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Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... z1ngfBv3KF
[wrapimg=left]http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/54/5540a961-1918-5375-9988-b4e4de7d7d29/4f4c539dcb9de.preview-300.jpg[/wrapimg]INDIANAPOLIS • In high school, Zach Brown was a Maryland state champion in the 100- and 200-meter dash.
"I was always the biggest sprinter in every race," Brown recalled. "It was like, 'Who is this guy? This big guy in Lane 4?' "
It was Brown. He has grown into a 244-pounder and one of the fastest linebackers in the NFL draft pool this or any other year. Brown wanted to break 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard at the NFL scouting combine, and for a while, it looked like he would come close with unofficial times of 4.45 and 4.44 in two runs Monday. His official time, however, was 4.50 — maybe not what he wanted but still second-fastest among linebackers at this year's combine.
Brown has tried to get bigger over the pre-draft process, and his combine weight is about 10 pounds heavier than his playing weight last season at North Carolina. That may explain his slower-than-expected 40 times, but 4.50 is still faster than most NFL linebackers.
Brown says his speed sets him apart from other draft prospects at linebacker, "because I can run down backs, and guard receivers, tight ends. A lot of linebackers can't do all that."
He can also run down quarterbacks, with 5½ sacks in 2011, but in a National Football League full of tight ends who create matchup headaches, coverage skills are at a premium at the linebacker positions.
"I covered a lot at Carolina," said Brown, who had seven career interceptions in college. "I can cover tight ends like Jimmy Graham, Vernon Davis, Jermichael Finley — all of the others. It just makes your defense so much better."
Graham? Davis? Finley? Really?
"I think I can cover them," Brown said, smiling. "Give me some time."
The Rams' defense as a whole lacks speed, so Brown could be an enticing pick at the top of the second round at outside linebacker. And wouldn't you know it? Even though he's from South Carolina and later moved to Maryland, Brown's favorite team growing up was the Rams.
"I liked the Broncos when I was in middle school, then I switched it up and I liked the St. Louis Rams," Brown said. "Even when they were bad I still liked them. So I'm just a loyal fan until now."
The Rams certainly could use help at the outside linebacker spot. When it was mentioned Friday that the Rams have a building block in middle linebacker James Laurinaitis, general manager Les Snead replied: "We've got some young pillars. (But) at linebacker, it's three of them, so you could easily have more linebackers."
Through most of their time in St. Louis, the Rams have neglected the linebacker position on draft day. In the Rams' past five drafts, second-rounder Laurinaitis was the only linebacker taken earlier than Round 7. And when it comes to outside linebacker, the Rams have selected only three earlier than Round 7 over the past decade:
• Jon Alston of Stanford, taken in Round 3, No. 77 overall, in 2006.
• Brandon Chillar of UCLA, taken in Round 4, No. 130 overall, in 2004.
• Pisa Tinoisamoa of Hawaii, taken in the Round 2, No. 43 overall, in 2003.
Robert Thomas was taken in the first round in 2002, 31st overall, and is the only first-round LB taken since the Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995. But he played as much middle linebacker as outside linebacker as a Ram.
Several Tar Heels draft prospects in recent years, including Rams defensive end Robert Quinn, were caught up in accepting illegal benefits or illegal associations with agents while at North Carolina. Brown said he came to the combine "trying to show (teams) that I'm not that guy. If they have a bad image of me, I'm not the people who were here last year who were in all that trouble. I wasn't in none of that."
Obviously, the Rams have other potential options at linebacker, including Lavonte David of Nebraska, who also has tried to bulk up during the pre-draft process. Even with the added weight, at 6-1, 233 David is undersized. If he can keep that weight — there was a time he was listed at 210 at Nebraska — David could be an effective run-and-chase player in the NFL.
Miami's Sean Spence is another mighty mite at 5-11, 231. "He makes plays all over the field," said former scout and current draft analyst Russ Lande. "He's a more athletic, more explosive version of Lavonte David."
For teams that don't have a problem with smaller linebackers, David and Spence could be second-round picks, although Spence didn't give scouts and coaches much confidence that he could shed blockers when he posted only 12 repetitions in the 225-pound bench press at the combine.
Nigel Bradham of Florida State (6-2, 241) is raw, but chiseled, and could be a mid-round option. Mychal Kendricks of California was the only linebacker to run a faster 40 time Monday than Brown. Kendricks ran a 4.47 at 5-11, 239 pounds, but he'd be a projection at outside linebacker in the 4-3 scheme, because he has only played inside and only played in a 3-4 in college.
