2011 NFL Draft Player Profile: Casey Matthews
If you haven’t heard of the Matthews family by now, you most likely live under a rock. It’s no secret that they are one of the most dominant football families to ever play in the NFL. Clay Matthews Sr., and Clay Matthews Jr. are the most well know, as well as his uncle Bruce Matthews who will go down as one of the best offensive tackles to ever play the game. His grandfather Clay Matthews I was a standout in the 1950’s, as well.While his brother walked on and under-achieved at USC, Casey wasn’t as fortunate. He was an undersized three star recruit coming out of Oaks Christian High School. He received scholarship offers from numerous Pac-10 schools, as well as a few medium ranged ACC schools. He chose Oregon in the end, and played in all 11 games in his freshman year.
Casey may not be as physically gifted as his brother Clay, but there’s no doubt that he’s just as intelligent and has a great work ethic.
Player Name: Casey Matthews
Position: Inside Linebacker
School: Oregon
Height: 6’2
Weight: 237
Strengths
Matthews’ biggest strength is his athleticism. He’s also an extremely intelligent player who does well reading and reacting to the offensive play on every down. He has a non-stop motor, playing well sideline to sideline. He’s a very good tackler, who’s very fundamentally sound. He doesn’t often get caught out of position, and he uses his athleticism to make up for his lack of overall bulk. Matthews is also excellent in making plays in coverage. He covers his zone almost effortlessly, and has a knack for finding the ball. He’s an underrated pass rusher on the inside, and has the speed to maybe make the transition to the OLB position in a 3-4, although that may not utilize his skill-set to the maximum. However, his versatility is fantastic and will be coveted among teams in the 2011 NFL Draft.
Weaknesses
The biggest knock on Matthews is his size. He’s not the biggest or strongest player on the football field. He plays in a very loosely based zone defense in Oregon which helps his athleticism shine. He may not be able to transition to a 3-4 defense because of his inability to frequently get off of blockers. He’s most likely restricted to a 4-3 role, but he’s versatile enough to play all three linebacker positions in a 4-3 scheme. While he’s not weak by any means, he still needs to improve on his strength and use his arms to get off blocks, rather than getting fully engaged with blockers.
Draft Range
Right now, it’s completely open where Matthews goes. His brother, Clay, had some of the same weaknesses coming out, not being a big, strong linebacker. But hard work propelled him into the first, and Casey could do the same if he works out well enough at the combine. Right now, his ceiling is as high as a late first round pick, but he’ll most likely be selected between the middle of the second round and middle of the third round. Look for teams like Indianapolis, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Detroit to target him. If teams feel he can make the transition to 3-4, it could improve his stock heavily as teams like Cleveland, Buffalo, Arizona, and Green Bay could look at grabbing him in the 2011 NFL Draft.
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