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Kansas City Chiefs Scouting Report: Su’a Cravens

By Leigh Oleszczak

Sep 5, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans linebacker Su'a Cravens (21) carries the ball on a 32-yard interception return in the third quarter against the Arkansas State Red Wolves at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 5, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans linebacker Su'a Cravens (21) carries the ball on a 32-yard interception return in the third quarter against the Arkansas State Red Wolves at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Kansas City Chiefs could be without star linebacker Justin Houston for a duration of the 2016 season. That could be a reason for the team to draft a linebacker early on in the 2016 NFL Draft.

The KC Chiefs have two great starting outside linebackers on their roster in Tamba Hali and Justin Houston, but Houston had ACL surgery during the offseason and could miss anywhere from six months to a year.

Houston’s presence with the team is huge. He’s one of their best defensive players, and it seems to be pretty evident that Dee Ford isn’t quite ready for a permanent starting role as of now.

With all of that said, could the Chiefs look to fill that void in the early rounds of the draft? If so, a linebacker who has jumped up the big boards recently is Su’a Cravens out of USC.

Combine Results

Related Story: Scouting Reports for Early Round Prospects

  • Bench press – 16 reps
  • Vertical jump – 27.0 inch
  • Broad jump – 114.0 inch

Combine results courtesy of NFL.com’s Draft Tracker

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Cravens has shot up the big boards in the past few days and could be the type of player that the Chiefs are looking to add to their defense. He decided to forego his senior season at USC after recording a total of 207 tackles, 16 defended passes, ten and a half sacks, nine interceptions, and four forced fumbles.

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com states that Cravens is “born to be a football player”, which obviously jumps out to anyone looking at scouting reports. Zierlein goes on to mention that the former Trojan linebacker is aware in zone coverage and could make an impact on special teams right off the bat.

CBS Sports describes Cravens as being great against the run, which could be a huge perk for the Chiefs wanting to select him. Mike DeVito announced his retirement not too long ago and he was one of Kansas City’s prime “run stoppers”. Drafting a guy like Cravens could fill that void and he could go on to be the next big thing for the Chiefs.

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Some of the weaknesses listed for Su’a Cravens, however, is that he’s small for an NFL linebacker (6’1″ and 226 pounds). He’s also still learning about the linebacker position after playing safety during college.

Su’a Cravens could be an interesting prospect because he’s small for the position he’s playing, but seems to provide the right amount of “oomph” needed at the position. The Chiefs need a guy on board to help stop the run and with a little time and effort, Cravens could fill that role beautifully.

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