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Selection 2.43 Benardrick McKinney ILB Miss. St.

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Marcus said:
Putting his injury aside for a moment

What exactly are the realistic expectations of a rookie LB drafted in the 2nd round?
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If he's on the right team, with the right coach, he can be whatever he wants to be. From Mike Vrabel, to Sean Lee, Demeco Ryan to James Harrison. Navarro Bowman to Zach Thomas... anything he wants to be.
 
Marcus said:
Putting his injury aside for a moment

What exactly are the realistic expectations of a rookie LB drafted in the 2nd round?
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Keep in mind he's a 2 down backer next to cush. All i ask is competent in coverage. Shine in run d.
 
Marcus said:
Putting his injury aside for a moment

What exactly are the realistic expectations of a rookie LB drafted in the 2nd round?
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Linebacker is a position where guys have a realistic chance of contributing immediately. I would expect someone taken in the first 2 rounds to start immediately unless it was a position (lets say the 49ers a couple years ago) where it would be tough to beat out the starters.
 
Well, to answer my own question, as a general rule, rookies make mistakes, regardless of talent level. There are the Demeco Ryans type exceptions to those rules. But so far, what I've seen from McKinney are rookie mistakes. Because he's . . A rookie. I have no doubt that Vrabel will make him a really good player.

Kevin Johnson is a rookie, but he's exceptional.
 
Marcus said:
Well, to answer my own question, as a general rule, rookies make mistakes, regardless of talent level. There are the Demeco Ryans type exceptions to those rules. But so far, what I've seen from McKinney are rookie mistakes. Because he's . . A rookie. I have no doubt that Vrabel will make him a really good player.

Kevin Johnson is a rookie, but he's exceptional.
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Would familiarity with Pro style offenses affect the learning curve of those 2nd rnd LBs in your opinion?
 
Sam Montgomery, drafted in 3rd Rd. by Texans 2013 was just released by Cinncinnatti.

Texans thought they saw something they could develop with him too next level without a true position.
 
beerlover said:
Sam Montgomery, drafted in 3rd Rd. by Texans 2013 was just released by Cinncinnatti.

Texans thought they saw something they could develop with him too next level without a true position.
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What I'm say is, i'm willing to see how he progresses for the rest of this season, and the following offseason. If you're gonna play the the Sam Montgomery card, I can easily raise that with the Kareem Jackson card. :)

It's just way too early.
 
Marcus said:
What I'm say is, i'm willing to see how he progresses for the rest of this season, and the following offseason. If you're gonna play the the Sam Montgomery card, I can easily raise that with the Kareem Jackson card. :)

It's just way too early.
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Of course it is if your only speculating off pre-season performance. So I disregard that. My comments are based off College projection & production. LSU & Mississippi State had great defensive programs & both player played to elite levels. But that is where you have to be careful, projecting to next level. Beyond measureables its difficult to measure heart, differentiate between intelligence & football smarts then to predict future success. Near impossible. You can only hope those smart enough to recognize can match up needs with best football player for scheme.
 
Says he's coming back bigger and stronger.

Texans' Benardrick McKinney making strides entering second year
By Aaron Wilson

May 21, 2016 Updated: May 21, 2016 6:02pm
McKinney has ideal size and athleticism at 6-4, 246 pounds with 4.65 speed and a 40 ½ inch vertical leap. He's also been working to add strength and bulk to his once relatively lanky frame. McKinney bench pressed 225 pounds just 16 times entering the NFL draft, a more respectable number for a defensive back.

McKinney declined to reveal his current weight, but he's noticeably thicker now through the upper body.

"We don't talk about the weight," McKinney said. "I'm definitely bigger and stronger."

Signed to a four-year, $5.345 million contract that includes $3.26 million guaranteed and a $2.147 million signing bonus, McKinney overcame a concussion and a sprained medial collateral ligament in his knee to start 11 of 14 games played. He finished sixth on the Texans' third-ranked defense with 58 tackles, including seven for losses. He had no interceptions or passes defended, though, excelling against the run as a fast thumper in the middle of the Texans' defense.

"Absolutely, I've got a lot more confidence in Benardrick now, and I think he does, too," said Cushing, who started opposite DeMeco Ryans as a rookie. "It's one of those things that it takes a little bit of time. I've been in the rookie role before, and I played with DeMeco, and I know he didn't trust me right off the bat.

"I had to prove myself to him, and you build trust from that. Benardrick proved himself to me over time. Coming back, I'm excited to be playing with him again."

Finding motivation daily

A former star quarterback at Rosa Fort High School in Tunica, Miss., where he had 2,036 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior while also playing linebacker and punting, McKinney was the center on the basketball team.

However, McKinney was overlooked by recruiters out of high school. Mississippi State was the only Division I program to offer McKinney a scholarship. The only other offers were from junior colleges.

"It motivated me a lot," McKinney said. "I played with a chip on my shoulder every day."

