With the 204th pick of the 2017 NFL Draft the
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers select
Matt Milano (LB) Boston College
Matt Milano (LB22)
HT: 6'0" WT: 223LBS.
POSITION: OLB
SCHOOL: Boston College
ARM LENGTH: 32"
HANDS: 9 3/8"
OVERVIEW
In recent years, Boston College football was known for the skill of its linebackers, from Luke Kuechly to Mark Herzlich. Milano, the 2012 Central Florida Defensive Player of the Year, took on that mantle the past two seasons for the Eagles after appearing in 25 games as a reserve his first two seasons on campus (23 tackles, three for loss). ACC media voted him honorable mention all-conference after his junior season where he had 60 tackles, a team-high 17.5 for loss and 6.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two blocked kicks. Milano started on the strong side for the second straight year in 2016, earning honorable mention all-ACC nods from coaches and media (58 tackles, 11 for loss, 6.5 sacks, one interception, blocked punt).
ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Well-defined with muscular arms and tapered waist. Wonderfully aggressive. Heat-seeking missile who looks for contact. Form tackler looking to strike, lift, and bury. Former safety with disciplined vision and above-average instincts. Can get home as blitzer. Reacts quickly to play-action screen passes and reverses. Good straight-line speed and revved motor for extended tackle range. Has some coverage ability in space. Durable two-year starter playing more than 94 percent of his team's defensive snaps. Accelerates through contact. Speed and toughness creates potential opportunities at multiple linebacker spots. Special teams demon with three blocked punts and 24 coverage tackles.
WEAKNESSES
Needs to add a little more size to his frame. Can be outmuscled by size. Hand usage is inconsistent. Needs to improve in art of discarding blockers. Just average at punching and shedding to keep himself clean in take-on situations. Bad habit of ducking head into crunching tackles rather than seeing what he hits. Tightly wound with average change-of-direction talent. Can improve his path to perimeter to avoid traffic around him.
SOURCES TELL US
"I love watching him on tape. You just know he wishes he were bigger so he could hit even harder. He's not as good as (Brian) Cushing, but that's the same kind of mentality he plays with." -- Northeast area scout for AFC team
NFL COMPARISON
John Timu
BOTTOM LINE
Undersized for the linebacker spot, but extremely tough and aggressive. A little tight-hipped and might struggle to finish tackles that aren't right in front of him, but he brings as much pound-for-pound force behind his tackles as anyone in the draft. Productive player with good instincts and a nose for the ball. He has value as a 4-3 OLB and a 3-4 WILB, and should become a top contributor in coverage on special teams.
@JackDRams (Detroit Lions) are on the clock
@Riverrumbbq (Washington Redskins) are on deck