Lavonte David

[Thunderhawk]

I know some of our in-house draft experts were high on this guy. Good call. Dude looks like the most complete LB in the NFL right now. 117 tackles 6 sacks and 5 interceptions. Crazy.

Bobby Wagner is a nice player and filled a need for us at MLB, but David went 11 picks later and seems like the much better player at this stage. I wish we'd picked him.

 

[Domseahawks]

Could be situation of a good player on a bad team racking up stats, whilst wagner is a good player on a good team where everyone makes plays not just himself, stats don't tell the whole story sometimes. Agree that Lavonte is a good player however i would still rather wags

 

[volsunghawk]

I would have been quite pleased with Wright at MLB and David on the outside.

 

[Largent80]

And 31 other teams wished they had picked Russell Wilson.

 

[HawksSoc]

Have David on my fantasy team, absolute monster. Great player.

 

[kearly]

I think I wrote something on SDB a few days before that draft saying that if David was there at #43 and Seattle didn't take him, they better know something incredibly damning that the public is in the dark about because he was an obvious star in the making who also fit Seattle's need for speed at LB. I was pretty ticked off about them drafting Wagner instead, though I predicted they'd take Wagner or Kendricks in round 2. They never quite see eye to eye with me on LBs and OL.

I think when it comes to LB and CB specifically they seem to almost not give a shit about tape and skip straight to the measurables. I think Pete has a ton of confidence in his ability to coach up back seven players and it shows in Seattle's drafting.

 

[ivotuk]

I think I wrote something on SDB a few days before that draft saying that if David was there at #43 and Seattle didn't take him, they better know something incredibly damning that the public is in the dark about because he was an obvious star in the making who also fit Seattle's need for speed at LB. I was pretty ticked off about them drafting Wagner instead, though I predicted they'd take Wagner or Kendricks in round 2. They never quite see eye to eye with me on LBs and OL.

I think when it comes to LB and CB specifically they seem to almost not give a shit about tape and skip straight to the measurables. I think Pete has a ton of confidence in his ability to coach up back seven players and it shows in Seattle's drafting.

I think this is dead on and goes with something I heard on 710 about the new Huskies coach ability (or inability) to recruit. The host said "Ryan Clady was not a 5 start recruit but he's a Pro Bowl left tackle in the NFL. How's that for recruiting?"

And it goes back to Pete recognizing physical talent and taking advantage of it.

As to Lavonte, he's going to give the 49ers fits. "Lavonte David just had a ridiculous game, with 10 total tackles, two interceptions and a sack against the Buffalo Bills"

http://www.bucsnation.com/2013/12/10/5196236/lavonte-david-for-defensive-player-of-the-year

 

[Thunderhawk]

Have David on my fantasy team, absolute monster. Great player.

Same here. He and Josh Gordon have pretty much saved my season.

 

[Scottemojo]

Lavonte is a prototype MLB in a two deep system. I think Pete wanted a bit more size. IIRC, David played in college around 220.

 

[kearly]

Lavonte is a prototype MLB in a two deep system. I think Pete wanted a bit more size. IIRC, David played in college around 220.

He played in the upper 220s, weighed in at the combine at 233. Malcolm Smith has played in the 220s for most of his time here and Mike Morgan did as well before finally adding some bulk this season, and he only did so because the team wanted to try him out at LEO. Kendricks is a guy we know they liked a lot and he was undersized too. It's extremely hard to find an NFL viable LB who run 4.4s, and when you do, they are usually 225-235 pound guys.

David fit, especially at WLB. I think they loved Wagner, and they seem to prefer players with more room for improvement, even if the difference in tape is enormous.