Drew Sanders vs Jack Campbell

[Rigotz]

All across the message board I keep seeing folks talk about Jack Campbell. 
 

Why is nobody talking about Drew Sanders? Same position, better fit, significantly better player … is the assumption that he won’t fall to us?

[Drew21PA]

Like them both

 

Drew has a mean streak I love from my linebackers like Milano 

[Low Positive]

the posters on TBD tend to skew older. They want a white LB with a mullet and a neck pad, like it was 1995. Edmunds was a modern LB and was hated here because he is a coverage LB and not Shane Conlin.

[Augie]

4 minutes ago, FrenchConnection said:

the posters on TBD tend to skew older. They want a white LB with a mullet and a neck pad, like it was 1995. Edmunds was a modern LB and was hated here because he is a coverage LB and not Shane Conlin.

 

You had me at mullet.    😋

[gobills404]

Because he’s not a significantly better player. He’s played 1 season of off ball LB after playing on the edge at Alabama and because of that he isn’t nearly as instinctive as Campbell. Sanders also had a terrible 20% missed tackle this rate this past season. He may have a higher ceiling than Campbell but the only thing he’s really better at right now is blitzing.

Edited April 2, 2023 by gobills404

[HappyDays]

Sanders is apparently not a good tackler. Tackling is already a weakness of our defense so I'd rather not add someone else with the same issue. And I worry when I read things like this on his NFL.com scouting report:

 

"Inconsistent in reading his keys for misdirection."

 

"Some change-of-direction delay in coverage."

 

"I think there is more value to drafting him as a pass rusher than a linebacker.”

 

It reminds me too much of Edmunds coming out.

 

I like Campbell because he's instinctual and tackles well.

[TheyCallMeAndy]

23 minutes ago, Rigotz said:

All across the message board I keep seeing folks talk about Jack Campbell. 
 

Why is nobody talking about Drew Sanders? Same position, better fit, significantly better player … is the assumption that he won’t fall to us?

From what I can gather:

 

Sanders - Better athlete, 1 year starter, very raw, poor tackler, great blitzer.

 

Campbell - Better size, much more consistent, elite intangibles and leadership. 
 

Sanders has the higher ceiling, Campbell has a higher floor.

 

I do feel one of these two will be the pick at 27.

Edited April 2, 2023 by TheyCallMeAndy

[LyndonvilleBill]

14 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

You had me at mullet.    😋

And lost me at White.🤮

[mrags]

Because he’s small/undersized as a MLB in this league. 233? Hell get blocked out of the play by small WRs at that size. 

[Snappysnackcakes]

34 minutes ago, FrenchConnection said:

the posters on TBD tend to skew older. They want a white LB with a mullet and a neck pad, like it was 1995. Edmunds was a modern LB and was hated here because he is a coverage LB and not Shane Conlin.

If you’re gonna put nonsense like this out here, at least spell the name correctly. It’s Shane Conlan. And he would do well in today’s NFL. BTW, he never had a mullet. 

[delirious]

37 minutes ago, FrenchConnection said:

the posters on TBD tend to skew older. They want a white LB with a mullet and a neck pad, like it was 1995. Edmunds was a modern LB and was hated here because he is a coverage LB and not Shane Conlin.

 

Most sane Edmunds mental gymnast

3 minutes ago, Snappysnackcakes said:

If you’re gonna put nonsense like this out here, at least spell the name correctly. It’s Shane Conlan. And he would do well in today’s NFL. BTW, he never had a mullet. 

Right? Shane Conlan would have actually been a beast. Unlike Edmunds.

[John from Riverside]

Didn’t our last linebacker play outside in college? Could’ve swore I heard that Tremaine played outside.

[Motorin']

What about Trenton Simpson? 

[TOboy]

18 minutes ago, mrags said:

Because he’s small/undersized as a MLB in this league. 233? Hell get blocked out of the play by small WRs at that size. 

He’s 6’4, pretty sure they can add 7-10 lbs in the weight room. There’s posters here convinced Bernard is the answer, he’s SMALL. 

Just now, Motorin' said:

What about Trenton Simpson? 

Personally really like him as an option. He’s played more OLB and isn’t huge either, but damn he’s an explosive athlete. 

[frostbitmic]

After watching runners bounce off our defenders attempts at tackling last year, I'd lean towards taking the sure tackler.

[Doc]

2 minutes ago, frostbitmic said:

After watching runners bounce off our defenders attempts at tackling last year, I'd lean towards taking the sure tackler.

