You Can't Replace AD.... but this UDFA has the tools

[RamFan503]

The WWE was a moneygrab after years of poverty for Gable. He monetized an Olympic gold medal in exchange for a short term deal to play-act combat (in front of a moron fanbase). The next step to bigger money was either NFL or UFC, but very few UFC champs ever make NFL money (the second contract kind). Other than Connor McGregor, most UFC fighters never achieve eight-figure wealth. The path to nine-figure wealth is possible in the NFL for someone with Gable's skillset.

There are a few dozen NBA players who would flourish in the NFL (imagine LeBron as a WR/TE) but the NBA pay (and longer career/lower injury risk) keeps them away. NFL makes more sense than UFC to someone like Gable - and for all the $ame rea$on$.

I get it but expecting a guy to make it big in the NFL with literally zero football experience is a huge reach. It could happen.

We keep hearing about pro rugby players yet how have they worked out?

I remember us taking players for our offensive line that had great wrestling experience but never really planned out. Maybe d-line is a better fit. I just have my doubts. If the guy pans out, look for that to be a possible trend. I just won't hold my breath.

 

[Psycho_X]

I get it but expecting a guy to make it big in the NFL with literally zero football experience is a huge reach. It could happen.

We keep hearing about pro rugby players yet how have they worked out?

I remember us taking players for our offensive line that had great wrestling experience but never really planned out. Maybe d-line is a better fit. I just have my doubts. If the guy pans out, look for that to be a possible trend. I just won't hold my breath.

Yeah the Rams have been a pretty good poster child for what happens when you draft physical freaks for their positions with little to no football experience since Snead joined us. They've all been mostly useless and some looked absolutely clueless on the field even after years of us hanging on to them with hope. It doesn't hurt to take late round flyers or a free agent signing like this guy based on hope but I wouldn't bet money on it panning out.

 

[Turducken]

I get it but expecting a guy to make it big in the NFL with literally zero football experience is a huge reach. It could happen.

We keep hearing about pro rugby players yet how have they worked out?

I remember us taking players for our offensive line that had great wrestling experience but never really planned out. Maybe d-line is a better fit. I just have my doubts. If the guy pans out, look for that to be a possible trend. I just won't hold my breath.

There is an old saying that you can't teach speed. Most of the things that separated AD are things you can't really teach either. Gable possesses some of AD's of unteachable things. That's my point. He's an undrafted free agent and he is blessed with a higher ceiling than any DT selected in this year's draft.

Whether he hits that ceiling is besides the point.

 

[dang]

How in the hell is this post living. I want the 2 minutes back in my life that I wasted paging thru it.

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

I mean, Brock Lesnar didn't make it in the NFL, and he was about as tough of an athlete as you can be, and a monster on top of that. Experience matters.

 

[gogoat1]

He will be cut as sure as the sun is going to come up tomorrow.
Why make a thread about some wrestler with no experience ? He will be manhandled, a human pinata.

 

[jrry32]

There is an old saying that you can't teach speed. Most of the things that separated AD are things you can't really teach either. Gable possesses some of AD's of unteachable things. That's my point. He's an undrafted free agent and he is blessed with a higher ceiling than any DT selected in this year's draft.

Whether he hits that ceiling is besides the point.

AD was the all-time great he was because he was the entire package. He was a top percentile athlete who had all the intangibles and the skill. This guy is undoubtedly an impressive wrestler, but nobody knows if he's in AD's league as an athlete. AD had the strength of an interior DL and the movement skills of an ILB. I remember watching AD in his final year at Pitt. He won damn near every time the opposing OL single-blocked him. He was that gifted and skilled. It takes a lot of football, a lot of work, and a lot of time to develop that skill.

As far as Steveson's ceiling, I don't think any of us, including you, know what it is. As far as I know, he hasn't done any of the athletic testing.

He will be cut as sure as the sun is going to come up tomorrow.
Why make a thread about some wrestler with no experience ? He will be manhandled, a human pinata.

It's possible the guy could become a player. But it's going to take some time. And it's not close to guaranteed. He's a lottery ticket.

 

[fearsomefour]

I get it but expecting a guy to make it big in the NFL with literally zero football experience is a huge reach. It could happen.

We keep hearing about pro rugby players yet how have they worked out?

I remember us taking players for our offensive line that had great wrestling experience but never really planned out. Maybe d-line is a better fit. I just have my doubts. If the guy pans out, look for that to be a possible trend. I just won't hold my breath.

Very true.
I would think the best shot would be a position where a guy could take advantage of blazing speed.....WR, KR or a ST cover guy.
Kicker could.
A position that has a large technical component to it like OL.....that is a huge stretch. Even if given a multi year development window.

