2017 NFL Draft Kansas City Chiefs Scouting Report: Reuben Foster
The Kansas City Chiefs will need to look to improve the linebacking corp in the 2017 NFL Draft. Could Reuben Foster be someone that they give a long, hard look at?
When Derrick Johnson went down with a season-ending injury (his second in three years), it became very clear what DJ meant to the success of the Kansas City Chiefs defense.
When healthy, Johnson is easily a top five inside linebacker in the league, but can he stay healthy? What should the Chiefs do? Even if Johnson plays next season, should the team draft his eventual replacement in the 2017 NFL Draft?
Why do we as fans think that NFL franchises should be perfect, well-run organizations? It seems like teams are just as flawed as the rest of us in the real world.
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The KC Chiefs are no different. Unfortunately, they didn’t learn from their past mistakes either. The elusive past I am unsuccessfully hinting around at is…Derrick Johnson‘s replacement.
In 2014, Johnson went down in the first game of the season after rupturing his Achilles tendon in a fluke, non-contact injury. As a result, the Chiefs run defense that year was virtually non-existent with opposing teams running all over the Chiefs.
The general consensus at the time was “well…Derrick will be back even better next season”, and that was true. In fact, Johnson did come back the next season better than ever.
For that matter, he played great this season as well before the injury bug bit him again. The point being, in today’s NFL you must have quality depth at just about every position.
Fortunately for the Chiefs, Andy Reid and John Dorsey have built a really strong team with great depth at almost every position. The one glaring hole on the defensive side of the ball is not having a quality backup for Derrick Johnson. Cue Reuben Foster’s theme music please…..
Reuben Foster, was the crucial piece of Alabama Crimson Tide’s stifling defense this past season. He had sub-par sophomore and junior seasons, with 96 tackles, ten for lost yards, and two sacks.
As a senior, Foster really took his game to the next level, to improve on his quickness and velocity, he lost over 15 pounds last offseason, according to NFL.com. Along with losing weight, he really matured into an elite linebacker with 115 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and five sacks his senior year.
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All of Foster’s hard work paid off in dividends, winning numerous awards. Those awards include First-Team All-SEC, SEC Championship Game MVP, Unanimous All-American selection, and he won the Butkus Award for being the top linebacker in the entire country.
Touted as “one of the best overall prospects in this year’s class” by Draftwire.com, Foster is even drawing comparisons to current superstar Bobby Wagner by NFL.com.
Also according to NFL.com, Foster is exceptional against the run and the pass, has the ability to make plays from any side of the field and can also run down half backs on the edge.
Does Reuben Foster have the talent to be a possible replacement for Derrick Johnson? Should the Chiefs trade up and draft Foster? Does he have the makings of the Next Derrick Johnson, which the team desperately needs.
What do you make of Reuben Foster, Chiefs fans? Would he be worth drafting in the first round or worth trading up in the 2017 NFL Draft?