Lee Robinson v. Corey Smith - YOU DECIDE 2009

I know what you're thinking.  Who and who?  While Robinson and Smith may not be ranked as highly as Zack Follett and Jason Williams amongst OLB prospects for the Colts,  limiting the analysis on the players at our need positions only to the prospects which we regard as our first choices would be unrealistic.  Particularly considering the randomness of Polian's draft history, and the near impossibility of figuring out which players Polian holds in highest regard.  Two players that may well be more highly regarded than fans might expect going into the draft are Lee Robinson of Alcorn State and Corey Smith of Cincinatti.  These guys bring about fourth round value, based upon where they are typically ranked at their position.  Which of these two players would you select in the draft (assume these are the "BPA's" on the board for one of the Colts selections (4th/5th). 

Lee Robinson - Alcorn State

Photo
Draft Guys TV

6'2", 249 lbs.
4.74 40 Yard Dash, 4.47 20 Yard Shuttle, 7.23 3-Cone Drill
24 Bench Reps, 32.5 Inch Vertical

SENIOR SEASON STATS:
111 Tackles, 10.5 TFL, 3 INT

Analysis

NFLDraftScout.com

Strengths:

Good height and upper-body strength.  Can bull rush and rip from running back/tighet end blocks.  Nice closing speed, runs downhill to attack ballcrarriers.  Often lines up outside the defensive end in a rushing stance to take advantage of his explosiveness.  Uses his hands to keep cut blocks off his knees.  Fights through trash inside to get to the ballcarrier.  Will hustle down players.   Team leader on and off the field.

There's little not to like about Lee Robinson's strengths.  A guy who has closing speed, plugs running holes, has the ability at his size to stick with WRs on routes downfield, and has the ability to shed blocks sounds like a very powerful LB prospect with the versatility to play all of the positions.  With the second year development of Philip Wheeler expected, the development of Clint Session in his second year as a starter, and the return of a healthy Gary Brackett... along with free agent additions of Michael Okwo, Adam Seward and Rufus Alexander, a lower round LB with versatility to round out LB depth could be what the Colts are looking for and Robinson might bring all the skills that Colts would hope to have in a player who would fill that role.

Weaknesses:

Teams will not know whether he's a versatile inside-outside linebacker or a "tweener" until they have him in training camp.  High and slow in his backpedal, but can stay with tight ends in short areas.  Does not change direction well laterally in space.  Needs to improve his open-field tackling, as he bounces and slides off too easily bigger backs.

With the "tweener" tag on him he is a potential question mark, as so many prospects in this draft seem to be, as a jack-of-all-trades but master of none type of player.  Maybe he has the size but not the speed to play in a Will position.  Maybe his struggles with the bigger/stronger blockers, the kind Mike and Sam LBs tend to face, make him a less than ideal prospect at those positions.  Additionally, if open-field tackling is an issue, that won't be smiled upon by a team like the Colts who rely so much on sure-tacklers at the second level of their defense.

Player Analysis:  Lee Robinson - Universaldraft.com

This link will take you to a sight which may or may not have any credibility, which discusses Lee Robinsons strengths and weaknesses in paragraph format.  Feel free to use the information included here to help reach your conclusion and compare with the above analysis from NFLDraftScout.com.

Texas v. The Nation All-Star Challenge Scouting Reports - Sporting News Today (located in the bottom right 1/3 of the pdf image)

Sporting News Today offers a brief bit of analysis on how Lee Robinson played in the Texas v. The National All-Star Challenge.

Corey Smith - Cincinatti

Picture

6'0", 221 lbs.
4.65 40 Yard Dash, 4.09 20 Yard Shuttle
6.62 3-Cone Drill, 34 1/2 Inch Vertical

SENIOR SEASON STATS:
67 Tackles, 30 Assists, 10.5 TFL, 2 Sacks, 1 INT

Analysis

NFLDraftScout.com

Strengths:

Strong, muscular upper and lower body.  Long arms to stay off blocks and wrap up ballcarriers.  Chops down big backs and receivers in open space.  Very active, will run sideline to sideline and chase plays downfield.  Stays low in his stance in coverage, can drop deep, get to the flat, change direction and attack the ball.  Punches linemen to stay free working in trash.  Is an effective blitzer, closes hard and uses his hands or a spin move to get off blocks.  Holds his ground on the edge, using his low center of gravity and long arms to maintain leverage.  Started inside and outside for the Bearcats.  Could be a good special teams player due to his speed and aggressiveness.

Corey Smith has his own set of attributes that make him attractive to NFL teams.  Long arms are always positive when you're playing in the front seven on defense because players tend to be more "in the trenches."  That he has good strength to use those long arms to fend off blockers is also a really positive attribute.  Smith is also known for strength dropping into coverage and also putting pressure on quarterbacks but with his skills blitzing.  At first glance, there's little not to like about a prospect like Smith who is probably best suited as a potential Will where he can fly around and make plays.

Weaknesses:

A bit short for the position.  Will take false steps and react slowly at times in zone coverage.  Must become more consistent swarming to the ball in space.  Is stiff-armed by bigger ballcarriers in space and may find it difficult to get off the blocks of stronger, quicker NFL linemen.  Will miss when ducking his head on open-field tackles.  Has missed time with shoulder, hamstring and other injuries but played through many of them.

Short, and Indianapolis Colts LB, are almost synonymous... accordingly this weakness is no deal-breaker.  Slow reactions in zone coverage assignments, however, will be closely analyzed before a player like Smith is plugged into a Will role on this team.  Smith also struggles with larger RBs and linemen, so doesn't distinguish himself from Robinson here.  Smith has his own problems form tackling by lower his eyes form the ball carrier, making himself susceptible to misses.  His injury history is also a red flag, particularly for a team like the Colts which as suffered so greatly from losing players to injuries over the last 2-3 years.

Comparison:

Both LBs have a lot of positive attributes which the Colts would tend to target in a rospect.  Both are strong enough in coverage to garner consideration.  Both are capable of using their hands and arms to fend of blockers and get to ball carriers.  However, if I am going to put any distance between the two players, I have to talk about the value Robinson brings to the table through his versatility as a potential back-up for any of the LB positions.  It would seem, based on the scouting reports above (read into them what you will), that Smith can into a smaller box as a prospect that really brings value at the Will but does not have the attributes the team might look for as a Mike or Sam.  But again, I'm just an armchair QB scout...

YOU DECIDE