Paul Dawson: TCU LB Draft Stock Falling By the Day
By Joe Wedra
TCU LB Paul Dawson is a heck of an athlete. He could be as talented as anybody in this 2015 NFL Draft class, but his stock has been falling by the week. After his 40-time at the NFL Scouting Combine, everyone is wondering how far Dawson might fall once the Draft rolls around.
Dawson’s 40-time of 4.95, plus his character concerns, could push him to the #Chiefs in the 2nd round. Have to be comfortable w/him, tho
— RIP Terez A. Paylor (@TerezPaylor) February 22, 2015
The official time was 4.93, per several reports.
As Paylor notes, Dawson has also been hit with several character knocks in the past few weeks.
Reports have emerged out of TCU that he had a major issue with being late to team functions; others questioned his work ethic. If at all true, these red flags will be about as bright as possible on all scouting reports.
Now, don’t be fooled. On the field, this kid couldn’t be more talented once he hits the field. When you watch the tape, several strong traits stand out.
His instincts are unquestioned. While at TCU, Dawson established himself as the best quick-twitch athlete on the field. NFL teams will be thrilled with his ability to quickly change directions and work in a small area of space. However, his 40-yard dash time needed to be under 4.90 to show scouts he could keep up in today’s NFL.
From what we see from these times, things didn’t exactly work as planned for the criticized Dawson.
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Clocking in the 4.9’s won’t do him any favors, and he may now need to rely on what he did in the interview room if he wants to keep his first round chances alive. Teams like the Green Bay Packers could be interested during the tail-end of the first, but they could easily become scared away by the aforementioned bright red flags.
Read a scouting report from several weeks ago, where I mentioned that his draft stock should have improved during the pre-draft process. It’s safe to say that couldn’t have been less true.