Marcus Freeman v. Dannell Ellerbe - YOU DECIDE 2009

Okay, some of you were thinking: DRAFTING A LB IS ROUND 1 IS STUPID!  Fine, but still, given the solid competition we have for depth at the position, how about taking a look at a couple of prospects who could be had in the 2nd or 3rd Rounds with starting potential, at least in their 2nd year?  Marcus Freeman of Ohio State and Dannell Ellerbe of Georgia are two LBs who would probably fit into the Colts mold.  That said, most of the mocks you'll see will have Freeman off of the board before the Colts picks late in the 3rd Round and Ellerbe off of the board somewhere close to where the Colts draft in the 3rd Round.  Take a close look at Freeman and Ellerbe, which of them would you take; Freeman in the 2nd or Ellerbe in the 3rd?

Marcus Freeman - Ohio State

Photo
2008 Season Highlights
Draft Vignette
Combine Video

6'1", 239 lbs.
4.51 40 Yard Dash, 4.08 20 Yard Shuttle, 6.66 3-Cone Drill
37 Inch Vertical Jump, 30 Bench Reps

SENIOR SEASON STATS:
84 Tackles, 45 Assists, 9.5 TFL, 3.5 Sacks, 1 FR

INJURIES:
2005 - Redshirted after tearing ligaments in his knee.
2007 - Knee scoped.
2008 - Played with nagging knee and ankle injuries.

ANALYSIS:

NFLDraftScout.com, MockingtheDraft.com

Strengths: A bit shorter than scouts would like, but a well-built athlete with room for additional mass.  Instinctive defender who flows to the ball quickly.  Athletic enough to elude blockers and make plays at or near the line of scrimmage.  Reliable open-field tackler.  Breaks down well and can drive the ballcarrier into the ground.  Good awareness and speed in coverage.  Gets good depth on his drops.  Reads the quarterback's eyes and closes quickly.  Excellent special teams player.  Tough and plays through pain.  Solid week of practice at the Senior Bowl.

An instinctual player, Freeman quickly moves on the ball and takes good angles. Freeman can make plays all over the field and hustles. Equally strong against the run and pass, Freeman is an ideal weak-side linebacker in a 4-3. Closes quickly on the ball carrier. He's sneaky as a pass rusher and can work through open lanes on the interior nicely. Naturally intelligent and was impressive in the classroom.

After watching tape on Marcus Freeman, looking at his measurables, and taking a close look at all of his scouting reports, I think he has a chance to be a very productive player in the NFL.  Contrary to MockingtheDraft, I believe his immediate contributions would be in the SAM position.  He plays the run well, has the ability to get into the backfield to break up running plays and pressure the quarterback, and can read the pass well enough to either make a play on the ball or hit the receiver quickly after the ball arrives.  He is strong, fast, and hits hard so separating the receiver from the ball will be one way he can make an impact in the passing game.  As many will mention, he played in James Laurinaitis' shadow while at Ohio State so could sneak down to the Colts at the bottom of the second round.

Weaknesses: A bit smaller than scouts would like.  Likes to avoid blockers rather than facing them up and struggles in disengaging.  Lacks the bulk to hold up when targeted in the running game.  Athletic in coverage, but seems content to allow the reception to be made and make a secure tackle, rather than breaking on the ball.  Has struggled with durability: torn knee ligaments and a subsequent staph infection forced him to redshirt the 2005 season. Had his knee scoped following the 2007 season for a possible torn meniscus. Struggled through the 2008 season with a recurring ankle sprain.

In coverage, Freeman doesn't break on the ball especially fast and allows a lot of receptions in front of him. He's much better in man coverage. A little bit undersized for the position with short arms. Gets caught up a lot on blocks. Has a serious injury history. Redshirted in 2005 after tearing knee ligaments and developing a staph infection. Knee scoped in 2007. Played with nagging knee and ankle injuries in 2008.

The biggest question mark for Marcus Freeman is his durability.  What is not questioned is his toughness.  While he has dealt with knee and ankle issues through college, outside of the time he missed when he was red-shirted in 2005, all of his production in 2008 came while he was less than 100%.  Undersized/short is a common trait amongst Colts LBs and is another reason why Freeman could slip down to the Colts in the 2nd Round.  In terms of being able to face up blockers to be effective in the running game, one thing his tape shows is that while he may not power through blocks to get to the ball carrier often, he takes good angles to make plays and keeps his vision focused on the ball carrier and does not give up on making the play.  The tape will show that he often sheds the blocker to stop ball carriers quickly after they get to his level on the field, even if he has to disengage from the blocker sideways or at a backward angle to stop the play before the back can fully get his legs under him.

SENIOR BOWL PRACTICE RECAP - TFYDraft.com

Monday Practice Notes: Looked very athletic and did a nice job roaming sideline to sideline. On one particular play, he was able to hold contain against a much bigger blocking tight end and make the play on the running back.

Tuesday Practice Notes: Looked polished in drills.  Sheds blocks well, sure tackler, solid in coverage and showed good range.  Had a good day.

Wednesday Practice Notes: Looked very good in linebacker drills, drawing praise from his position coach on several occasions.  He was all over the field during the scrimmage work and made a terrific play on a bobbled pass for an interception.  Overall, he had an excellent practice.

Thursday Practice Notes: Another very solid all around performance. Looked especially fluid and athletic in coverage.

Analysis:  Freeman was hampered by an ankle injury most of the season but played better at the Senior Bowl.  He showed himself to be a very good athlete and likely salvaged some of the draft stock he lost last year.

