Tag: versatility

Brandon Staley talks Derwin James’ versatility in Chargers’ defense

Brandon Staley said that Derwin James’ versatility gives him an edge in defensive game planning.

High expectations have been placed on the Chargers heading into their 2023 campaign, and the team is hard at work honing their craft to live up to them at OTAs.

Head coach Brandon Staley faces a make-or-break season in his third year with the team and could be on the hot seat early if his defense underperforms.

But he isn’t sweating bullets just yet, despite the heat at the team’s practices this week. Instead, he talked about one crucial advantage he has in his secondary that could help keep Los Angeles on top when the regular season begins.

Star safety Derwin James, he said, will play a key role for the Chargers with his ability to play at multiple alignments in the team’s defense. When asked about the edge that James’ versatility provides him in game planning, Staley made his stance on the matter clear.

That’s one of the things that he does best, is play closer to the ball. He can play Star or Money. That gives us a lot of flexibility in how we want to play because has a lot of those hybrid characteristics of a defensive back or a linebacker. We feel like we have a good group that coach at that position, but certainly having his ability to play there is a weapon for us.

This isn’t a new development, as James has become one of the NFL’s top defenders by leveraging his positional flexibility since entering the league as a first-round pick in 2018.

James, the do-it-all defender, finished the 2022 regular season with 115 tackles, five for loss, four sacks, six passes defended, two forced fumbles and an interception in 14 games.

But Staley will lean on him more than ever in 2023 in his effort to bring the Chargers their first playoff win since his rookie season.

Charles Omenihu prepared to play at multiple spots on Chiefs’ defensive line

Omenihu pointed to his versatility on the defensive line as a reason that the #Chiefs pursued him in free agency. | from @TheJohnDillon

The Kansas City Chiefs received favorable grades for their signing of defensive lineman Charles Omenihu in free agency, and early indications are that he will play an outsized role in the team’s front four next season.

Omenihu has gifts that will help him contribute to the team’s defensive line from a number of different alignments. He explained to reporters during his introductory press conference the different advantages that this flexibility should bring to the Chiefs’ pass rush.

“I think the versatility is just something that is a known thing so that was something that was brought up, but not something that we talked too much in depth about,” Omenihu explained. “It was just something, I think that looking at me as a player or profile that I can rush inside I can rush outside, rush over the center, whatever you need me to do I’ve shown that I can do it throughout my career. What I think I bring to the table is a guy that can do that.

“I think I’m a guy that can play the run of first (or) second down and play over tight ends and be in the nine and the five and then I think I can rush on the edge if you need me to depending however we want to do it and rush inside so I think that versatility is what I bring to the table. A guy that’s going to play hard, very much a guy that’s going to stuff the run because I know when you play the run well you can have some fun rushing the quarterback.”

Time will tell if Omenihu is able to maintain his production in Kansas City, but the Chiefs certainly seem to have found a player who can fill multiple needs for them on their defensive front after the loss of veterans Frank Clark and Khalen Saunders.

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Packers rookie Zach Tom wants to play all 5 positions along offensive line

Packers’ fourth-round pick Zach Tom, who started games at left tackle and center at Wake Forest, has made five-position versatility his top goal as a rookie.

One of the top goals for Green Bay Packers rookie offensive lineman Zach Tom is developing an ability to play all five positions along the offensive line. At Wake Forest, he started games at left tackle and center, two completely different positions. In Green Bay, he could turn himself into a legitimate option at tackle, guard and center.

At this point in the process, it’s unclear where the Packers will start him off as a rookie.

“Right now, I’m just prepared for anything. That’s one of my strengths. I want to be able to play all five positions,” Tom said Friday. “They haven’t told me anything specific yet. I’m just ready for anything.”

The Packers made Tom the 140th pick in the fourth round of the draft. He enters the NFL as one of the most athletic and versatile offensive linemen in the 2022 draft class.

Versatility is a valuable asset for a young player, especially along the offensive line. Tom’s ability to play multiple positions could help Matt LaFleur’s team replace some of the flexibility afforded by departed veterans Billy Turner and Lucas Patrick – two players who combined to start games at all five positions over the last three seasons – and give him a legitimate shot at playing time during his first season.

“The more versatile you are, the more valuable you are. The more you can do, the better chance it is that you’re going to get on the field, and that’s my goal,” Tom said. “It’s not really as much pride, I just want to get on the field, so I want to do as much as I can.”

