Rodney-sized LB for Wisconsin. His profile at NFL Draft Scout says he can cover RB/TE like a Safety, but gets swallowed by OL - which describes most Safeties. He missed most of the season with an ACL or somesuch, hopefully he can show us something at the Combine.
I think Jonathan Casillas could shoot up the draft boards if he can show that his knee is healthy. I've heard lots of rumors but I don't know for sure what he ever timed in the 40 etc but he just played fast. Hopefully he hasn't lost that. At Wisconsin he was a top playmaker his first three years. As a true frosh he blocked a punt with under a minute to go to win a big rivalry game. If the Wisconsin D made a big play, he was usually involved. This past year, he was hurt and no one on the D made any big plays. I think your Draft scout description is pretty accurate as far as running/coverage ability and he does get swallowed up by th OL. Casillas was much more effective when he was freed up in space and allowed to use his speed and quickness. When Casillas was healthy, Wisconsin would often times take out one of the DT's, put Shaughnessy over the Center/Guard and rush Casillas from the edge on passing downs. Casillas was pretty effective doing that so I think he could handle the blitz part of playing safety as well as the run support. If he hasn't lost a step to his knee injury then he should have the quicks to stay with TE's and RB's in coverage. He is a good hitter so he should be able to handle the physical part of SS. I think he could play LB in a Tampa-2 style defense or Safety in a Patriots style scheme. Worst case you would be getting a great special teams guy. For whatever reason, the Wisconsin defense had IMO alot of senior talent this past year, Shaughnessy, Casillas, Levy, etc but just underperformed terribly. I don't know if it was coaching or injuries or what, but guys who were productive in the big 10 as freshmen and sophomores seemed to plateau or regress. I guess if Casillas becomes the next Rodney Harrison we will find out.
