Tremendous Upside: Chris Long
Over the next few days, were are going to look at the top picks that the Jets could be faced with picking on Saturday. In this edition: UVA DE/OLB Chris Long. This is meant to be just a quick hit, to get you going in the comments.
Name: Chris Long
Position: DE/OLB in 3-4 or 4-3 DE
Metrics: 6-3, 272 lbs, 4.75 40yd, 34″ vert, 4.21 20yd shuttle, 10′ long jump
Positives: High motor, was constantly double teamed in college and still made plays, team leadership comes naturally. Has good hands & quickness.
Negatives: Uncertain as to if he can play standing up, doesn’t have prototypical long arms. Only decent height.
How He Fits Jets: Al Groh and the Jets obviously have close ties, and the Jets can get the detailed information. Long might not have the pure metrics that others have at his position, but his pedigree and work ethic can’t be understated. The Jets are looking for players to rush the passer and potentially even take over Shaun Ellis’ role on the line in the next 2-3 years if he can get stronger and weigh more. More than likely, he would stay at OLB.
Chris Long: NFL Scouting Combine Highlights
Chris Long: Game Film and Analysis by Mike Mayock
Filed under: Main Page
It would be sweet if he fell to the Jets, but I won’t be holding my breath. Seems like he would be better at linebacker in a 3-4 then 3-4 end. He would definetly be one of the leaders on the Jets defense and would give them a dose of intensity and aggressiveness.
Square peg. Round hole. Not that I think he won’t be a good pro, just not for us. Here’s hoping Carl Peterson takes him to fulfill his fanbase’s demands for a white boy woth cheering. Jared Allen, KC misses you and your redneck ways.
I don’t see this guy fitting in as an OLB. A tad slow for the spot, and not big/strong enough to play 3-4 DE. Honestly, can someone please explain why this guy is worth a to-10 pick for any team that doesn’t run a 4-3. (I see him as an excellent LE in a 4-3)
Does anybody have an idea of whats going on? The only two guys I haven’t heard that the Jets are in love with are Gholston and Long. They are all over the papers and net loving McFadden and Ryan. What does this all mean??
I’m freaking out! All I see is music and my dead grandfathers playing put-put. It’s either the NFL draft or that mescaline I ate a few hours ago.
Is jason taylor, Suggs, Thomas a burner?…When I look at sucess at the position I see high motor/ high energy guys. You need a good mix of speed but also the power to take on blockers. Besides this kid has a strong football pedigree. He will adapt and be a pro’s pro.
Goat and The Chad–C.Long is the epitome of the undersized college DE who transitions to OLB in NFL 3-4.
Look up his combine stats on nfl.com and place them along side those of V.Gholston, who is considered a physical freak. Chris long was slightly slower in straight line speed measured in 40, but was better in 3 cone drill and 20 yd shuttle. Long had a better long jump and his high jump was one only inch less than Gholston. In short, because Long is white, people expect that he is all heart and no physical ability. It is simply not true.
Chris Long is not like Wayne Chrebet, who had lots of heart and minimal natural ability; he’s more Howie Long who had a hall of fame motor and natural ability.
It is absolutely ridiculous to call him a square peg and think he only fits as a DE in a 4-3, especially when he didn’t play in a 4-3 in college.
In addition to OLB, C.Long could also play ILB in 3-4, just as Adalius Thomas did this past year in NE.
I can absolutely see C-Long as a 3-4 OLB. Somehow he’s getting the perception of being too slow to move in space. At the combine, he was as good as or better than V Gholston in the 20-yard shuttle, the 3-cone drill, and the 10-yard dash. He was slower in the 40, but how many times is a 270-lb guy running 40 yards in a straight line?
And as far as production and versatility, in both the run and pass game, I think Long’s work in college speaks for itself. Remember, we played a 4-3 on about one-third of snaps last year, and Long won’t have any trouble staying in on those downs as an end. I think he’s a terrific prospect, and his upside has really been understated by the “experts”.
Would love for him to fall to us, be he won’t.
My wish list for the draft nothing fancy.
– 1st pick- Draft D (unless we could get a big receiver)
– add draft picks by trading down
– keep chad
thats it. Do all three i am thrilled.
