Once again, stolen from my blog: Poe's Post (poespost.weebly.com)
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Kapron Lewis-Moore is going to make a big splash in Baltimore.
Every year it seems, a Ravens player comes out of the woodwork and becomes a key contributor.
This year, I think Kapron Lewis-Moore has a great chance to do just that. First, let's go back to 2013, when Kapron was drafted in the 6th round with the 200th pick. Kapron came from a stacked Notre Dame defensive line, with names like Louis Nix III and Stephon Tuitt. Some could say that Kapron was even overshadowed by those two. Kapron anchored the line, and was named a captain for Notre Dame's BCS Championship-berth season. Let's take a look at both Kapron's collegiate stats and tape. Stats The Tape
Watch: https://youtu.be/zL0mEla1ESE
Keep in mind that Kapron was matched up against USC OL Matt Kalil during this game, Kalil was a top-five pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. It was later revealed that Kapron detached his MCL from his right knee during the game. This injury caused him to miss the last half of his junior year.
Strengths from NFL.com, "Plays the three and five-technique positions well, thick build. Possesses a nice combination of strength (he can push single blocks backwards and stand up to double teams) and looks like a 270-pound end with the short-area agility to play head-up or shading the left tackle. When fresh, he’s constantly using his hands to direct his blocker or shed to make plays against the run." Kapron's effective usage of his hands to shed the blocker is evident in the tape, and it appears to be one of his best assets. Kyle Casey of Russell Street Report smartly mentioned that Kapron'sstyle of play was similar to that of Art Jones, a former Ravens lineman. Weaknesses Once again, from NFL.com, (I'm lazy today) "Doesn't have ideal length. Knee injury history. Not an elite pass rusher because of a lack of explosiveness off the snap and closing speed. Tends to be on the ground more often than scouts prefer, either failing to defeat cut blocks with his hands or losing his balance after contact." The biggest red flag here isn't lack of explosiveness, but his knee injuries. Kapron has now had three critical knee injuries. A detached ACL his junior year, a torn ACL in his final college game, the BCS National Championship, and another torn ACL that took him out for the 2014 NFL season. Kapron certainly seems motivated to overcome these injuries, as his Twitter bio reads: "fell down 3 times, I'm getting up 4." Career in Baltimore So far, Kapron hasn't hit the field once. His 2013 rookie year was spent on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list. His next season was cut short by a torn ACL in camp. Outlook for the 2015 Season I see Kapron hitting the field for the first time in his career, and doing quite well. He'll have to adjust, I'm sure. But I definitely expect improvement after the first few weeks of the season. I expect him to rotate with DeAngelo Tyson at the DE slot, I really don't see Chris Canty holding down the starting job. If 'KLM' can perform well enough in the rotational slot, expect to see him perhaps starting in upcoming seasons. The main wild card is of course, his knee. However, if his knee holds, the sky is the limit for Kapron. |
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