Outside Linebacker
Georgia
5-11 235
40 time: 4.72
Draft board overall prospect rank: #205
Draft board outside linebacker rank: #16
Overall rating: 53*
3/1/10: Put on some weight which led me to move them up my chart. However, didn’t carry the weight well. Ran a 4.72 so I’m moving him back down.
2/27/10: Expected to weigh in at 225 pounds, Curran weighed 239 and appears to have bulked up in a good way since the end of last season. If this doesn’t effect his 40 time, this will help him because it increases his scheme versatility.
1/23/10: Nothing but potential right now, he’s a prototypical cover 2 linebacker, but he needs to get bigger than 5-11 225. He moves well and is all over the ball with 231 tackles over the last 2 years, but he is not big enough for the NFL, which is why I was puzzled by his decision to declare this year at only 21. He’s probably looking at the 3rd round as a project or maybe round 2 if some cover 2 team falls in love with him.
11/18/09: Rennie Curran is a very fast and athletic outside linebacker who takes good routes to the ball, but he’s extremely raw and needs to add some bulk without losing speed. He’s listed as 222 pounds and while that’s a cut 222 pounds, he’ll need to add at least 10 pounds to be anything other than a safety in the NFL. At 230 pounds, he would make an excellent cover 2 linebacker and since he may be forced out this year as a junior due to the threat of a 2011 rookie pay scale, I would definitely take the risk on him and trust that he would put on the necessary weight if I were a cover 2 team or any team that uses a zone defense drafting in the early 2nd round or maybe even late 1st. He is hurt some by his position, but he’s a tackling machine and can cover a zone very quickly. He has shown great skill in zone in college and he takes excellent routes to the ball. He’s a good fundamental tackler, but he needs to add bulk otherwise running backs are just going to break him with ease. There are plenty of running backs in the NFL that weigh more than 222 pounds, that have much stronger, more explosive legs and core, and that are also faster than him. He doesn’t have great hands, or at least not that I can tell. He doesn’t have an interception in college. His drop back into a zone is good though and he’s a pretty good cover linebacker for his age, just turned 21 last week. The Derrick Brooks comparisons are very premature. Even if he puts on the 10 pounds, he is not as good of a cover linebacker as Brooks was. Brooks was a superb leader and one of the best fundamental tacklers of the decade and he also fills space faster than almost any linebacker I’ve ever seen. Curran does those things well, with the exception of maybe the leadership, but he’s not on Brooks’ level. He is only 5-11 which hurts a lot more than it helps in the NFL. However, he’s an excellent prospect if you run any type of zone defense, though he’ll really struggle in man defense because he’s way too small.
NFL Comparison: Jamar Williams
*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here
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