At Mississippi State, McKinney became the program's first All-America linebacker since 1999. He finished his career with 244 tackles, including 19½ for losses, 7 ½ sacks and six fumble recoveries. He was a Butkus Award and Lombardi Award semifinalist in his final college season.

By the end of last season, the Texans were seeing some of that productivity return.

McKinney had eight tackles against the New England Patriots. He had a career-high nine tackles in a win over the Cincinnati Bengals. And McKinney contributed five more tackles on special teams for the season.

Work in progress

Playing for position coach Mike Vrabel, a former Patriots Pro Bowl linebacker, McKinney spent last season working on maintaining a lower pad level to gain leverage against blockers. It's a difficult task for a taller inside linebacker, but McKinney got significantly better at that aspect of the game as the season went on.

"You would put him in the arrow up category, meaning he's getting better and better every week," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said of McKinney at the close of last season. "When you looked at the first Indianapolis game relative to where he is now, the improvement has been exponential. He has really done a good job of learning our system, getting acclimated to the pro game."

How that quantum leap will translate this season for McKinney remains to be seen, but a more versatile role could await him. McKinney is a good pass rusher who has the long arms and height to blitz from the inside or off the edge of the defense.

He's continuing to work on learning the nuances of pass coverage to emerge as more of a three-down linebacker playing on a defense whose leadership group includes Pro Bowl defensive end J.J. Watt, Cushing and nose tackle Vince Wilfork

"More instinct, I'm just going to try to be a leader to help out guys like Cush and Vince and J.J. and just lead the defense and play my game and play my part and just fly around," McKinney said. "It's going good. I'm just trying to improve every day and work out and try to push myself to the highest."

And that also means lending a hand to the raw confused rookies who recently joined the Texans' roster. McKinney can empathize with their situation.

"Yeah, I can understand how they feel, being nervous just coming in from college and seeing a lot of great guys in the NFL," he said. "I can understand they were kind of nervous coming in."
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With Cushing most likely around for only one (two max) more seasons, good to know they thought ahead and is prep'ing a guy to take over as the lead ILB.
 
It must be a conditioned response, but I tend to cringe when hearing a player opting to get bigger during the offseason training. Bigger traditionally means slower, and that just plain doesn't work in today's game. I'm programmed to want to hear 'I spent the offseason trying to get faster, working on my footwork'. We play Jamaal Charles, not Jerome Bettis - and you need to beat the guards to a spot, not hammer them head on.
 
Scooter said:
It must be a conditioned response, but I tend to cringe when hearing a player opting to get bigger during the offseason training. Bigger traditionally means slower, and that just plain doesn't work in today's game. I'm programmed to want to hear 'I spent the offseason trying to get faster, working on my footwork'. We play Jamaal Charles, not Jerome Bettis - and you need to beat the guards to a spot, not hammer them head on.
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Usually it depends on the player & what I thought they struggled with the previous season. McKinney, at no time did I think he needed to get bigger. Stronger, sure... hopefully when he's saying bigger he means stronger. Faster, more explosive... more intuitive. Smarter in zone coverages.
 
Rookies typically do need to get bigger and stronger in order to compete long term in the NFL. 180lbs doesn't last long when you're with the big boys.
 
Scooter said:
It must be a conditioned response, but I tend to cringe when hearing a player opting to get bigger during the offseason training. Bigger traditionally means slower, and that just plain doesn't work in today's game. I'm programmed to want to hear 'I spent the offseason trying to get faster, working on my footwork'. We play Jamaal Charles, not Jerome Bettis - and you need to beat the guards to a spot, not hammer them head on.
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Bernardrick already had thick, powerfull legs. So I don't believe his "bigger, stronger" comments were focused on his lower extremities. For an ILB in a 3-4, being able to manage only a 16 225 lb bench press (the lowest of any ILB in the 2014 and 2015 Combines........and the lowest of all LBs except for one OLB who pressed 15 in the 2014 Combine...........comparison: 30 for Cushing) is somewhat concerning. And as a tall ILB at 6'4"(some list him closer to 6'5") weighing in at 246 lb (comparison: Cushing 6'3" 255 lb), he needs all the upper body strength he can manage to maintain leverage control against his opponents...........and this comes with muscle bulk.........and with it, therefore, some incidental weight gain. This is probably why he skirted the "weight" question, a number that is unlikely to negatively impacted his performance.
 
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Mckinney's biggest hurdle is between the ears, he had a very tough time digesting the playbook and learning his keys - I'm hopeful that entering his second season he's more familiar and comfortable in his role. I understand the points about his upper body strength being less than ideal, but he didn't play at 4.65 or whatever his 40 was last year. There were several times when covering backs and tightends that they simply outran him, guys of average NFL speed just pulled away. If he's getting stronger, great. If he's getting beefier, not good because last season he was slow both upstairs and down.
 
