08-08-2018, 12:10 AM
The Steelers have had a rocky relationship with the Outside Linebacker (OLB) position lately. They whiffed on Jarvis Jones, and Bud Dupree hasn’t lived up to the expectations of Steelers Nation. TheJames Harrison fiasco stained the Steelers’ legend in the eyes of a number of fans. If we want to go far back enough, LaMarr Woodley fell off a cliff after his big payday and Jason Worilds shockingly retired after his breakout season.
The Steelers, however, seem to have hit on two prospects recently in Anthony Chickillo and T.J. Watt. Chickillo has played extremely well in his backup role, and he continues to be a steal for his sixth-round draft tag. Watt had a great rookie year, and it seems stardom may be in the future of the young edge rusher.
Ola Adeniyi is unique among all recent Steelers’ draft picks. He’s the type of outside linebacker that the Steelers haven’t had since James Harrison was in his prime. He’s not ideal size at all, as his build is small and stocky, but Adeniyi has shown a lot of upside that could easily land him a spot, not just on the practice squad, but on the 53-man roster as well.
The Steelers are not very deep at OLB, with Watt and Dupree as the starters and then only Chickillo guaranteed a true roster spot. Keion Adams is coming off of shoulder surgery and has had a decent camp, but he has said that he wants to do even better. That means, should Adeniyi perform well, he very well could find himself on the 53-man roster.
At only six-foot-one, Adeniyi is undersized for the position, but he uses that size to full advantage on the field. Adeniyi has a stocky frame, and he’s not incredibly long. Instead, he’s short and strong and this will allow him to get leverage more easily when going against the much taller offensive tackles in the league.
The key to this stocky frame isn’t only that he gets leverage, nor merely his strength — but it’s the way he combines both traits to generate pressure. Adeniyi does this beautifully, as he has some of the best explosiveness from the snap of all the edge rushers in this class. Sometimes Adeniyi wins matchups based on pure explosiveness alone. His ability to get leverage and explode off the line of scrimmage allows him to create lots of tackles for loss, of which he had 28 last season.
Readmore:https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2018/8/6/17648184/ola-adeniyi-has-the-makings-of-an-impact-player-for-the-steelers-nfl-news-toledo-olb-video
The Steelers, however, seem to have hit on two prospects recently in Anthony Chickillo and T.J. Watt. Chickillo has played extremely well in his backup role, and he continues to be a steal for his sixth-round draft tag. Watt had a great rookie year, and it seems stardom may be in the future of the young edge rusher.
Ola Adeniyi is unique among all recent Steelers’ draft picks. He’s the type of outside linebacker that the Steelers haven’t had since James Harrison was in his prime. He’s not ideal size at all, as his build is small and stocky, but Adeniyi has shown a lot of upside that could easily land him a spot, not just on the practice squad, but on the 53-man roster as well.
The Steelers are not very deep at OLB, with Watt and Dupree as the starters and then only Chickillo guaranteed a true roster spot. Keion Adams is coming off of shoulder surgery and has had a decent camp, but he has said that he wants to do even better. That means, should Adeniyi perform well, he very well could find himself on the 53-man roster.
At only six-foot-one, Adeniyi is undersized for the position, but he uses that size to full advantage on the field. Adeniyi has a stocky frame, and he’s not incredibly long. Instead, he’s short and strong and this will allow him to get leverage more easily when going against the much taller offensive tackles in the league.
The key to this stocky frame isn’t only that he gets leverage, nor merely his strength — but it’s the way he combines both traits to generate pressure. Adeniyi does this beautifully, as he has some of the best explosiveness from the snap of all the edge rushers in this class. Sometimes Adeniyi wins matchups based on pure explosiveness alone. His ability to get leverage and explode off the line of scrimmage allows him to create lots of tackles for loss, of which he had 28 last season.
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Readmore:https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2018/8/6/17648184/ola-adeniyi-has-the-makings-of-an-impact-player-for-the-steelers-nfl-news-toledo-olb-video