20/20: Reuben Foster

Doug Green
  1. Name – Reuben Foster
  2.  College – Alabama
  3.  Height/Weight – 6-foot-1, 236 lbs.
  4.  Birth Date – April 4, 1994 (22)
  5.  Class – Senior
  6. College Stats –
    2016: 115 Tackles, 60 solo, 13 tackles for loss, 5 sacks
    2015: 73 Tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 2 sacks
    2014: 22 Tackles, 11 solo, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack
  7.  NFL Draft Round Projection: – First round pick, likely Top-10 selection
  8.  Current NFL comp – NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah compares ILB Foster favorably to San Francisco stalwart Patrick Willis. The comp is easy to see with the height/weight combination and the style of play.
  9. Best possible destination – Foster can play in any scheme at either an ILB or MLB spot. In terms of need, Tennessee makes the most sense in the Top 10.
  10. Worst possible destination – If we’re looking strictly at the Top 10, Carolina at No. 8 is probably the worst fit with Luke Kuechly and Shaq Thompson already in place. Yes, Thomas Davis is getting old, but he’s still productive. Plus, playing Foster at SLB would neuter his dynasty value. Foster is a Day 1 starter and he would be a rotational player early on for the Panthers.
  11.  Best current skill –  Foster can chase and tackle all day long. He has excellent instincts and can range from sideline to sideline in pursuit. Of course playing behind a talented Alabama defensive line helped keep him clean, but he can mix it up at the line of scrimmage with the best of them.
  12.  Skill that needs to be improved – Turnovers. This season Foster failed to force a fumble, nor did he recover one. He also did not register an interception. Again, some of that has to do with the talent around him, but defensive coaches, and IDP enthusiasts, are looking for splash plays. I’m not worried about his ability to steal the ball, but I did have a half-raised eyebrow when I was looking at the stats.
  13. Projected dynasty value – If you are drafting before the NFL draft, Foster is likely going to be the No. 1 IDP off the board. Vanderbilt’s Zach Cunningham could challenge him for the top spot if he goes to an IDP-friendly location, such as Green Bay or Oakland. Foster should be a plug-and-play IDP starter from Day 1, no matter of his landing spot. You should draft him with an early IDP pick (Early Round 2 in a 12-team league) and feel confident in doing so. I would argue the offensive side has plenty of depth this year while Foster and Cunningham are a tier above any other linebacker.
  14. Sometimes you gotta lose to win – Foster dropped 20 pounds before the start of his senior season, giving him even more speed and range.
  1. Best in big games – No surprise that an elite prospect played his best when the spotlight was on. Foster recorded 11 tackles and two sacks against Florida in the SEC title game. He also put up 12 tackles and a sack against Clemson in the National Title Game.
  2. Hit’em and quit’em – Foster is more than capable of laying a big hit. It’s one of the reasons that not recording a forced fumble is so surprising. Many a running back has felt his wrath behind the line and he delivers his fair share of punishment to crossing receivers as well.
  3. Injury news – Foster will miss participating in the drills portion of the NFL combine after having surgery on his right rotator cuff which will put him out four months. While it’s disappointing that he won’t be participating, I don’t see this hurting his stock very much. Foster has been healthy his entire career at Alabama, missing only one game his freshman season. He did miss some time his senior high school season with a knee injury,but I don’t see any of that as a concern.
  4. First name greatest – On January 20th of this year, ESPN draft guru  Mel Kiper  declared Foster the best ILB that Alabama has ever produced. That is high praise, but Foster could live up to it. In the past three draft classes  the Tide has produced Dont’a Hightower, CJ Mosley and Reggie Ragland. Foster is just as talented as that trio.
  5. Award winner – Won the Butkus award for nation’s best linebacker, and was a finalist for the Nagurski Trophy. He was also a unanimous first-team All-American.
  6. See for yourself – Check out Foster’s highlights here.
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