 

[fearsomefour]

I mean, Brock Lesnar didn't make it in the NFL, and he was about as tough of an athlete as you can be, and a monster on top of that. Experience matters.

Exactly who I am reminded of.

 

[Turducken]

Exactly who I am reminded of.

Brock was nothing like Gable. Brock had basic, solid wrestling technique supported by overwhelming horsepower. But he didn't have the athleticism needed to dominate internationally.

Gable is a unicorn. He was the youngest person in Olympic history to win the gold at heavyweight.

He stood out as a wrestling heavyweight like Ali in boxing - succeeding with technique that was mostly inaccessible to everyone else.

 

[Karate61]

I think I tried a backflip when I was a kid and nearly killed myself. I will never, ever try one again. I have no idea how people learn how to do them. Just scary as shit to me!

 

[AvengerRam]

The “AD” in the title means “average defenders”?

 

[fearsomefour]

Brock was nothing like Gable. Brock had basic, solid wrestling technique supported by overwhelming horsepower. But he didn't have the athleticism needed to dominate internationally.

Gable is a unicorn. He was the youngest person in Olympic history to win the gold at heavyweight.

He stood out as a wrestling heavyweight like Ali in boxing - succeeding with technique that was mostly inaccessible to everyone else.

Very cool.

Im not familiar enough with wrestling to know Gable.
Hes a very long shot, but, why not take a shot on him?
Elite athletes are hard to find (even though everyone in the NFL is one).....I am pulling for him.

 

[TSFH Fan]

He was compared to AD in a half dozen articles today:

this one

and this one

and another one

and this other one

etc.

I was bored and decided to look. OP cites 5 articles, linked below. Underneath each link is the apparent language of comparison. People can make their own decision about OP's comment that "He was compared to AD".

this one
At 6-foot-1, Steveson wrestled in the heavyweight class in college -- which caps out at 285 pounds -- but is listed at 265 pounds, making for a light interior defensive lineman. If he added 20 pounds, he'd mirror Aaron Donald in terms of basic measurables, but there's no telling where he currently stands in terms of weight.


and this one
As a collegian, Steveson competed at 285 pounds but is currently listed at 265 pounds, according to NFL.com. That roughly puts him at the same weight as most edge rushers, not interior defensive linemen, although the recently retired Aaron Donald was listed at 6-foot-1, 280 pounds during his NFL career..


and another one
“At 6-foot-1, Steveson wrestled in the heavyweight class in college — which caps out at 285 pounds — but is listed at 265 pounds, making for a light interior defensive lineman,” Shook wrote. “If he added 20 pounds, he’d mirror Aaron Donald in terms of basic measurables, but there’s no telling where he currently stands in terms of weight.”


and this other one
While this weight is on the lighter side for an interior defensive lineman, his athletic prowess cannot be underestimated. With speculation of him gaining an additional 20 pounds, comparisons could soon be drawn to NFL great Aaron Donald in terms of physical specs.


etc.
Steveson will play defensive tackle for the Bills, which profiles him as a fairly small tackle at just 6-foot-1 and 275 pounds. Size-wise, Steveson actually compares favorably to retired Los Angeles defensive tackle Aaron Donald (6-foot-1, 284 pounds), but that's obviously not to say the wrestler-turned-"wrestler"-turned-defensive tackle will be anywhere near as productive as the likely first-ballot Hall-of-Famer.

 

[Mackeyser]

AD has said his final year he played at around 260, which is insane

 

[OldSchool]

AD has said his final year he played at around 260, which is insane

Years IIRC, he said he hadn't played at 285 in a while.

 

[OldSchool]

There are lots of guys that have the measurements and/or tools to be AD. But there's only been one because he's the entire package and adds all that together with heart and work ethic.

 

[HitStick]

He has less of a chance at becoming AD than a single water droplet putting out the fires of hell.

 

[Turducken]

There are lots of guys that have the measurements and/or tools to be AD. But there's only been one because he's the entire package and adds all that together with heart and work ethic.

I agree. That's why the post was about his skills. But it goes without saying that no one becomes a world champion in any (individual) sport without an insane work ethic.

I also agree with most of the posters who think the transition and learning curve will be a huge leap for him. I think the use of feet, hands and leverage in wrestling usually translates very well in the trenches. I had success as an undersized DT in high school, but it was wrestling that paid for my college. My bias is obvious.

Antonio Gates played no football and turned his BB skillset into a HOF career. The BB to TE path is so well travelled that no one blinks at it anymore.

Most of the big elite wrestlers turn to MMA. This one didn't and I think the reason is that he sees a chance to earn more in the NFL (especially since AD blazed a path for an undersized DT to make bank).

 

[sloramfan]

on a rams site, replacing AD, is replacing AD on THIS team... not the fucking bills...

list all the articles you want, the title is still misleading...

go rams

slo