Jake Ryan, 2015 Fourth Round Pick

[red]

i think ILB is pretty important in our system. our zone, or whatever the hell it is, leaves the ILBs responible for the whole middle of the field. we've seen for 5 or 6 years now that teams can almost trow at will on us over the middle

it may not me as important as a lot of the other positions on defense, but you can't just neglect it either

and TT has spent high draft picks on every position on defense EXCEPT ILB (hawk was drafted as a WLB for a 4-3)

[pbmax]

Hang on a second. It's just an endorsement from Greg Mattison, a Michigan defensive assistant with NFL chops. Sure, it's a fluff piece, but it's not Lori Nickel Lifetime Channel stuff about how nice he is with his best girl and their volunteer opportunities. It's just an endorsement article, but there's a fact in there (move to the inside to keep him on the field) and a quote from Eliot Wolf. Thin gruel, but not worthless.

I agree its not about his 4th grade 4-H experience, but the fact that an NFL level coach came to the phone and produced a tale of grit and attitude rather than emphasize his NFL level skills and abilities is another instance of damning with faint praise.

"Boy he is tenacious"

"Can he start in the NFL?"

"Did I mention he gets excited for meetings?"

[3irty1]

i think ILB is pretty important in our system. our zone, or whatever the hell it is, leaves the ILBs responible for the whole middle of the field. we've seen for 5 or 6 years now that teams can almost trow at will on us over the middle

it may not me as important as a lot of the other positions on defense, but you can't just neglect it either

and TT has spent high draft picks on every position on defense EXCEPT ILB (hawk was drafted as a WLB for a 4-3)

I don't think its so much that the position isn't valuable to Ted as much as its a skill set where its theoretically easier to find good players with mid round picks and even UDFAs.

Until he got a big draft bargain on Lacy he hadn't brought in a high RB either. I like that comparison because with those two positions are similar in that success is more about vision and fit so they tend to be about as good as they're going to get immediately. This means you can search for an Arian Foster, Alfred Morris, Paul Worrilow, or Vontaze Burfict every year pretty effectively while using 1st round picks to address more difficult needs to fill. With LBs "bum mining" as wist puts it has the benefit of really helping your special teams too.

[mraynrand]

I agree its not about his 4th grade 4-H experience, but the fact that an NFL level coach came to the phone and produced a tale of grit and attitude rather than emphasize his NFL level skills and abilities is another instance of damning with faint praise.

"Boy he is tenacious"

"Can he start in the NFL?"

"Did I mention he gets excited for meetings?"

Sure, but that tells you something, doesn't it? If the guy started saying all sorts of things about how his game would translate to the NFL, it would change how you think about Ryan. This supports the idea that Ryan will be 'meh' until proven otherwise.

[mraynrand]

i think ILB is pretty important in our system. our zone, or whatever the hell it is, leaves the ILBs responible for the whole middle of the field. we've seen for 5 or 6 years now that teams can almost trow at will on us over the middle

it may not me as important as a lot of the other positions on defense, but you can't just neglect it either

and TT has spent high draft picks on every position on defense EXCEPT ILB (hawk was drafted as a WLB for a 4-3)

I think the move of Clay inside and the increased emphasis on safety shows that the middle is important. You'd like to have that ILB that can cover and tackle, but I don't think it was really there in this draft, and to draft the guys available in the early rounds to do this dual job would have been reaching.

[vince]

If he stays healthy, Jake Ryan will be a better pro than Benardrick McKinney. (bump material for wist)

[Fritz]

Let's hope he works out. I always saw him as a typical (from the past, typical) Michigan player: good try-hard college player, not enough skill to be in the pros. Of course there have been good and great pros from U of Mich, but most of the guys were really good college players (back when) whose skills didn't translate very well to the NFL.

[mraynrand]

Of course there have been good and great pros from U of Mich, but most of the guys were really good college players (back when) whose skills didn't translate very well to the NFL.

Yep

but he sure could hand off well.



And opposite day:

[mraynrand]

Need a little more fire from the ILB position this year

[Fritz]

Let's hope this dude is making the transition and has some skills. Or will he be the next Nate Palmer?

[HarveyWallbangers]

Assuming Barrington comes back next year, perhaps a Barrington and Ryan combination can move Matthews back to OLB? I'd still like to see Clay move around, but it would be nice to have a couple of other guys at ILB to play the majority of snaps.

[woodbuck27]

JAKE RYAN
2 of 5 Stars
Michigan
POSITION MLB
HEIGHT/WEIGHT 6'3"/236
NO. 47
VERIFIED 40 TIME 4.65
NFL TEAM Green Bay
COLLEGE Michigan
HS St. Ignatius HS
HOME Cleveland, OH


SCOUT RANK 186
POSITION RANK 12

BIO

Ryan has started 41-of-46 games at Michigan – 29 at strong-side outside linebacker and his final twelve appearances at middle linebacker…Recorded 267 tackles (166 solos), 9.5 sacks for minus 58 yards, 45.5 stops for losses of 168 yards and nine quarterback pressures…Recovered one fumble, causing seven others, as he also deflected six passes and gained two yards on his only interception return. NCAA Career-Record Results…Among active NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision players, Ryan ranks 48th with 267 total tackles and 36th with 166 solo hits…His 45.5 stops-for-loss is third-best within the group and he placed 14th with five forced fumbles. School Career-Record Results…Ryan ranks sixth in school history with 45.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage, topped by Mark Messner (70.0; 1985-88), Brandon Graham (56.0; 2006-09), LaMarr Woodley (52.5; 2003-06), Curtis Greer (48.0; 1976-79) and Victor Hobson (47.0; 1999-2002)…His tackle-for-lost yardage of 168 tied Ron Simpkins (1976-79) for 12th in Michigan annals…Placed tenth in school history by recording at least ten tackles in ten of his appearances…His seven forced fumbles rank second in Wolverines history. School Season-Record Results…Ryan’s sixteen tackles behind the line of scrimmage as a sophomore tied Henry Hill (1968), Trent Zenkewicz (1994), David Bowens (1996), James Hall (1998), LaMarr Woodley (both in 2004 and 2005) and David Harris (2006) for 13th on the school annual record list…Recorded at least ten tackles in seven games during the 2014 season, ranking seventh on the U-M chart.

This new Packer is a fine athlete.

GO PACK GO !

[Fritz]

We all have a pretty good suspicion as to what the Packer offense might've been like if Jordy hadn't have gotten hurt.

But I wonder what the Packer defense would be like if Sam Barrington hadn't gotten hurt.

Would it be much different?

[Joemailman]

So far, Barrington and Ryan strike me as similar players. Ryan is a little better athlete, so he may have more upside.

[smuggler]

Ryan seems to be a bit more of a 'desperate' tackler. Not sure if that's a good thing. Neither Barrington or Ryan will ever be anything special, but I think Ryan might be a capable starter one day.