O'Brien Schofield

[Nonentity]

O'Brien Schofield is the OLB who blew his knee out at the Senior Bowl. Before his injury he was expected to go in the 2nd round, but he's now going to drop down the board in the same way as Brandon Tate did. He's been in for a visit to Gillette Stadium which was almost certainly medical-related, validating what Bill said about in-house visits in his press conference today

Another Big Ten player coming off an injury from the Senior Bowl and getting a lot of attention recently is Wisconsin defender O’Brien Schofield.

Schofield, you may remember, tore a knee ligament during the first day of Senior Bowl practice. His rehab has been going very well.

Schofield is up to 239-pounds since weighing 221lbs at the combine. There’s a chance he could start jogging as soon as next week. He’s likely to start the season on the PUP list or the franchise that selects him in the draft could chose to place him on IR for the year with the expectations that Schofield returns 100% in 2011.

Best case scenario has Schofield coming off the PUP list around week seven of the 2010 season and being placed on an active roster. Where will he be drafted?

We presently grade Schofield as a 7th round choice though some feel he could go as early as the 5th frame. He visited with the New York Jets at their facility yesterday and has almost another half dozen official visits lined up.

April 8th: News, Notes & Workout Results!

The gain in weight is fantastic news since he was undersized coming out of college. I think he would be IRed for the season rather than PUPed, but it doesn't matter really. But I don't really know him that well. I suppose he's a fit at OLB on the weakside, but that's the most I know.


So my questions to everyone are:

• How good is he?
• Would you have drafted him pre-injury?
• Would you still draft him now?
• What round would you draft him in?

Right now I'd take him with our 4th round pick. This might change depending on who else we've taken at OLB with one of our other picks in the first two rounds. Kindle, who has the measurables for the strong-side OLB spot, and Schofield might be a very good combination in a year's time.

 

[larryo]

Very cool name. SIGN THE BEAST!

Seems a little light in the pants for the Patriots.

 

[Snake Eyes]

Apparently his stock was rising very fast until he blew out his knee, some were projecting him into the 2nd and even late 1st. I'd like to pick him up in the 5th round if possible.

 

[bucky]

Nice find. When I saw that he weighted in at 221 at the Combine, I pretty much wrote him off as an option. I mean the guy lost almost 20 lbs in about a month. Makes me think that he may have a problem gaining the necessary weight and carrying it. He's also about an inch too short and has short arms for the OLB position. And his injury occurred so late that you basically have to IR him for the year. Which means he doesn't even step on the practice field for a whole year. And then you have to teach him a whole new position. Tough to justify spending anything more than a 7th round pick on him.

 

[DaBruinz]

He doesn't have the height or weight to play OLB for the Pats in the 3-4. Also, one has to question how he was able to put on 18 lbs after blowing out his knee.. Having been there, it's nearly impossible to put any weight other than FAT on unless they were able to start re-hab therapy prior to the surgery. Even then, it would be a struggle to keep weight on because you aren't able to push your quads and hamstrings they way you normally would. Yes, you can bulk up your arms and chest, but 18 lbs 2 months??

 

[SteveKiner]

I followed Wisconsin a little bit over the past 5 years and really like Schofield. Good kid and good athlete but he really really needs to bulk up to play in the NFL. He played DE at Wisconsin was was a good pass rusher with a real good motor. Had a great senior year. He redshirted and played some LB his Fr and SO years. He started his junior year as the rush end opposite Shaughnessy who the Raiders drafted last year. With his size, Shaughnessy projected well as an NFL DE although some forecasted a move to LB. Oakland (4-3 def)took him and he made the all rookie team at DE. Schofield, due to his size, will definitely have to move to LB. But that is okay because he is pretty athletic and fluid and can learn to play in space. He took real well to the coaching in the east-west shrine game. He started the week by being moved from DE to LB and got better and better all week and capped it off by playing real well at LB during the game. I thought he was the mvp of the east defense. He showed enough to be invited to the Senior Bowl and but unforutnately got injured early in the week. I don't think Schofield is as good a prospect as Shaughnessy was last year and he went in the 3rd. That is due to Schofield's lack of DE size and not knowing how he would project to LB but he sure opened some eyes at the East West. Seeing that he is up to 239 and hearing that rehab is going well, I could see somone taking a shot at him in the 6th or 7th. At the end of the season, I would have projected him 5th-6th round at best not knowing if he could play LB. He was very productive his senior year, but just not big enough to play DE. After the East -West game, If I was a scout, I would need to watch all his senior years film and see if I could see him moving up higher as a OLB project. His performance in that week would have made me take a real close look and see if he could go 4th or higher. I never saw any projections for 2nd but you never know. The coaches at the east-west liked his coachability and willingness to change positions. To answer your questions.

Yes, I would have drafted him pre-inury as an OLB project if he was around in the 5th or 6th.(pre-shrine game) He was rocketing up the charts after that but got hurt so I don't know where he would project with a combine etc. He is a good kid, not a punk. Coachable and athletic, just lacking size. The rest is there.

I would still draft him now in the 6th or 7th if he falls that far. BB likes tough, productive, intelligent, versatile players. OB fits that description.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

O'BS was getting pretty battered by observers reporting from the Shrine game during the week as he was asked to work at LB and guard TEs in man coverage drills, but once the game started he fed them a Bruschi-like interception play and proceeded to shovel "dirt" on their plates for the rest of the game. As Steve says, he played okay in the game.

Shaughnessy lost traction last year because he ran so slow in the 40, only 4-3 teams would consider him as a DE, but he proved in Oakland he can cover that 10 yds or so to the QB adequately. O'BS was getting hyped more because he would fit as a LB in any defense, he had the speed and change of direction, and some previous experience, and he'd have been a nice blitzer. Someone like Indy might even draft him to backstop Mathis at DE.

He's in for a medical and fitness check to see how hard he's been working on his rehab, where he is in the healing process, and what his conditioning program has him doing to prepare himself for playing again. I'm sure he crunched film too. If they like where he is, a 5th isn't unreasonable, happily NE has four comp picks they will have to use in the late rounds, so he's a good candidate.

 

[Nonentity]

He doesn't have the height or weight to play OLB for the Pats in the 3-4. Also, one has to question how he was able to put on 18 lbs after blowing out his knee.. Having been there, it's nearly impossible to put any weight other than FAT on unless they were able to start re-hab therapy prior to the surgery. Even then, it would be a struggle to keep weight on because you aren't able to push your quads and hamstrings they way you normally would. Yes, you can bulk up your arms and chest, but 18 lbs 2 months??

And DaBruinz brings the thread hype back down to earth. You're right - he's not a fit here, not at all. Shame really, he could have been a late-round steal.

 

[jeffbiologist]

I have been watching this guy all year, he is my namesake after all! At one point he was leading the nation in tackles for loss, playing in the big 10 thats more than pretty good! I never thought he would be a 2nd rd pick, more likely a 3rd before he got hurt. Now he is likely gone in the 5th or 6th...which means he may require us to regain a 5th rd pick from somewhere because I dont think he will be there for our 6th. If we can keep Crable in the fold for 2 years Schofield is certainly worth a 5th even if redshirted a year.

 

[TheComeback]

Based on his senior bowl performance, he might be worth a late round pick. I'd give him a try at ILB though, not OLB.

 

[DaBruinz]

Based on his senior bowl performance, he might be worth a late round pick. I'd give him a try at ILB though, not OLB.

ILB is where I'd like to see him as well.