I would definitely take Long over Gholston if given the choice. Both would be asked to play a new position, and IMO, I would rather have the son of a hall of famer, who was consistently productive all through college, and is a natural leader, than a combine star who got 1/3 of his sacks in one game and didnt show up the rest of the time…But I’m kinda doubtful Long would drops past both OAK and KC, like Goat said, the white boy DE thing is just too much for them to let slip by…
He would be a great addition, possibly even worth trading up to get. He would be great in run support, give more attitude in our front seven, something we definitely lack, I’m sure he’ll get to the QB, and plus he’s versetal enough to stay on the field all 3 downs, and line up different places all over the field. It would be asking a lot of a rookie end to learn both ILB and OLB in a 3-4, but I’m sure as he matures he could pick it up.
A 3-4 is ALL about the LBs. I love Harris, but tha’s really it. I know we spent money on Pace, and I think he’ll be good, but of all the top prospects C long, to me makes the most sense. think about having him and Harris lining together for the next ten years…all we can do now is pray.
If on draft day it goes Dorsey, Ryan, McFadden, and then Gholston, we’ll be the luckiest team in the draft.
57jetsblitz or whatever, I distinctly remember Jason Taylor, who actually played in a 4-3 for most of his career, having receiver-type speed when he was drafted. It was right when Jimmy Johnson had taken over the Dolphins, and he targeted Taylor due to his size speed combination. Over a decade later, Taylor still looks more like a wide-out than a DE. I did a lazy google, and couldn’t find actual combine results. If anybody else wants to give it a try. He was 3rd rounder in 97.
Beyond that, I suppose a ethnic bias against Chris Long is something for me to ponder. I’d hate to think that’s part of my thinking. Rather I’d like to think it’s Gholston’s exceptional athleticism (am I racist for attributing exceptional athleticism to a black player? the answer to that question is no doubt complicated by the fact that the black player in question happens to possess exceptional athleticism), and lack of traditional size for a 4-3 end that makes me assume he’ll be most effective in space. Long on the other hand could put on another 20 or so pounds and let his non-linear quickness become an even greater asset with his hand-down (something he’s been doing his whole life). Could Long become a 34 LB? Sure. Does he translate as readily as Gholston. I don’t believe so. If that means I think all white players are Wayne Chebret, so be it. It seems like a defensive accusation though.
Long looks much more fluid than Gholston when you watch them in drills or when you watch them on the field, for that matter, and he was far more productive than Gholston despite playing a position where guys rarely have a major statistical impact- 3-4 DE. Gholston will probably be a better edge rusher, so if you’re looking for someone who can get upfield in a hurry to the exclusion of all else, Gholston is your guy. But I think Long projects very, very well to the 3-4 as an OLB, and that he can move all over the field, inside and outside. He’s going to play hard against the run, he has the smooth backpedal to drop into coverage, and he’s going to get sacks. He’s another Adalius Thomas, or a better Mike Vrabel.
From NFL Draft Countdown:
1. CHRIS LONG, Virginia (6-3, 269, 4.81, 1) – Son of Howie Long, Raiders Hall of Fame DT who was a second-round pick from Villanova in 1981. According to best estimates, Howie measured 6-4, played most of his career at 265 and clocked 4.9-4.95. “I was (working) for BLESTO and I looked at film then of Howie,” said Rick Reiprish, New Orleans’ director of college scouting. “He was nowhere near the athlete Chris is. Howie would beat the (expletive) out of the blocker. The ball would run right by him and he was still beating the hell out of the blocker. But he really turned out to be a great player.”
Playing LE in a 3-4, Long had 21 sacks and 187 tackles in 43 games (37 starts). “I can see (Aaron) Kampman, a relentless going to the ball,” Buffalo VP of college scouting Tom Modrak said. “I think to get maximum production out of Long you need to move him around.” One scout envisioned him playing in a 3-4 like New England’s Mike Vrabel. “He might be a double-digit sack guy his first year as a three-technique in our system,” Indianapolis President Bill Polian said. “I said to Tony (Dungy): ‘What a shame. This is the guy we’ve been waiting for.’ ” Labeled a “practiced” athlete in a negative sense by one scout. “He may not reach the heights of some of these other people,” Cleveland GM Phil Savage said. “But at that part of the draft I would always try to hit the double off the wall and not swing for the fence because the money is so high.” Scored 34 on the Wonderlic intelligence test.
i like chris long but he fits better with the raiders he even said he fits a 43 better so i hope he is select at #4 so we can get our guy mcfadden or gholston