This is the first year since the mid 90's in which i paid little attention to prospects. Just tired of knowing who i want the Texans to get and watching them grab some bust instead.
So that said im ignorant about cunningham. Does he replace Simon at slb? Does he force cush to move to slb? Is he a 3 down backer?
The reports ive seen say he moves well but misses tackles. Is he our answer to rb's out of the backfield?
Pretty much yes to most of that.
Cunningham is a bit of a wildcard. I think most of us see him as Cush's eventual replacement, but at Vandy he wasn't just a Mike. He moved around quite a bit. So he could possibly take Simon's spot in some circumstances OR they might put him inside and slide Cush over to take Simon's spot in some cases.
Everyone considers him a 3 down player and he has some coverage ability, but I'd be hesitant putting him on NFL running backs and tight ends without a helluva lot of work. I'd see him more as a zone guy.
He "misses" tackles for the most part because:
1) He gets places he shouldn't have been able to get to and he's able to lay hands on guys most guys wouldn't have been close to. So that counts as missed tackles, but they're mostly just him not QUITE getting there in time.
2) He has his own "style" of tackling. He's more of a get to someone from the side, wrap his arms around them and then drag them down kind of guy instead of a hit them head on, wrap them up, and drive through them kind of guy. With that said, he's really good at taking people down his way. He tackles guys that I would have been sure would be able to run through his arm tackles.
With some coaching, he has the potential to be amazing.
Even though he made a ton of tackles, it's not like the old Morlon Greenwood kind of tackle that's 5-10 yards too late. He makes a lot of tackles for loss and tackles right at the line of scrimmage. He's ended some games by keeping people from making the sticks on fourth down, and he's kept lots of guys out of the endzone in goalline situations.
I'm really excited to see what this kid is going to develop into.