Scooter said:
Mckinney's biggest hurdle is between the ears, he had a very tough time digesting the playbook and learning his keys - I'm hopeful that entering his second season he's more familiar and comfortable in his role. I understand the points about his upper body strength being less than ideal, but he didn't play at 4.65 or whatever his 40 was last year. There were several times when covering backs and tightends that they simply outran him, guys of average NFL speed just pulled away. If he's getting stronger, great. If he's getting beefier, not good because last season he was slow both upstairs and down.
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Those bench numbers can hurt a guys confidence. Getting stronger helps with gaining confidence as well as playing strength. Even for a tall guy with long arms, his bench numbers weren't all that good. Not a true indicator of strength, but it's possible that the added reassurance of improved strength could help lead to less hesitancy and he'll play more to his timed speed.
 
Scooter said:
Mckinney's biggest hurdle is between the ears, he had a very tough time digesting the playbook and learning his keys - I'm hopeful that entering his second season he's more familiar and comfortable in his role.
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I think part of the issue here is that he was originally "training" to be Cush's replacement. Then after the thing with Mohamed going down, & Dent just not progressing, they pretty much threw McKinney out there. I bet he'd have started out better, had he started at MO in OTAs on through camp. & if it weren't for Hard Knocks & the Texans had their sht together.
 
I was a fan of his in college but not happy when we drafted him as I thought fans would expect from him what he was not prepared to give year one. He was great getting to the RB but almost worthless in coverage and we needed a guy to play from side to side. Cushing was not good at it either but did all right. He tried to be a finesse player with blockers rather than banging them with violence and strength. The fact is he seems to have increased his strength to do just that. I was pleasantly surprised when Vrabel used him to bop those entering his area and bop them hard. We need to remember he was to play behind Mohammed and Dent and get his feet wet; instead he was cliff diving in the NFL ocean by game 4 IIRC.

I don't understand the upstream post that he did not understand playbook as coach said he did
“I thought he played well,” Texans head coach Bill O’Brien, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “I thought he understood the game plan, and I think he’s a guy that will continue to get better and better. He’s got a really good work ethic, got a good nose for the ball, and I thought overall he played a good game.”
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This season I expect him to be able to stretch his range some and be even more effective.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
Bernardrick already had thick, powerfull legs. So I don't believe his "bigger, stronger" comments were focused on his lower extremities. For an ILB in a 3-4, being able to manage only a 16 225 lb bench press (the lowest of any ILB in the 2014 and 2015 Combines........and the lowest of all LBs except for one OLB who pressed 15 in the 2014 Combine...........comparison: 30 for Cushing) is somewhat concerning. And as a tall ILB at 6'4"(some list him closer to 6'5") weighing in at 246 lb (comparison: Cushing 6'3" 255 lb), he needs all the upper body strength he can manage to maintain leverage control against his opponents...........and this comes with muscle bulk.........and with it, therefore, some incidental weight gain. This is probably why he skirted the "weight" question, a number that is unlikely to negatively impacted his performance.
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For McKinney I don't think bigger, faster, stronger was ever as much of a real problem as the mental side of the game seems to be.
 
mussop said:
I absolutely hated this pick but I'm really hoping he turns into a good player this year.
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Early in the season he was learning and thinking to much, he was struggling with the adjustment from college. After about game 10ish you could see that he was more comfortable and beginning to react and not think so much, he was making plays and moving more naturally. I think he'll be just fine in 2016 and look for him to replace Cushing at SILB in 2017.
 
mussop said:
I absolutely hated this pick but I'm really hoping he turns into a good player this year.
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Was that because you thought there were better ILBs available? Or that McKinney wasn't up to the task? Or that it wasn't the need you'd have liked to have addressed?
 
thunderkyss said:
Was that because you thought there were better ILBs available? Or that McKinney wasn't up to the task? Or that it wasn't the need you'd have liked to have addressed?
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Question wasn't directed towards me but I liked Eric Kendricks better. Thought he was the better coverage LB and BMacK was better in run support and we sorely need a LB that could cover.
I didn't hate the pick just because ILB was a huge need for us and McKinney meant we were seeing the end of Cushings career. Haven't kept up on Kendricks but was and still am VERY happy with BMack. Kid can be the stud Cushing was before injuries.
 
thunderkyss said:
Was that because you thought there were better ILBs available? Or that McKinney wasn't up to the task? Or that it wasn't the need you'd have liked to have addressed?
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Yes, yes and no. I just thought he was too inconsistent. One highlight play, two horrible reads that put him completely out of the play was his MO. I liked several ILBS better. I had no problem with the position.
 
PapaL said:
The Vikings dude? Forgot his name but he's the one I liked. They're both playing very well. The other guy had a great rookie season tho.
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Yup. And I like McKinney, but guys like Kendricks are harder to find and he was right there for the taking.
 
TheRealJoker said:
Mckinney had 16 tackles yesterday and has had a sack in each game this season. He is really coming into his own in the absence of Cushing.
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He also prevented a NE TD early in the game. Don't remember exact details, but after a NE receiver made a catch and broke 2 tackles, McKinney chased him down and made the tackle on the sideline.
 
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