Tom started 23 games at left tackle and 14 at center for Wake Forest. He said center is more mentally taxing, in terms of making calls and communicating information to the offensive line, while left tackle is more challenging physically due to facing longer, more athletic players, especially on third down.

Tom understands Green Bay’s history of developing mid-round offensive linemen, especially players with his versatile skill set, and he’s already comfortable with offensive line coach Luke Butkus.

“I think he’s going to develop me into a really good player,” Tom said.

Digesting the playbook and getting physically ready should give Tom a chance to compete for a starting job as a rookie. Things are unsettled on the right side of the offensive line, especially while Elgton Jenkins – a player he looks up to and wants to emulate – recovers from an ACL injury.

Knowing all five spots could give Tom a chance to compete for one of the open spots right away.

“I want to be somebody who can play all five positions at a high level,” Tom said. “That’s the goal. That’s my main goal for the offseason and through camp. I want to be somebody who can go out there at any position and rely on to perform at a high level.”

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Daryl Worley adds versatility, size for Cowboys in crafty late FA signing

The Dallas Cowboys added valuable CB Daryl Worley this offseason, who has the size and versatility they crave at CB.

There was a lot of work the Dallas Cowboys needed do this offseason to rebuild the cornerback position. After Byron Jones departed via free agency, it left just two accomplished corners on the roster. Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis and a few nondescript names remained on the ledger.

The team went to work, re-signing slot man Anthony Brown, signing Maurice Canady (who has since opted out), Saivion Smith and then adding two cornerbacks in the draft. Apparently they weren’t done compiling talent at CB. The day after the draft concluded, Dallas also signed former Oakland Raiders cornerback Daryl Worley to continue to shore up the secondary.

Worley is a former 2016 third-round pick of the Carolina Panthers and is just 25 years old, but the Cowboys will be his fourth team in five years.

He was traded from the Panthers to the Philadelphia Eagles in March of 2018, but Worley’s arrest for a DUI in April of that year got him released before he played a game for the team. The Raiders swooped in and signed Worley, who was suspended for four games as a result of the arrest.

Worley played his college ball at West Virginia, where he played in 11 games and started in five as a freshman and he continued to get better as his career progressed. He had three interceptions as sophomore, but it was in his junior season when Worley’s stock rose. Worley earned First-Team All-Big 12 honors and picked off six passes in his last season with the Mountaineers, which tied for fourth in the nation.

In his first two years with the Panthers, Worley intercepted three passes and broke up 19, playing primarily as their starting RCB before he was traded to the Eagles.

Worley has been a member of the Raiders for the past two seasons and has played admirably, mostly on the left side. Last season, the veteran CB had eight passes defended, a tackle for a loss, and an interception in 15 games. Worley has five career interceptions, with at least one in each of his four seasons.

If the Cowboys were looking to create more turnovers, Worley does get his hands on a lot of passes.

The biggest reason the Cowboys signed Worley was because of his size. Listed at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, he fits the prototypical mold of CB the Cowboys are targeting.

Vice President of Player Personnel Will McClay mentioned in an interview after the draft about how the team wants “big, long corners.” Worley fits that bill.

Worley was already an intriguing name to remember for the defense, but since Canady has opted-out, he’ll get even more of an opportunity now.

Dallas does seem to have significant depth at CB and Worley is going to have value as a veteran presence as the team works in two rookie corners in Trevon Diggs and Reggie Robinson. He’ll be battling for the third or fourth spot in the rotation and his experience early in the season, especially since there’s been no real offseason practices, could turn out to be a difference maker.

The CB crunch ultimately might not be an issue as there are still rumors the Cowboys might convert one of their corners to a safety moving forward. Awuzie appears to be the most likely player to change positions, but don’t discount Worley as an option for snaps at safety either. He lined up at safety for the Panthers in 2017 and the Raiders used him there in spot duty as well, so Worley does make some sense.

If Awuzie does move, Worley will be counted on to play a bigger role in the secondary. Of course it could be Worley taking on multiple roles himself.

Head coach Mike McCarthy was asked specifically about Worley in Saturday’s press conference after the Cowboys first practice of the season.

The Cowboys were diligent in adding talent to the secondary this offseason and Worley was a nice pickup. He can line up on either side of the field, has some experience at safety and should be a core piece of the special teams units. Dallas can use him as a valuable jack-of-all-trades player who can help anywhere he’s needed.

