1) Profile:
Von Miller
College: Texas A&M
Position: Defensive End/ Weak Side Linebacker (Hybrid)
Height: 6′3″ Weight: 246 lbs.
Born: March 26th, 1989 From: DeSoto, Texas
2) High School / College Highlights: Von Miller joined the Aggies in 2007 as the Rivals 29th ranked weak side linebacker in high school but first saw action as a defensive end in the 4-2-5 defense and was voted Freshmen All-Big 12.
After a disastrous 2007 season lead by head coach Dennis Franchione which was headlined by a newsletter scandal and several crushing defeats, Franchione resigned midseason and subsequently former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike Sherman was hired.
Sherman installed a 4-3 defense and Miller was moved to weak side linebacker under defensive coordinator Joe Kines. 2009 was his break out season, where Miller played in all 12 games, leading the NCAA with 17 sacks and 21 tackles for a loss (4th in the NCAA) and garnering First-team All-America and First-team All-Big 12 honors.
After 2009 Joe Kines retired and was replaced with Tim DeRuyter, who installed a 3-4 defense where Miller played the outside linebacker position. Miller suffered a foot injury but still managed to record 10.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for a loss as well as garnering First-team All America, First-team All-Big 12 and the Butkus award, given annually to the nation’s best collegiate linebacker.
Miller also leaves for the NFL in the strange position of being one of the plaintiff’s in the lawsuit between the NFL and the player’s union on the current lock out situation, the sole draftee to be included; he also is planning on being at Radio Music City in New York for the annual NFL draft
3) College Stats: 4 year starter.
4) NFL Combine Results: 4.53 40-yd dash, 21 bench press, 37 vertical, 126 broad, 6.7 3-cone, 4.06 20 yard shuttle, 11.15 60 yard shuttle.
5) Strengths/Weaknesses: Miller’s strongest asset is his pass rushing ability; he great speed around the corner and the displays good ability to dip under the pads of tackles and get skinny when shooting an inside gap. Miller also has great closing ability to the quarterback. Miller has a wide array of moves at his disposable including spin moves, change up and arm over moves.
Miller has potential to be great in pass protection and as a run stopper, while he has the ability in those regards, his actual experience and technique will need to be coached up since he was almost never used in those capacities at Texas A&M. Miller’s biggest weakness might be his football IQ, at Texas A&M his sole job was to pressure the quarterback and often teams would run draw plays to take advantage of Miller’s focus on sacking the quarterback.
6) Fit for the Packers: Miller’s versatility and his explosive play are probably the biggest reasons why he would be a great fit for the Packers. Clay Matthews took on Charles Woodson’s role as an all terrain vehicle in 2010 with Matthews often lining up at middle linebacker or as a spy to confuse offenses and create odd angles for pressures. Miller could likely fill the same role as his speed and explosiveness could probably compensate for the lack of power in his game.
One of the biggest holes in the Packers defense is the outside linebacker position next to Clay Matthews III, it was obvious that teams were focusing on Matthews last season and with the potential loss of Cullen Jenkins to free agency, there might not be a solid presence for offenses to fear outside of Matthews. Miller also had no disciplinary issues in college and is considered a to have high character, something which the Packers covet.
Most mock drafts have Miller as a top 10 or top 5 player, so it’s highly unlikely for the Packers to see Miller available at 32. But if Miller falls to the teens, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Packers bundle a couple of picks and move up much like they did when the drafted Clay Matthews III
7) Highlight video
——————Thomas Hobbes is a staff writer for Jersey Al’s AllGreenBayPackers.com.
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I’m not impressed. I see speed, but not much in the way of pass rush moves, and not much to like in run defense.
If he were to drop into the teens your opinion is TT would try to bundle picks for him,really?
Pick value wise,TT would need to have an alter ego in a Ditka range and then some.
Totally disagree with that thinking.
agree with you taryn that there is no chance that the packers could move into the teens to get miller. unless the injunction is lifted and TT could trade flynn. but even then it is a stretch. it would take atleast our first 4 picks to move up to the teens, and that would NEVER happen.
Well there is some past history behind my statement. Clay Matthews was supposedly somewhere between 10-15 on the Packers board, and they moved back into the 1st round at 26 to grab him. If Matthews was say #15, then picking him at 26 would be a value of +11. If analysts are right and Von Miller is say #5 on the Packers board, then Miller dropping into say into the middle or late teens would be good enough value i think for the Packers to consider it. Chances are against it since if Miller were to drop, some other team would more likely to give up more than the Packers and would scoop Miller before Thompson got the value that he wanted; one of the reasons why I think Thompson managed to grab Matthews was because he wasn’t very well known, especially since Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga were “stealing the show” at USC. Also keep in mind that they could use their first round pick as part of that trade so they wouldn’t have to give up so much like they had to to move back into the first to draft Matthews.
The 1st rd pick is automatic in this trade up as would be most of our other picks unless we go into next years.
The trade up for Matthews is/was a different reasoning as we already had used our 1st for Raji.
Going for Miller this year would take everything and leave us with only him as a draftee.
agree again taryn. the values given to picks go up exponentially when you move higher into the first round. it is not just a +11 or -11 scenario. there are plenty of draft pick value charts out there. and they are generally pretty accurate for draft day trades. teams generally tend to stay within the value of a late round pick from the chart when trades are made. not always, but usually.