 

And after watching a great athlete with questionable instincts, I'll go with the guy with lesser athleticism and good instincts.

[nosejob]

NFLDraftbuzz has Sanders rank at no. 70.  I have been using draftbuzz in my posts because it's a completely different look at players than fans/main stream media and is pretty thought provoking.

[JimmyNoodles]

Any LB pick at 27 is too early. 

[Mr. WEO]

Both would be overdrafted at 27, so...pretty much the same.

[mrags]

30 minutes ago, TOboy said:

He’s 6’4, pretty sure they can add 7-10 lbs in the weight room. There’s posters here convinced Bernard is the answer, he’s SMALL. 

Personally really like him as an option. He’s played more OLB and isn’t huge either, but damn he’s an explosive athlete. 

I’m not a fan of Bernard either. He was a terrible pick at the time. 
 

but to think Sanders could just add weight is false hope. At least on this team. Epenesa lost 40lbs when he came here. Rousseau hasn’t gained a pound since he was drafted. At least the Bills have him at 266 and that’s the same exact weight he was drafted at. Oliver certainly hasn’t gained any weight. Listed at 287 currently on the roster and was drafted at 287. 
 

I’ll give you Edmunds. He was listed at 236 when he was drafted and now weighs in at 250. So he gained 14lbs. However he still gets bounced out of plays by undersized blockers. Gets lost in the mayhem on the line. Always been a huge issue with what separated him from being just a good LB to a great LB imo. Maybe it’s just his play style.

 

either way, I don’t want another undersized LB that gets pushed around in the pile. But chances are, with this coaching staff and FO, that’s exactly why we’re going to get. 

[TheyCallMeAndy]

33 minutes ago, Doc said:

 

And after watching a great athlete with questionable instincts, I'll go with the guy with lesser athleticism and good instincts.

And that is the same guy too!

[Sherlock Holmes]

1 hour ago, FrenchConnection said:

the posters on TBD tend to skew older. They want a white LB with a mullet and a neck pad, like it was 1995. Edmunds was a modern LB and was hated here because he is a coverage LB and not Shane Conlin.

 

1 hour ago, Augie said:

 

You had me at mullet.    😋

Me too, so did @Virgil

[gobills404]

1 hour ago, FrenchConnection said:

the posters on TBD tend to skew older. They want a white LB with a mullet and a neck pad, like it was 1995. Edmunds was a modern LB and was hated here because he is a coverage LB and not Shane Conlin.

 

 

Edited April 2, 2023 by gobills404

[MrEpsYtown]

There are some very long threads with lots of breakdown of both these guys. I think its in the Tremaine replacements thread. 
 

So the notion that most of the people here are old heads who want an unathletic mullet wearing white mlb is just kind of childish. 
 

All these guys are being discussed in other threads with a lot of great analysis. This thread was unecessary. 

[Doc]

18 minutes ago, mrags said:

I’m not a fan of Bernard either. He was a terrible pick at the time. 
 

but to think Sanders could just add weight is false hope. At least on this team. Epenesa lost 40lbs when he came here. Rousseau hasn’t gained a pound since he was drafted. At least the Bills have him at 266 and that’s the same exact weight he was drafted at. Oliver certainly hasn’t gained any weight. Listed at 287 currently on the roster and was drafted at 287. 
 

I’ll give you Edmunds. He was listed at 236 when he was drafted and now weighs in at 250. So he gained 14lbs. However he still gets bounced out of plays by undersized blockers. Gets lost in the mayhem on the line. Always been a huge issue with what separated him from being just a good LB to a great LB imo. Maybe it’s just his play style.

 

either way, I don’t want another undersized LB that gets pushed around in the pile. But chances are, with this coaching staff and FO, that’s exactly why we’re going to get. 

 

He had Kuechly and then Edmunds as his middle linebackers. I doubt he’s going/wants to go undersized at that position.

 

16 minutes ago, TheyCallMeAndy said:

And that is the same guy too!

?

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, FrenchConnection said:

the posters on TBD tend to skew older. They want a white LB with a mullet and a neck pad, like it was 1995. Edmunds was a modern LB and was hated here because he is a coverage LB and not Shane Conlin.

 

I think this was part in jest but it isn't without a grain of truth. They want a 90s downhill thumper.

[Dr. Who]

Ironically given the title of this rather redundant thread, I think they go for Trenton Simpson.

[LABILLBACKER]

1 hour ago, TheyCallMeAndy said:

From what I can gather:

 

Sanders - Better athlete, 1 year starter, very raw, poor tackler, great blitzer.

