go along with his laziness. I was hoping he was that soft spoken, silent type that rip people’s heads off on Sundays. Just take a second to re-watch his interviews. Instead, he’s just a lazy dude with a lot of untapped talent. [Reply]
Originally Posted by htismaqe:
So the dude legit blew it. You can't really use the injury as an excuse when he might not have gotten hurt if he wasn't out of shape.
I think we all forgot dude caught a suspension while on IR too.
He would have stuck around during the Carl days because Carl couldnt find talent. Veach already had Tanoh who improved every year, Charlton, Okafor, and drafted a guy Danna who by all reports was doing a great job. The first 3 mentioned can probably get you 8 sacks a piece and a few of them are solid run guys so yea no surprise he didnt make it. What is surprising is that he didnt catch on with some shitty team. [Reply]
Originally Posted by TRR:
Speaks has a weird personality to go along with his laziness. I was hoping he was that soft spoken, silent type that rip people’s heads off on Sundays. Just take a second to re-watch his interviews. Instead, he’s just a lazy dude with a lot of untapped talent.
It was easy to have hope for the guy. He was a consensus 2nd-team all SEC player that was consistently disruptive, although not spectacular.
Apparently, he was another one of those guys that cruised through college on his natural talent and didn't feel like he actually had to work at it.
Career earnings of about $3.5 million for one season of play, and little worry of long-term health issues. Breeland should have about $1.3 million in the bank right now, so he can invest that money and put that Mississippi degree in Criminal Justice to work. [Reply]
Originally Posted by tredadda:
How bad must he be when he was just a few years removed from being a second round pick and now can’t even get picked up on waivers?
Taco Charlton was a 1st round pick that started 5 games last year for the Dolphins and finished with 5 sacks, 21 tackles and 2 Forced Fumbles.
He was waived by Miami and no one claimed him. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
Taco Charlton was a 1st round pick that started 5 games last year for the Dolphins and finished with 5 sacks, 21 tackles and 2 Forced Fumbles.
He was waived by Miami and no one claimed him.
I think Taco is an upgrade over Speaks...apparently so do Veach and Spags... [Reply]
Originally Posted by rabblerouser:
I think Taco is an upgrade over Speaks...apparently so do Veach and Spags...
Charlton has a ton of talent. If he can learn the defense and stay healthy, he's an upgrade over most of the guys on this roster not named Clark or Jones. :-) [Reply]
I'm sure it's been said before in this thread, but as disappointing as Speaks is, I'm grateful that unlike previous regimes, they can recognize and own their own mistakes quickly and move forward. Sucks to bomb on a 2nd round pick, but sucks even more to stubbornly believe he'll figure it out when clearly, at least here, he won't. [Reply]
Chiefs GM Brett Veach says Breeland Speaks came up against a deep defensive line group he believes is deepest on the team. Concedes he got "behind the eight-ball" with coming in out of shape before ACL injury last year.
