Green Bay going to use Rashan Gary as a Linebacker

If you ever see Rashan standing next to Kevin Hart please, please, please do the world a favor and capture a picture.  Hard to top the Tacko Fall/Tracy Wolfson contrast, but that would be in the neighborhood.

Measurables are one thing, of course he has those all day long.  If you want to just talk about his speed and size, you can convince yourself he could be a tight end as well.  Would you do that?  

OLB includes coverage and that opens up a ton of responsibility.  Even run plays are going to require a lot more reading of the play, and that's a very specific skill.  Lots of would-be great LB's failed because they couldn't diagnose plays quickly enough. 

This seems like a massive stretch.  But I hope it works out and he's awesome. 

and sometimes has to drop into zones, and read run plays to the edge differently than he would if he had his hand in the dirt.  it's just a different skill set, and unclear why one would want your first round pick to learn a different position in the NFL when he's already awesome at the position he plays and has played for years.

One thing to note though is that the almost exclusively focused on pass rush. Now, in the modern NFL that's the most important thing, that's why almost all teams are drafting DEs that high, and if you watch the film most likely you'll agree with their pass rush assessment of Gary. He is overly reliant on trying to use a speed rush/dip move, which he just isn't that good at. He's shown effectiveness using speed-to-power, but for whatever reason rarely used it. And he never really developed other counters.

All this tends to fit the mold with Mattison coached DL (one or two pass rush moves, a lot of focus on run defense, stacking blockers, shedding blockers, taking on pullers, etc.). But what it means for Green Bay is they got a strong edge defender against the run with potential to develop into a well rounded and capable pass rusher. Green Bay has lots of holes to fill, but with Gary's upside, they have the ability to address both the run and pass defense weakness they have currently. Far from a slam dunk pick, but I also don't think it's a drastic reach people are making it out to be. Worst case they move him eventually to DL and he fits as a good run defender.

Most teams expect a star out of the first round (especially the top half) and draft guys with that potential. They are just as often as not disappointed. By that metric, I think Gary will disappoint. Despite his sky high measurables, I think his superstar potential is lower than many others think.

Setting health aside, I think Gary is an instant starter and has a long career as a plus defender. He may not make pro bowls, but he'll hold his position better than most and allow the stars of his defense to do their thing. I think he'll be short on superstar accolades but long on appreciation and respect from his teammates and coaches. Basically, his pro career will look a lot like his college career. While those who wanted a year-in, year-out pro bowler will be disappointed, I think if you told most GMs that they could get a plug-and-play 7-10 year, plus guy at #12, I think they're OK with that. I think Gary's chances of not being able to be a starter at the NFL level are low. From an ability to contribute standpoint, he's a low risk guy. Using grades, his downside is B and his upside is A- and he's likely a B+. 

Of course we can't set health aside. That's why I think he was picked too high. Based upon admittedly very little info or expertise (when does that ever stop anyone on the internet), I think he has a somewhat high injury risk. 

"When we filter out plays with no blitzes and no stunts, Gary ranks just 64th among edge defenders in the draft class"