 

Campbell - Better size, much more consistent, elite intangibles and leadership. 
 

Sanders has the higher ceiling, Campbell has a higher floor.

 

I do feel one of these two will be the pick at 27.

I agree. Both would be very good young replacements but I might lean Campbell.  Hopefully Beane and his scouts are going through everything. 

[Bigvinny]

Bills met with Simpson.

[Rigotz]

Alright, so… I think I got my answer. People just don’t know him. 
 

To the folks saying he’s too small, he’s the same size as Luke Keuchly.

 

To the folks saying he’s not as instinctive as Jack Campbell… look him up on YouTube. I’d say he’s significantly more instinctive, twitchy, and explosive both in coverage and against the run.

 

Guys… he’s a better prospect for any system, but particularly the base Nickel system McDermott runs as it puts a premium on agility and ability to address large coverage windows.

 

I won’t bother posting links or videos, but please do yourselves a favor and watch both. Don’t just settle for the guy you’ve heard more about.

[Doc]

21 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

I think this was part in jest but it isn't without a grain of truth. They want a 90s downhill thumper.

Would you say that description fit Edmunds?

[Nephilim17]

The ability for our MLB to blitz well could be a significant element in the team's ability to pressure elite QBs. I'm not college fan but the little I've read and seen of Sanders looks very good. That said, I'd be happy taking a good O-lineman in the first.

[TheyCallMeAndy]

5 minutes ago, Rigotz said:

Alright, so… I think I got my answer. People just don’t know him. 
 

To the folks saying he’s too small, he’s the same size as Luke Keuchly.

 

To the folks saying he’s not as instinctive as Jack Campbell… look him up on YouTube. I’d say he’s significantly more instinctive, twitchy, and explosive both in coverage and against the run.

 

Guys… he’s a better prospect for any system, but particularly the base Nickel system McDermott runs as it puts a premium on agility and ability to address large coverage windows.

 

I won’t bother posting links or videos, but please do yourselves a favor and watch both. Don’t just settle for the guy you’ve heard more about.

Bills seemed to have learned from watching Edmunds coverage learning curve signing Taylor Rapp to spell a rookie LB in passing situations too

[Chaos]

2 hours ago, Rigotz said:

All across the message board I keep seeing folks talk about Jack Campbell. 
 

Why is nobody talking about Drew Sanders? Same position, better fit, significantly better player … is the assumption that he won’t fall to us?

Campbell is bigger stronger faster more agile.  he led the nation in pass coverage from the LB position in 2022. Why is Sanders better?

[TOboy]

20 minutes ago, Chaos said:

Campbell is bigger stronger faster more agile.  he led the nation in pass coverage from the LB position in 2022. Why is Sanders better?

He’s bigger. He’s most definitely not faster and more agile. Campbell may be more instinctive, and is certainly more proven to be able to get off blocks, a more natural MLB if you will. 
 

Sanders is a little lighter, just as tall, and certainly moves better. I think he’s got the higher upside, but maybe a lower floor. 
 

Really depends on what they are looking for. I think Sanders is more of an Edmunds clone (not exactly but more stylistic match), and Campbell is more of a thumper. 

[GunnerBill]

56 minutes ago, Doc said:

Would you say that description fit Edmunds?

 

No. I mean the fans when I say "they" not the Bills.

[Rigotz]

52 minutes ago, Chaos said:

Campbell is bigger stronger faster more agile.  he led the nation in pass coverage from the LB position in 2022. Why is Sanders better?

This is not accurate and you’re probably just looking at Combine numbers rather than play speed. Do yourself a favor and watch highlights for both on YouTube. You’ll see the difference immediately.

 

One is a first round quality prospect, the other is not.

[Nephilim17]

31 minutes ago, TOboy said:

I think Sanders is more of an Edmunds clone (not exactly but more stylistic match),

Sanders' blitzing prowess is a huge point of difference, but other than that (which could be huge) they may be similar.

[LyndonvilleBill]

The way I'm looking at it is, we have 6 others in the back 7 that can cover. I want a little more Thump, while still having plus coverage skills.😁

[NewEra]

2 hours ago, nosejob said:

NFLDraftbuzz has Sanders rank at no. 70.  I have been using draftbuzz in my posts because it's a completely different look at players than fans/main stream media and is pretty thought provoking.

I prefer Dane Brugler over everyone. 
His current top 100 includes: 
31 Sanders

37 Simpson 

53 Campbell

64 Henley

98 To’oTo’o