Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Eagles select Stanford edge-rusher Casey Toohill with the No. 233 overall pick
The Philadelphia Eagles added an edge-rusher that we felt would be a good late-round fit, drafting Stanford defensive end Casey Toohill.
#Eagles draft Stanford DE Casey Toohill with the No. 233 overall pick, 19th in the 7th round.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) April 25, 2020
More edge-rusher than a true linebacker, Toohill started all 12 games as a fifth-year senior, earning second-team All-Pac-12 honors after leading Stanford with 11.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks and 60 tackles.
NFL Draft 2020: A LB in every round for the Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles are just hours from making virtual draft history and as we take a look at the prospects on a round by round basis, linebacker could become a position of need in the middle to late rounds.
With the Eagles set to be on the clock, here’s a linebacker in every round for the Eagles.
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1.Kenneth Murray, Oklahoma
Murray has been rumored to the Eagles for weeks now and the playmaking linebacker would add a dimension at linebacker that the franchise has never had.
A thumper who can excel in coverage, Murray is a few missed tackles away from being a top-15 player. Murray can improve as a pass rusher, but his ability to control gaps could translate well to the NFL.
He had eight sacks and 11 tackles for loss in his only season as a starter in 2019.
The Arizona Cardinals have been doing a lot of predraft work on pass-rushing player prospects. The latest is Stanford edge defender Casey Toohill.
According to Draft Wire’s Justin Melo, the Cardinals have recently had a virtual meeting with Toohill via FaceTime.
EDGE Casey Toohill has spoken to 20+ teams since the combine (tied w/ Simmons & Gay as most athletic LB via NextGen). Look for him to get drafted early Day 3.
He's recently held pre-draft meetings over FaceTime w/ the #Titans, #Bengals, #Jets, #Panthers & #Cardinals among others pic.twitter.com/jurB37Sqnh
— Justin M (@JustinM_NFL) April 19, 2020
Toohill is one of the most athletic linebackers in the draft. He would play outside linebacker for the Cardinals if he were drafted by them.
Toohill is 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds. He ran the 40 in 4.62 seconds at the combine, had a 39-inch vertical leap, a 10-6 broad jump and 7.08-second three-cone.
2019 was his only season at Stanford as a full-time starter. He finished the season with 57 tackles, eight sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss.
He has potential to grow. He is not known for being good against the run but hits hard and plays with intensity. He also has stood out on special teams.
As the Cardinals need pass-rushing depth, he is a name to watch on Day 3 of the draft.
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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.
Ep. 264
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Ep. 263
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According to Justin Melo at Draft Wire, the team held another video meeting with Stanford outside linebacker Casey Toohill.
The Panthers are doing their diligence on some of this year’s top EDGE prospects. Already, they have held FaceTime meetings with Florida’s Jonathan Greenard and Michigan State’s Kenny Willekes. We can now add another name to that list.
According to Justin Melo at Draft Wire, the team held another video meeting with Stanford outside linebacker Casey Toohill.
EDGE Casey Toohill has spoken to 20+ teams since the combine (tied w/ Simmons & Gay as most athletic LB via NextGen). Look for him to get drafted early Day 3.
He's recently held pre-draft meetings over FaceTime w/ the #Titans, #Bengals, #Jets, #Panthers & #Cardinals among others pic.twitter.com/jurB37Sqnh
— Justin M (@JustinM_NFL) April 19, 2020
He has scored very high athletically compared to other linebackers in this draft class. At the combine, he posted a 39 inch vertical leap to go with a 4.21 second 20-yard shuttle.
Toohill (6-foot-4, 247 pounds) was redshirted as a freshman and had to work his way up the rotation. Eventually, he earned himself a significant role and he had a breakout season in 2019, posting career highs with 57 tackles, eight sacks and 11.5 tackles for a loss.
Let’s take a look at his college tape.
Toohill is another projected Day 3 pick.
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Examining and identifying the top on-field linebackers performances from the 2020 NFL Combine.
The 2020 NFL Combine continued their on-field drills on Saturday night, this time featuring interior defensive lineman, EDGE rushers, and linebackers. As always, the workouts begin with the 40-yard-dash, and when they shifted into position drills, we got to see a handful of new drills.
The Lions seem pretty content with their off-the-ball linebackers, but they’re always looking for upgrades and players that can contribute on special teams — which this group is full of. Let’s take a look at those who earned positive marks today.
6-3.5, 238, 40 y/d: 4.39, Vertical: 39″, Broad: 11′
It doesn’t matter if you like him as a linebacker or a safety, Simmons is a playmaker who ran one 4.39 second 40-yards dash and then did a Deion Sanders-like walk off — and most could care less he didn’t do any on-field drills.
#Clemson LB Isaiah Simmons
6-4 (93rd percentile)
39” vert (92nd percentile)
11’0” broad (98th percentile)
4.39 40-yard (99th percentile)This is Earth’s greatest defender pic.twitter.com/uXboqqGT0Z
— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) March 1, 2020
With the way the Lions deploy their linebackers, I still believe Simmons is best suited as a hang defender role — similar to Tavon Wilson’s role, taking snaps in the box, over the slot, at MIKE, and single-high safety — in the Lions scheme because it would allow him to operate with more freedom, at all levels of the defense and expand the secondary’s coverage exponentially.
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The biggest obstacle I see with the Lions and Simmons potential marriage is that it goes against tradition for NFL teams to draft off-the-ball players early because of the value they get out of that position. Recently there has been a trend that has seen more off-the-ball prospects selected in the top-10, and Simmons is a special enough talent to keep the trend going, but I’m not sure the Lions are a team that would target him early.
6-2.5, 247, short shuttle: 4.32
Harrison, a more traditional style of linebacker for the Lions scheme, took advantage of a couple of key injuries to linebackers rated ahead of him and stole the show. Clearing the Lions’ benchmarks in both jumps and the short shuttle, Harrison is a perfect fit in the Lions scheme if they are looking for an upgrade on Day 2. With the Lions, Harrison would fit in as a WILL with potential to switch with the MIKE on any given play, and would be a nice complement to Jahlani Tavai as a potential starting pair down the road.
6-1, 243, 40 y/d: 4.46, short shuttle: 4.3
Gay’s size, speed, and quickness were all on display at the Combine and if he had a clean off-the-field background — he was suspended for eight games last season — he would probably be much higher on the Lions draft board.
