Triple Threats

Doug Green Posted On March 24, 2015

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If you play in a dynasty IDP league, you are probably looking for that three-down linebacker that you can plug and play on a weekly basis. In the 2015 NFL Draft, there are three prime candidates that could become three-down linebackers: TCU’s Paul Dawson, Stephone Anthony from Clemson, and Eric Kendricks out of UCLA. Each plays the middle or inside linebacker position. Each can stop the run and and cover in the passing game. All should be considered highly in your tackle-heavy IDP leagues.

Stephone Anthony

He might be the least sexy name of the bunch, but Anthony is probably the most pro-ready of the trio. He is a sure tackler in the run game, can cover running backs and tight ends and all it takes is one look at the first half of the Florida State game this season to see that he can get after the quarterback as well if asked.

In pass coverage, Anthony often covers the tight end coming off the line, jostling with his man more often than Dawson does, while displaying more speed than Kendricks.

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Anthony is a capable blitzer when needed as well. Against Florida State, the Seminoles slid their protection to the side of teammate and sack-master Vic Beasley. That left Anthony to run wild in the first half as he finished the night with eight tackles and a sack.

He recorded a 4.56 40-yard dash time along with a 4.03 20-yard shuttle time at the Combine. Both of those numbers were first among linebackers. He is also the biggest of these three, coming in at 6-foot-3, 243 pounds.

Paul Dawson

The Horned Frogs’ standout on the defensive side is an instinctive linebacker who excels in coverage. He can step in on day one as a nickel linebacker at minimum if he doesn’t win a starting job out of camp. If you play in a big-play league, Dawson pushes himself ahead of the other two in this article due to his ability to generate turnovers, both via the fumble and by interception.

Dawson is best heading north and south, either into the line to make the tackle or backpedaling into coverage. Even with good coverage skills, Dawson is not a particularly fast straight-line runner, clocking a 4.96 40-yard dash at the combine. He does appear to play faster on tape.

He did not have a good showing at the Combine, leading some to question his ability. Dawson Tweeted out afterwards that he was a football player, and not a track athlete. That Tweet also gives credence to reporting by NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein that said Dawson’s character has been questioned by scouts and that he is difficult to work with.

The one weakness on the field that I picked up on for Dawson was when he played up-tempo teams, like Baylor and West Virginia, he seemed, not lost, but more like rushed or maybe confused. Contrast that with a more traditional team like Oklahoma or Ole Miss (which he single-handedly destroyed) and the difference is quite noticeable. I don’t know if he needs that extra couple of seconds to process all the info or if he is super-reliant on coaches’ calls into his headset, though the second seems unlikely. This really shouldn’t be a problem for him at the NFL level unless he gets drafted by an NFC East team and has to face Chip Kelly’s Ducks Eagles twice a year.

The only other quirky thing I noticed, which I didn’t realize until I started watching Anthony, was Dawson always covers the running back out of the backfield in man defense. I can’t recall a single instance where he picked up the tight end off the line. I did see him take a crossing wideout on occasion, but most of the time if he was lined up over the slot, he was blitzing.

Eric Kendricks

Of the three men in this article, Kendricks is by far the most physical, both in coverage and against the run. While Dawson and Anthony are excellent tacklers, it’s Kendricks that will lay the wood to you. He also uses his hands a lot in coverage, and as a result will draw the occasional flag.

Of this group, Kendricks is probably the worst at man-to-man coverage, excelling more in zone. In the games I saw it looked like UCLA used a lot of Cover-2, with Kendricks dropping straight back and harassing receivers that dared to come through the middle.

As a result of the mostly zone scheme, Kendricks was not asked to blitz much during his time with the Bruins. That is probably the weakest part of his game at the moment.

Kendricks gets to seemingly every run tackle. He sheds blockers well and takes good angles to the ball carrier. Some scouts are envisioning moving him to outside linebacker because of his size (6-feet, 232 pounds). That may expose more of his coverage and blitzing weaknesses, but could open up the possibility for more tackles at the NFL level.

He ran a 4.61 40-yard dash at the combine in his only attempt before tweaking his hamstring. That same injury kept him from trying for a better time at his pro-day, though he did position specific drills for scouts.

His brother, Mychal, plays inside linebacker for the Eagles.

Draft Prospects

Each of these three are projected to be drafted in the second to third round range, though NFL.com’s Charles Davis has Anthony going to the Packers at No. 30 in his latest mock draft. Both Kendricks and Dawson have been projected into the latter stages of the first round as well, but most consider all three to be Day 2 prospects. On NFL Network’s Path to the Draft, Curtis Conway and Daniel Jeremiah suggested that Tampa Bay might be looking at adding either Kendricks or Anthony with the first pick of the second round.

This may be the trend of the future as teams seek their pass rushers in the first round, then follow up with more tackle-heavy linebackers in subsequent rounds. I can easily see all these players fitting into both a 4-3 or 3-4 scheme. Much like C.J. Mosley landing in Baltimore last year, putting a really good player in an excellent situation can only enhance each of these players’ abilities.

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