Correa moving back to OLB

**DeltaRaven** · 05-24-2018, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by usmccharles

One of my most hated picks in the recent years, I hope he works out of course...

We could've had Myles Jack instead playing next to Mosley.....ugh. We still have no real plan at that spot.

**esmd** · 05-24-2018, 10:27 AM

Originally Posted by Filmstudy

Correa was unimpressive as a rookie at OLB to put it kindly. He got pushed around. As bad as that was, he was worse at ILB in year 2 without instincts to shoot a gap or get off blocks. Barring injury to the big 5 in the OLB rotation, I don't see a clear path to a roster spot. He does make a solid ST contribution, but others can fill those roles. I think he's a better OLB than ILB, but whatever play he gets this Summer is likely a showcase for a trade.

Za'Darius Smith played out of position, which hurt his pass rush totals in 2017, but he was still disruptive rushing primarily from the inside. For several reasons, including the contract year, better usage from Wink, and a more aggressive overall scheme, he's a player I would select for a breakout. The Ravens will almost certainly have to let him walk for some compensatory value. I don't believe there is a team that would put full value on Smith, which is why I think they'll keep him and have better pass rush depth.

So while normally I agree with you, I would just point out that while, "Correa was unimpressive as a rookie at OLB to put it kindly. He got pushed around," may not necessarily be incorrect, he played OLB for like 14 minutes in his rookie year (hyperbole, obviously, but still, it wasn't long before they moved him to ILB - other similar players received far longer chances to develop), AND, he didn't get the benefit of an offseason in the weight room to get stronger in an effort to keep blockers from pushing him around.

**esmd** · 05-24-2018, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by DeltaRaven

We could've had Myles Jack instead playing next to Mosley.....ugh. We still have no real plan at that spot.

Yup. Smh. How many of us were screaming on here to take Myles Jack in Round 2 that year? Just like we screamed this year to take DJ Moore in Round 1 this year. Let's hope we're not lamenting that in 3 years, but I have a feeling we will be.

**Goode05** · 05-24-2018, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by BcRaven

Man I would not want you to evaluate defensive talent.

Anyway, I don't want the same thing that happened to Correa to happen to Bowser... Bc

When has he ever been able to evaluate talent 11, Ross, and now anointing LJ as the Jordan of the nfl......

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**seraph** · 05-24-2018, 01:00 PM

Originally Posted by TarHeels33

Our obsession with trying to change players positions is amazing to me. My guess is it stemmed from the 90s,2000s Pats and trying to get a draft steal in some way. It just doesn't make sense and I can't recall it working. Moving a tackle to guard sure but trying to cram an undersized OLB into a MLB position makes sense in what world?

They changed Adalius Thomas' position and he was successful. They changed Jarrett Johnson's position and he was successful. There is precedent for them developing players by changing positions.

**filthflarnfilth** · 05-24-2018, 01:01 PM

Originally Posted by Goode05

When has he ever been able to evaluate talent 11, Ross, and now anointing LJ as the Jordan of the nfl......

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Ross is gonna tear the league up. So is LJ. Jury still out on Perriman

**palukaraven** · 05-24-2018, 01:19 PM

Originally Posted by esmd

Yup. Smh. How many of us were screaming on here to take Myles Jack in Round 2 that year? Just like we screamed this year to take DJ Moore in Round 1 this year. Let's hope we're not lamenting that in 3 years, but I have a feeling we will be.

I know I was lamenting for Jack...And the same for this years draft. While I think Hurst can pan out to be a solid tight end, I still question how he could be of more value than a guy like DJ Moore. Hurt had a total of 3 TD's while in college and 2 last season with 559 receiving yards @12.7 average. Sure he's a good blocker and supposedly has good hands....but, where's his numbers to back up his 1st round draft status?

**Shas** · 05-24-2018, 01:35 PM

Originally Posted by Ravenswintitle

I always thought they had several OLB and needed to see if one could transition inside at least for flexibility.

I agree. I don't think it's as simple as him being an OLB they tried to turn into an ILB.

I can recall looking at how he was actually used at Boise and while, yes, he was a QB hunter, no, it wasn't always coming off the edge. When they drafted him they pointed to his ability to rush from anywhere on the field and it was often from an ILB spot.

Pees used to talk about wanting to be "multiple" around the time they drafted him. He wanted players who could seamlessly transition to different roles from anywhere on the field, which in theory would allow him to disguise defenses without changing personnel packages and tipping his hand.

That meant that Correa would also need to be able to read routes and turn his hips and cover receivers in space. My sense was that Pees' scheme threw too many responsibilities at him too fast. I think the criticism about Correa was that he struggled to learn the role. I believe we heard scouts rumbling about using him in ways he wasn't used in college (ie., coverage).

To me, Pees downfall was that he tended to outhink himself. Rather than turning guys loose at what they do very well, he asked them to do too much, and as a result he got pretty average performances--players who ended up being great a nothing--and it especially showed in fourth quarters.

**Shas** · 05-24-2018, 01:36 PM

Originally Posted by seraph

They changed Adalius Thomas' position and he was successful. They changed Jarrett Johnson's position and he was successful. There is precedent for them developing players by changing positions.

Agreed. Per my point above, i really don't think the issue was "changing positions" as much as it was asking him to learn too many new responsibilities too fast.

I've argued for years that the reason they blow second round picks is because they see a player with first round athleticism and believe they can "coach em up" to apply that athleticism in news ways. The list is long. Correa, Brown, Kruger, Edwards, Chester, Baxter.

When they are successful transitioning guys, it tends to be later round picks who they can take time to develop. Jarrett Johnson wasn't much further along than Correa at this point--playing mostly special teams--but we were willing to be patient. Adalus Thomas, Anthony Levinve, Ryan Jensen...we're willing to be patient when it's not a second rounder.

**JAB1985** · 05-24-2018, 01:46 PM

Originally Posted by Shas

When they are successful transitioning guys, it tends to be later round picks who they can take time to develop. Jarrett Johnson wasn't much further along than Correa at this point--playing mostly special teams--but we were willing to be patient. Adalus Thomas, Anthony Levinve, Ryan Jensen...we're willing to be patient when it's not a second rounder.

great point.

**The Excellector** · 05-24-2018, 01:47 PM

When you watch Correa's Boise State tape, you can tell that he was going to struggle off the edge early on in the Pros. However, trying him there for a hot cup of coffee, before moving him to ILB, when he hadn't even gotten OLB down was an atrocious decision. No wonder he looked bad at OLB. They didn't even give him the opportunity to focus on one spot. The only thing about Correa's college tape that showed he could translate to Pees' defense was that they actually lined him up at ILB. He was not good at it. His responsibilities were very limited and his lateral quickness was lacking. Just being lined up at the spot from time to time (He was not lined up at ILB A LOT) is not enough for me to draft that guy in the second round. Compared to a Miles Jack, who showed the athleticism, who showed the communication skills, who showed the ability to back pedal and move, who showed the ball skills. Correa showed none of that.

I'm not giving the team a pass on this one and I can completely understand why the scouts are upset about this one. His college tape showed a guy who is best on the outside and best at going forward, who needed to work on his hand technique, but had potential. With what they did, how could they possibly expect him to improve on his technique while he's trying to decipher the responsibilities of two different positions? Because the way Pees uses his ILBs is nowhere near the way he was used at the spot at Boise State.

**The Excellector** · 05-24-2018, 01:50 PM

With the way that Pees used his ILBs, Jack should have been the pick. Now, if they had Jack off of their board, Spence should have been the pick. Character-wise, Correa probably checked out better than Spence and his perceived versatility combined, got him the nod.