I completely agree, all I was saying is that Thompson definitely does look for value, the more a high pick falls, the more value he has. For instance, taking a look at trade value chart on drafttek.com (shameless plug for Al), the 1st overall player dropping to the 2nd overall spot is a value of 400 points, a player has to be ranked in the middle of the 2nd round and not get drafted at all to have a value of 400 points. Also the Packers wouldn’t lose all their picks, the Packers 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks equal 976 points, which is good enough for the 17th pick (950 points), which is in the late teens. Will this actually happen? I’m 99% positive that it will not, nor am I saying that its a good idea either; Miller probably won’t fall that far and the Packers won’t move up to get him, but hey weirder thing have happened.
There is no way Miller makes it out of the top 7, so it is pointless to even look at him from the Packers prospective.
Why don’t we waste more time and also look at the likes of Patrick Peterson, Marcel Dareus, and AJ Green and their chances of falling to the Packers.
In which case, talking about Aaron Rodgers for the Packers before the draft would have been a complete waste of time also, right?
Not true. There was a lot of talk leading up to that draft that if Rodgers got out of the top 10, that he could be in for a major fall because there were not a lot of teams looking for QB’s. There is not way that happens with Miller. Everyone is always looking for pass rushers
It’s possible you’re right, but I remember Smith and Rogers projected as top10, even top5 picks, with the only debate being which one goes first. My point is, you just don’t know. Sure the odds of Miller taking a big drop are very slim, but similar things have happened before. So in no way do I feel a profile of Miller here is a waste of time.
You never know what’s going to happen during the draft, and those who are prepared get the most advantage. Plus we’re a fan site, its not like fans have to be realistic (heaven’s know we aren’t)
Miller is an absolute beast.
The only thing I worry about him is keeping his explosion and agility while adding weight.
Let’s face it, at 236, he’s not gonna play 3-4 OLB. He’s gonna have to be at least 250lbs.
If he can do it, he’s poised to be one of the best pass rushers in the league.
Not a beast. A bit wild, but not a beast.
I’m not sold on him. Gets beat too much in the run. Does poorly vs. a Tackle (at least in this clip). He however consistently beats RBs to the QB though.
wow cannot believe all the hate over miller. the guy is great. the most important thing to judge in an OLB is their ability to get to the QB. his burst off of the line is incredible and he does have counter moves. to say he is a one trick pony is just wrong.
his weakness is setting the edge against the run, but that will improve over time as he gets stronger. he will be a top 5 pick so there is not much to talk about.
the guy had 27.5 sacks in the last two years and obviously played hurt early this season. the second half of the season he DOMINATED the games. he is a stud.
I’m in the “not completely sold” camp with Miller. See plenty to concern me on tape. Overrruns plays a lot. A liability against the run. Hasn’t had to pass cover, but I think he’ll be able to handle that. Has crazy athleticism, but can he use it properly? A definite first rounder, but not top 5 or 10 for me.
While I agree that he gets easily fooled by draws, I don’t know if his primary responsability in every single play isn’t to rush the QB.
How far do you think Miller would have to drop before the Packers decided to bite and move up? I can’t imagine that he would be there at 32.
Mid 20’s and still a push at that.
I am suprised at the Von Miller Hate also. He is clearly the best OLB in this draft. There isn’t anyone that is even close. He does have weaknesses, but he is superior when it comes to rushing the passer, which is the #1 thing an OLB in a 3-4 needs to do. Anyone who believes he has any chance of falling out of the top 7 has been hanging out with Johnny Jolly a little too much.
It’s not miller hate. The guy is slated to go top 5, even as high as 2. He better be ballin for that high a pick and much more complete than that video showed. If we were talking about him further down in late teens, I prob wouldn’t object. just my two cents.
I’m sure there are other tapes that show more favorably. Although I think this might be unfair, someone mentioned Aaron Maybin when discussing Miller, and I just couldn’t shake that image out of my head. I’m sure Miller is better than Maybin, but the image of a fast undersized LB taken high in the draft fit too close for comfort.
No comparison between Miller and Maybin. That analogy doesn’t work.
Not even close. Maybin had a fast 10-yard split (first step) and that’s it.
Miller is elite in every meaningful combine drill, from broad jump to 3 cone drill.
You did watch the Super Bowl, right? How much pass rushing did Clay Matthews do? Was he pounded in the run game all day? An OLB has to be able to do a LOT more than just rush the passer, especially for Dom Capers. Versatility is key. Sure Miller is going to be a very good (not great) Pro, but I don’t think he’d be a great fit for the Packers.
using the super bowl as an example is not really fair Al. we all know that CM3 was a spy in that game and it was obvious the steelers wanted to run at him to wear him down. if teams want to run the ball in the NFL today because they are scared of a pass rush i welcome it. that is why we have 300+lb DEs. it is not like von miller is terrible against the run.
a 3-4 OLB that cannot get to the passer is a HUGE liability.
a 3-4 OLB that is inconsistent in the run game but can get after the passer will stick on every team in the league.
Rushing the passer is the top trait you want, no doubt. But, my point remains. If all you can do is rush the passer as an OLB, you will not be an every-down player on Dom Capers’ defense.
BTW, Miller had his pro day workout, and weighting at 246, had almost the exact same numbers of his combine.
That settles it for me, he’s going to be an elite pass rusher in the NFL, no doubt whatsoever (as long as he’s in a 3-4.)