In my opinion, the skills that Marcus Freeman showed during Senior Bowl practices are indicative of the kinds of skills he will bring to the NFL when he is drafted this year.  While he may not have been as strong this year as he was his junior year, when had a few weeks to completely heal up and work against the best college competition in the country, he showed the kind of player he is.  The NFL Draft Vignette linked above will even compare him to Chicago Bears LB Lance Briggs.  Clearly, it's too early to know what Marcus Freeman will be able to do in the NFL, and some might question his durability, but when he's healthy he is one of the most athletic, dynamic, technically sound LBs in this draft.  I would love to see him get drafted by the Colts.

ANOTHER SCOUTING REPORT - UniversalDraft.com
AND ANOTHER - FFToolbox.com

Dannell Ellerbe - Georgia

Photo
Dannell Ellerbe Highlights
Georgia v. SC Highlights
Draft Vignette
Combine Video

6'1", 236 lbs.
4.64 40 Yard Dash, 4.23 20 Yard Shuttle, 7.00 3-Cone Drill

JUNIOR SEASON STATS:
93 Tackles, 30 Assists, 12 TFL, 4.5 Sacks, 1 INT

INJURIES:
2008 - Missed 4 games with a knee injury.  Missed most of the Combine and Pro Day with a pectoral injury.

ANALYSIS:

NFLDraftScout.com, TFYDraft.com

Strengths: Well-built athlete with the frame to add additional mass.  Versatile defender with experience at all three linebacker positions.  Aggressive to attack the line of scrimmage in run support.  Good speed to the outside to meet the back at the edge.  Reads his keys quickly and puts himself in position to make the play.  Good overall athleticism.  Among the better inside linebackers in the country in pass coverage.  Gets good depth on his drops and reads the quarterback's eyes.  Good short-area quickness and balance in coverage.  Can beat blockers to the action due to his lateral agility and aggression.  Effective blitzer who combines his explosiveness with legitimate hand technique to disengage from blockers.  Flashes explosiveness as a hitter.

Explosive linebacker prospect that plays with a good degree of athleticism. Moves well laterally, flows to the action, and forceful up the field on the blitz. Plays with a good degree of quickness, fires to the ball handler and shows skill in pursuit. Covers a lot of area on the field, quickly changes direction, and effectively uses his hands to protect himself. Remains disciplined with assignments and effectively diagnoses the action. Slides off blocks laterally to make his way the play, and rarely off his feet. Gets depth on drops and shows a good burst of closing speed.

Dannell Ellerbe is a guy who has a lot of quickness, he does change directions well and his tape shows he has the lateral mobility to keep plays to the outside from breaking for long gains.  He also has good vision to read the quarterback and stops receivers short, separate them from the ball, and occasionally make a play on the ball.  He can lay the wood and takes good angles to ball carriers, in the Draft Vignette video (linked above) you will see him pop a ball carrier very hard, force a fumble and leave the player stunned on the field.  There is a lot to like about this player, including how dynamic he is with experience at all three LB positions.

Weaknesses: A bit undersized for the traditional inside linebacker position.  Relies on his athleticism and aggression to beat blockers to the ball carrier but struggles disengaging from blocks when confronted.  Flashes explosiveness as a hitter, but too often tackles high, leaving him susceptible to missed tackles.  Struggled with a knee sprain in 2008 and wasn't the same player.  Some concern that he played soft in 2008, trying to protect his stock.  Legitimate character concerns. Suspended for first three games of the 2006 season (also spent two days in jail and received two years probation) for pleading guilty to reduced charges of minor in possession of alcohol, reckless driving and unlawful use of a license.)

Undersized and engulfed at the point by blocks. Displays marginal skill in coverage.

While the tape readily available on Ellerbe is somewhat limited, it is clear that he is smallish for a LB.  Good thing for him that the Colts don't seem to mind that trait.  In one of the videos you can see that he was engaged and neutralized for much of the play by an OL only to find himself near the ball as it fell to the ground, recovering the fumble to secure the turnover.  The tape does show Ellerbe engaging players high much of the time.  It may be that his aggressive style, going for the bone-crushing helmet-to-helmet collisions will be a liability at the NFL level.  Additionally, with the new rule in place, he'll have to re-train himself to get low.  His character concerns are worrisome, while this may have only been once accident, the gravity of the accident is enough to raise red flags.  Disregarding the law, being reckless while in possession of alcohol underage, and being caught for a fake ID are not good things.  He could mature but those things are icky when you're drafting young players.

ANOTHER SCOUTING REPORT - MockingtheDraft.com
AND ANOTHER - FFToolbox.com

Comparison:

Without question, both Marcus Freeman and Dannell Ellerbe are intriguing LB prospects that would fit well in the Colts system.  Both players are considered "undersized" for a traditional 4-3 LB scheme.  However, they're as big, or bigger, and faster than most of the LBs currently on the Colts roster.  In my opinion, Marcus Freeman could develop into a solid NFL player (Marcus Washington/David Thornton type potential) and would bring speed and strength to the LB corps that we've not had for years.  He could contribute as a Sam as early as his first season and has the potential to be a full-time starter at Sam in his second year.  Much like Session, I see him progressing over to the Will (as Session's replacement?).  If Brackett's days are numbers, a potential LB corps of Freeman, Wheeler, Session could be dangerous. 

With Dannell Ellerbe, you also have a guy who brings you a lot of depth because of his dynamic experience at the position.  He projects more as a Mike or Will to me.  However, his frame does not look as stout, to me, as Freeman's.  Both players have the room to bulk up a bit more if they need to but I see Freeman as having the potential to contribute quicker than Ellerbe at this point.  That said, is it worth picking Freeman in the 2nd over Ellerbe in the 3rd or would there be more overall value in taking Ellerbe?  Are Ellerbe's character issues too much of a risk?  Are Freeman's nagging injuries a sign that he couldn't stay healthy in the NFL?

YOU DECIDE