At just 25 years of age, Worley’s best football is still in front of him. Worley could be one of the unsung heroes for the Cowboys as they enter the 2020 season.

People often mention glue guys and under the radar players that help teams win games, Worley fits that bill for the Cowboys.

You can chat with or follow Ben on twitter @BenGrimaldi.

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Packers coach Matt LaFleur touts Josiah Deguara’s versatility again

The Packers certainly think they have a versatile and valuable player in rookie Josiah Deguara.

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The same word keeps coming up over and over again when Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur is asked about rookie Josiah Deguara.

Versatility.

Once again on Thursday, LaFleur touted Deguara’s ability to line up just about anywhere in the formation and help the Packers as a blocker or receiver.

“I just think the versatility he showed as a player,” LaFleur said when asked about why he thought Deguara would be a good fit as an H-back or tight end. “You could definitely see his ability to run routes. We just thought he’d be a good movable piece whether we have him in the backfield or on the line of scrimmage or you could even put him in some positions where he’s pretty much a wide receiver. We just like the versatility he brings.”

The Packers surprised many by taking Deguara with the 94th overall pick in the third round of the 2020 draft.

Clearly, LaFleur believes he has a player who can line up at several different spots and help expand the team’s ability to be deceptive before the snap. He often talks about the “illusion of complexity,” or the idea that an otherwise simple offensive concept can look complex by disguising intentions during the pre-snap phase with versatile players who can do multiple things in the run and pass game.

LaFleur said something similar about Deguara right after the draft.

“I love Josiah,” LaFleur said in April. “He is extremely versatile. The thing he brings to our offense is, we can be in the same personnel grouping and we can line him up on the line of scrimmage or in a wing alignment or in the backfield. I think that adds stress on the defense. When you watch Josiah, you see such a gritty, tough player.”

At Cincinnati, Deguara caught 92 career passes, the most in school history as a tight end. He also featured heavily in the team’s many blocking schemes, both as an H-back and as a traditional inline tight end.

The trick now for the Packers will be getting Deguara up speed in time to contribute in a versatile role as a rookie. Playing tight end as a first-year player in the NFL is a difficult task, and the difficulty will be multiplied if he needs to learn to play several positions. But his ability to line up in the backfield, in the slot or just off the ball will give LaFleur and the Packers options for how to best use him as he learns the offense and gets comfortable as a professional player. Just last year, third-round pick Jace Sternberger played an H-back-like role in a few games after he returned from injured reserve.

LaFleur said earlier this month that Deguara is a “pretty smart guy” who is picking up everything well during the walkthrough periods.

The real stuff starts Saturday when the Packers officially start practice. Deguara will get his first chance to show off the trait that drew LaFleur and the Packers to him during the draft process.

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Seahawks drafted running back DeeJay Dallas for his versatility

The Seattle Seahawks boosted their running back room in the 2020 NFL Draft when they selected Miami’s DeeJay Dallas for his versatility.

The Seattle Seahawks have officially wrapped up the 2020 NFL Draft with eight new additions to the team. Among the new draftees for the Seahawks is Miami running back DeeJay Dallas.

It’s no secret the Seahawks pride themselves on being a run-first team. It has been a tenant of Pete Carroll’s offensive philosophy and an identity of the franchise as a whole throughout its history. When Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny and C.J. Prosise all went down with season-ending injuries, it left a gaping hole at a valuable position.

It certainly doesn’t take a football expert to tell you loosing a first, second, and third-string running back in the same year isn’t optimal.

The Seahawks addressed this need – albeit a little later than some assumed – with DeeJay Dallas, who was a college teammate of current Seahawks running back Travis Homer.

Dallas, who is a bit of a jack of all trades of sorts, was a former high school quarterback and went to Miami as a receiver before converting to running back. It’s this kind of versatility that really got head coach Pete Carroll excited about Dallas.

“Our guys are really excited about him on special teams,” Carroll stated after the pick. “He’s a guy with a really big attitude and personality about it and try hard and effort and all of that. That was the mix. He’s been a wildcat guy back there in the backfield. That just adds to the makeup that he brings that makes him unique. That’s kind of the guys that we love to fall for. Hopefully, he will contribute in many ways. Versatility is a big deal with him.”

Of course, the Seahawks will certainly be hoping a potential duo of Dallas and Homer – who had a decent game in the regular-season finale against San Francisco – could provide a decent boost to the ground game, since Carson, Penny, and Prosise all have durability concerns.

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