Why the Atlanta Falcons should avoid Leonard Floyd
By Curtis Hobbs
Should the Atlanta Falcons roll the dice on Leonard Floyd?
There are few areas that need to be addressed more for the Atlanta Falcons than the position that has plagued this team for nearly five years: linebacker. And with names like Leonard Floyd, Reggie Ragland and Myles Jack, Atlanta is in a prime position to grab one of the athletes that are leaving scouts drooling. But, when it comes to Floyd, there are multiple reasons the Falcons should pass on him.
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Coming out of the University of Georgia, it makes sense to fans of the south to see one of the favorite Bulldawgs rising up for Atlanta. But, like most times, fanhood can blind someone from seeing the flaws in a player’s game. And, when I compose this, I want you to know that I bleed the red and black of UGA and used to travel to see Floyd play football in Central Georgia; therefore, if anything, I should be driving the bandwagon of the caravan that’s attempting to get Floyd for the Falcons.
When you look at this player’s film, you’ll quickly see someone who could become like Demarcus Ware in pressuring the quarterback on the blitz. And with great speed, strength and quickness, Floyd has the tools to become a player like Ware. But that is unfortunately a very high ceiling that, more than likely, Floyd will not reach-especially in the scheme of the Falcons defense.
Under this defensive scheme, players, for the most part, allow the play to come to them rather than causing high-pressured situations. And when you look at what Dan Quinn did in Seattle, it went by the same merit of being in the right position to make the play. And, though this is an integral schematic of defense, a player like Leonard Floyd will not blossom because his abilities are all centered on placing pressure.
When you watch the tape of Floyd and compare it to players like him of the past, the same weakness will be proven with him as it was with the forerunners before Floyd: if you run the play directly at them, their ability is marginalized.
Watching UGA football for the past few years it was hard to miss Leonard Floyd’s pressure off the corner, but, if you look closer, you will see that Floyd was targeted by running plays just as offensive coordinators did before with an elite pass rusher out of UGA-Jarvis Jones.
The parallels of these two players (Floyd and Jones) are similar and, unfortunately, if you watch a Steelers’ game, you’ll notice what it will be like when you place an elite pass rusher in a bad scheme fit. Jones has failed to live up to his first round draft choice, and Floyd will be the same in Atlanta.
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This is not to say that Leonard Floyd will be a horrible professional football player, just pointing out that his ability will be like putting a square through a round hole on this defense. Let’s hope that Atlanta will pass on the former Bulldawg.