Should Washington’s newly drafted DE from Penn State convert to linebacker?

Hermitt/PennLive.com

The NFL Draft

Penn State defenders went off the board quickly at the top of the draft last weekend. First, Micah Parsons went to the Cowboys at #12, and then Jason Oweh was drafted by Baltimore at #31. A lot of draft analysts wondered why Shaka Toney didn’t get drafted on Day 2. In fact, he came very close to not getting drafted at all, but Washington finally selected him with their penultimate pick in the draft, at #246; there were a total of 259 players drafted this year.

This is likely to motivate Shaka Toney for years to come.

The fall

The issue that probably caused Toney to ‘fall’ to the end of the draft was likely his size. At 6’2” and 242 pounds, he is pretty large for an accountant, but he is undersized for a defensive end. Still, though, his athletic measurables are incredibly high.

If you are unfamiliar with Relative Athletic Score (RAS), it was developed by Kent Lee Platte (@Mathbomb), and aggregates all combine/pro day measurables into a single number on a 10-point scale. RAS does an outstanding job identifying the best athletes in a given class.

As you can see from the tweet above, when compared to other defensive ends, Toney scores 9.47, meaning that he ranks in the top 6% of college DEs tested since 1987.

This spider chart reinforces the idea that Toney is small but athletic – relative to other defensive ends. It’s just possible that he has been using his athleticism to succeed despite playing in a sub-optimal position.

Reconsidering Toney's position on the defense

What if we looked at a position on the field where Toney’s size is more appropriate, and where his athleticism would see him playing in space more? What if he could use the skills he’s gained for defeating blockers to great advantage?

In short, would it make sense to move Toney to strong side (SAM) linebacker?

At least one person has considered this idea already. Look what happens to the RAS scores when Shaka Toney is compared to the new position group.

When he is compared to linebackers instead of defensive ends, Toney’s RAS score shoots up to 9.92, which is 17th out of 2,156 linebackers tested, putting him inside the top 1%!

Film analyst and Penn State alumnus, Mark Tyler, is very familiar with Toney, having watched every game of his college career. He is the first person I know of to have proposed the idea of this position switch:

I think Toney will become a SAM LB for [the Washington Football Team] and be used some as an EDGE in nickel to spell Young/Sweat. He did work out at the Senior Bowl as an Off-the-Ball LB, so I see that what he plays if he hopes to make the 53 man roster. If he indeed does slot in at SAM, this is a really solid 7th round pick!

Playing as an off-ball linebacker, Toney should be able to be use his well-honed skills to defeat the blocks of offensive linemen, and he can use his speed to cover running backs and tight ends. Obviously, he would be a natural on a linebacker blitz, exploiting the gaps opened up by Payne, Allen & Ioannidis. He would have the opportunity to turn into one of the best linebackers in the league.

Assessing Toney's on-field skills

You can see from this highlight film that Shaka Toney doesn’t play small, and isn’t merely a speed rusher. He has the ability to shed blocks, fill gaps, and tackle effectively. Of course, he also knows how to get to the quarterback in a hurry and secure tackles for loss. He has all the raw athleticism and basic football skills needed to facilitate the transition.

A marriage of player skills and team needs

Going into the draft, Washington’s weakest position group was linebacker, and their strongest was the defensive line. The front office drafted two defensive ends (including Toney) but only one linebacker (first round pick Jamin Davis).

Click to see the WFT post-draft depth chart

Obviously, we don't yet know Ron Rivera's intentions, but it could make sense for the player and sense for the team if Toney were to move position groups as a rookie. It may not happen, but it seems like a natural fit.

Follow me to see more articles like this.

...

Follow