Irvin replacement from dawgland...

Made a sweep through the front page and didn't see Kikaha mentioned. Dude seem like a direct replacement for Irvin and more than likely a fraction of the cost. I don't think Kikaha is rated highly on many M/U draft boards?

He made a lot of plays for a disappointing Husky team this year and really seams to have the speed off the snap and tenacity for hitting the QB that Irvin was supposed to have when drafted.
For those not familiar with his play, check out this vid. Keep your curser on the pause button, dude is faster of the snap than the O line most times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnB0KrxTS1s

Still find it amazing the Dawgs didn't perform better with the defensive talent they had. If they only had a QB...

he is inury prone, and doesnt have the proper measurables for our scheme.

titan3131":3ln6oulh said:

he is inury prone, and doesnt have the proper measurables for our scheme.

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What do mean by that? What measurables of his aren't proper?

for starters specificaly as a bruce replacement. our leo requirements are least 34" arm length. Kikaha is 32.5

That mixed with the injuries I dont see it unless he falls to the 4-5th.

titan3131":3q7g5tn3 said:

for starters specificaly as a bruce replacement. our leo requirements are least 34" arm length. Kikaha is 32.5

That mixed with the injuries I dont see it unless he falls to the 4-5th.

Click to expand...

Where did you get the 34 inch arms as a requirement? Are you just making things up?

Kikaha's arms: 32 1/2"
Irvin's arms: 33 3/8"

Kikaha hasn't been injured for 3 years...

I like Kikaha but he's not really at all similar to Irvin and they don't play the same position. Kikaha isn't athletic enough to play LB in the NFL, he's likely trying to catch on as a situational pass rusher.

Seattle tends to like raw speed/athleticism in that role while Kikaha is more of a max effort type of player. He makes plays and I think has a shot to have a decent NFL career, just not sure its in Seattle.

I was going off of what i have read as what they look for in calling someone a leo prospect.

Im not sure where they get the definition from.

probably a average of the players we have attempted to put at the leo slot with our scheme.

Bruce is not our LEO. He'll occasionally sub there, but he's an OLB.

Leo we look for length, explosion and agility. 33-34 inch arms, 35+ inch vertical, 1.6 ten yard split, great 3-cone and shuttle. On film look primarily for the ability to lean low around the edge and fight back through the inside shoulder of the blocker.

The guy who stood out athelically for that role is Owa Odighizuwa from UCLA. Outstanding measurables and drills. The problem is his tape. Its not that its bad, its that he played mostly 3-4 end at UCLA. He didn't play the edge hardly at all. So you are working mostly off projecting him outside without seeing what he can do there.

What I see on tape is a solid run defender for a smaller end. He does a great job working the inside shoulder, shows good pop on contact, and disengages well from blocks. As an inside pass rusher he is awesome to watch. He plays through the whistle as well, showing good effort and tenacity.

I guess I was wrong, but i thought that bruce was old most of the time with OBS and then on 3rd down we put bruce at the leo for 3rd and longish.

Im very new at this indepth football thing so bear with my ignorance. : )

Kikaha is probably too small to play DE in the NFL. He'd be a 3-4 OLB. Might fit the Cardinals well.

Will be a 2nd or 3rd round bargain for some lucky team.

Some touting him as an UDFA (Pauline). Could see it after that combine and with the medical concerns.

Kikaha isn't a replacement for Irvin. Irvin is a SLB along the lines of Von Miller. That plan, that prospect has actually come to fruition. Irvin isn't a player that you want to let walk away let alone plan for it.

Kikaha is a Leo prospect through and through. His in depth Judo background really shows up. He uses the upfield energy of his speed rush really well already to translate speed to power OR to to use the OL to redirect inside. On top of that he closes to the QB with a burst that you want to see in a backside pass rusher.

In run defense, he can get walled off at the edge when they run inside of him, often when he takes that quick step outside looking for the angle on the T, but will hustle to try and get back. Obviously he's a little light so he's naturally not going to be the best anchor, but more often than not that Judo background will show up when he wants to put his pads down and attack the run blocker.

This is a good player. Not question about that. The question with him is health going forward. In the case of this particular player, I don't put too much stock into the arm length specifically because he's very fluent in hand fighting already.