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... z1ngfBv3KF
[wrapimg=left]http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/54/5540a961-1918-5375-9988-b4e4de7d7d29/4f4c539dcb9de.preview-300.jpg[/wrapimg]INDIANAPOLIS • In high school, Zach Brown was a Maryland state champion in the 100- and 200-meter dash.
"I was always the biggest sprinter in every race," Brown recalled. "It was like, 'Who is this guy? This big guy in Lane 4?' "
It was Brown. He has grown into a 244-pounder and one of the fastest linebackers in the NFL draft pool this or any other year. Brown wanted to break 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard at the NFL scouting combine, and for a while, it looked like he would come close with unofficial times of 4.45 and 4.44 in two runs Monday. His official time, however, was 4.50 — maybe not what he wanted but still second-fastest among linebackers at this year's combine.
Brown has tried to get bigger over the pre-draft process, and his combine weight is about 10 pounds heavier than his playing weight last season at North Carolina. That may explain his slower-than-expected 40 times, but 4.50 is still faster than most NFL linebackers.
Brown says his speed sets him apart from other draft prospects at linebacker, "because I can run down backs, and guard receivers, tight ends. A lot of linebackers can't do all that."
He can also run down quarterbacks, with 5½ sacks in 2011, but in a National Football League full of tight ends who create matchup headaches, coverage skills are at a premium at the linebacker positions.
"I covered a lot at Carolina," said Brown, who had seven career interceptions in college. "I can cover tight ends like Jimmy Graham, Vernon Davis, Jermichael Finley — all of the others. It just makes your defense so much better."
Graham? Davis? Finley? Really?
"I think I can cover them," Brown said, smiling. "Give me some time."
The Rams' defense as a whole lacks speed, so Brown could be an enticing pick at the top of the second round at outside linebacker. And wouldn't you know it? Even though he's from South Carolina and later moved to Maryland, Brown's favorite team growing up was the Rams.
"I liked the Broncos when I was in middle school, then I switched it up and I liked the St. Louis Rams," Brown said. "Even when they were bad I still liked them. So I'm just a loyal fan until now."
The Rams certainly could use help at the outside linebacker spot. When it was mentioned Friday that the Rams have a building block in middle linebacker James Laurinaitis, general manager Les Snead replied: "We've got some young pillars. (But) at linebacker, it's three of them, so you could easily have more linebackers."
Through most of their time in St. Louis, the Rams have neglected the linebacker position on draft day. In the Rams' past five drafts, second-rounder Laurinaitis was the only linebacker taken earlier than Round 7. And when it comes to outside linebacker, the Rams have selected only three earlier than Round 7 over the past decade:
• Jon Alston of Stanford, taken in Round 3, No. 77 overall, in 2006.
• Brandon Chillar of UCLA, taken in Round 4, No. 130 overall, in 2004.
• Pisa Tinoisamoa of Hawaii, taken in the Round 2, No. 43 overall, in 2003.
Robert Thomas was taken in the first round in 2002, 31st overall, and is the only first-round LB taken since the Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995. But he played as much middle linebacker as outside linebacker as a Ram.
Several Tar Heels draft prospects in recent years, including Rams defensive end Robert Quinn, were caught up in accepting illegal benefits or illegal associations with agents while at North Carolina. Brown said he came to the combine "trying to show (teams) that I'm not that guy. If they have a bad image of me, I'm not the people who were here last year who were in all that trouble. I wasn't in none of that."
Obviously, the Rams have other potential options at linebacker, including Lavonte David of Nebraska, who also has tried to bulk up during the pre-draft process. Even with the added weight, at 6-1, 233 David is undersized. If he can keep that weight — there was a time he was listed at 210 at Nebraska — David could be an effective run-and-chase player in the NFL.
Miami's Sean Spence is another mighty mite at 5-11, 231. "He makes plays all over the field," said former scout and current draft analyst Russ Lande. "He's a more athletic, more explosive version of Lavonte David."
For teams that don't have a problem with smaller linebackers, David and Spence could be second-round picks, although Spence didn't give scouts and coaches much confidence that he could shed blockers when he posted only 12 repetitions in the 225-pound bench press at the combine.
Nigel Bradham of Florida State (6-2, 241) is raw, but chiseled, and could be a mid-round option. Mychal Kendricks of California was the only linebacker to run a faster 40 time Monday than Brown. Kendricks ran a 4.47 at 5-11, 239 pounds, but he'd be a projection at outside linebacker in the 4-3 scheme, because he has only played inside and only played in a 3-4 in college.
