Box_O_Rocks

Let's see...he was the #1 TE for Cincinnati, coming off an 8 reception, 1 TD Bowl game, and his head coach asks him to switch to DE...where he's only able to record 11 sacks, 15.5 TFL, 7 QBH, and 7 PD. Doubtless it was all his athletic skill and had nothing to do with any capacity for football, but I can't help but think he has some football potential.

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mayoclinic

I don't think Barwin is just a physical freak. He had impressive productivity for his first year on defense, with 11 sacks and numerous other statistics. He has a terrific list of intangibles - relentless motor, very confident but not too ****y, intelligent kid, seems to adapt well to change, etc. These all separate him from Jackson.

He is clearly raw however, as a defensive prospect. A lot of his productivity was based on a combination of effort and athleticism rather than technique. The big question I see is, will he be someone who learns quickly and whose ability translates well to the next level, or someone who was productive at the collegiate level based on his athleticism but doesn't have the technical foundation or skills to move to the next level? I lean strongly towards the former, but it's just a guess.

My personal guess is that he would be productive on ST, as a situational TE, and in specific situations at the beginning of the year, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him get major playing time by the end of his rookie year. He seems to be a really quick learner, and his basketball and TE experience make him much more suited to adapt to playing in space than the average DE to OLB conversion project. I think you'd see a Meriweather kind of learning curve (versus a Mayo or Mankins learning curve), with hints of ability during his rookie year and a major jump in year 2 as a starter. But it's just a guess.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

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JMarr

I was looking more for impressions about how he looks playing LB than a bunch of stats, but thanks all the same. I'm starting to warm up to the idea, then the best I get from you are his season stats? So I guess it's only fair to throw CJ out there again: Combine stats+college stats+the way a guy looks flexing at the combine/pro day= what? Did you watch any Cincy games last year? I didn't.

JMarr

Thanks. Like I said, I know squat about the guy other than what I read here and on some mock draft sites. Like anyone else I'm skeptical of over-hype, that's the main reason Barwin is on my radar these days.

ctpatsfan77

A little more Barwin love:

YouTube - Connor Barwin Pro Day interview [Barwin talking about his Pro Day]
YouTube - Connor Barwin Pro Day 1 [Barwin running his 40]

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Box_O_Rocks

By my best recollection I saw at least 5 and as many as 7 Cincy games. He first caught my attention while I was checking out CB Mike Mickens and OG Trevor Canfield. Barwin's ball awareness caught my eye, he'd be rushing the passer one breath and the next he's in the air as the ball was released knocking down the pass or altering the throw. He has a nose for the ball, you'd see it on run plays too. I saw him check his rush and run with the RB on a wheel route, I saw him playing up on his feet moving down the line of scrimmage to vary his pass rush and disrupt the blocking scheme. I saw him pull a Vrabel as a goal line TE, he blocked fairly well and he caught one TD. He was on the Punting unit and according to statistics he returned two KO for an average of 10 yds, so it seems he's also a blocker on the KR unit.

Now, if you want to equate him to Chad Jackson without ever having seen him play, be my guest.

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Belichicknumber1

The biggest thing i think alot of people are missing is, he knew his 21 reps were not that impressive. So he went and worked at the one thing he could improve. That just shows me the guy is smart and willing to put the work in to improve his stock. 23 reps thats 2 more in a month. I really like this guy alot. Just a quick question to some of you forum vets or whoever. What do you guys think of Laurinaitis at 23 and Barwin at 34. I never really liked Laurinaitis but the boy is a football player. One of those blue collar guys who just seems to get the job done. Thoughts? My first post glad to join real pats fans.

Box_O_Rocks

Howdy neighbor.

Laurinaitis is a slower version of Mayo and Guyton, I'd prefer to get someone alongside Mayo who displayed more downhill play and better physicallity taking on blockers. Check out Jason Phillips (TCU) - he played MLB in a 3-3-5 formation for the #2 defense. In that formation he didn't have any big DTs to hide behind like the 4-3 boys. Watching him in the Shrine Game he was always squared up to the LOS and he was the one LB who was never forced backward by OL coming out to block him. 6'8" 325 OT Ramon Foster came out for him and had a couple steps to build up a little steam - Phillips stopped him cold forcing the RB to redirect. That's the kind of ILB I'd like to see playing alongside Mayo, none of these sheltered side-to-side lads like Maualuga, Brinkley, etc. Between Mayo, Guyton, maybe Ruud, and someone like Phillips, you've got ILB covered for the next few years.

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mayoclinic

I think his ball awareness comes a lot from his basketball background, where his greatest skill was as a shot blocker. He definitely has a little of that "flow to the ball" kind of feel to him.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi

mayoclinic

Welcome to the club.

Barwin clearly has an aggressive/assertive side without being arrogant. He didn't sit on his 40 time from the combine even though it was quite good, because he said he knew he could run faster. He was openly disappointed at his bench press, so he did it again at his pro day. Not a huge improvement, but just the effort shows something. He worked out at 3-4 different positions on his pro day. That takes a lot of hutzpah. It's not like the QBs where the run carefully choreographed passing trees under no pressure. He clearly likes to push himself and to take on new challenges, and he seems to have embraced the idea of being a 3-4 OLB - both because it is a new challenge, and because he seems to love the idea of combining a defensive mentality with playing in space.

Regarding Laurinaitis, I totally agree with Box's comments above. Laurinaitis is a nice kid and a solid player, but he's similar to Mayo in style and considerably less athletic. I also agree with the comments on Jason Phillips, who would be a nice 2nd day pickup, and who is likely not to go quite as high as he could because of his injury. Phillips also has some great intangibles - a coaches' son, tough, high character, very high motor kid. I see a little bit of James Farrior in him.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi