Chiefs Should Trade Up For ILB Zach Cunningham

Chiefs Should Trade Up

For ILB Zach Cunningham

Laddie Morse

With the 2017 NFL Draft 12 weeks away, the abilities of the top rated players are coming more and more into focus. One of those players who should be getting some major consideration from the Kansas City Chiefs is inside linebacker phenom Zach Cunningham from Vanderbilt University. The 6-foot-4 inch, 230 lb. junior is ranked 18th overall by CBS Sports and DraftTek has him at #31. I’ve seen him taken #4 overall in some mock draft scenarios and into the middle of the second round by other mock generators. With K.C. drafting in the 27-hole, I believe they’d be remiss if they didn’t consider trading up to get him if he should fall to #21 or below.

Can you remember what it was like to be four years old… and you couldn’t quite reach everything you wanted to reach on the countertop in the kitchen… so you had to pull a chair over and stand on the chair… to fetch that cookie that you really, really wanted… out of the cookie jar? Well, that’s the place the Chiefs are in right now. There’s a cookie in this draft that could be had, but they might need to stand on another team’s chair to get it.

Analysis

Derek Mason, the Vanderbilt coach, had this to say about Zach Cunningham,

“If you can find a better defensive player in the SEC or in college football, show him to me. Richard Sherman was one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached. I think Zach falls into that realm of guys who can take it from the class to the grass and put it in game situations and be big.”

Zach Cunningham had 125 tackles in 2016 with 16.5 tackles for a loss and 6 sacks for his three-year career at Vanderbilt. Cunningham’s height, athleticism and coverage ability should help to deal with the big tight ends in the AFC West including Antonio Gates. Rob Rang at CBS Sports has this say about Cunningham,

“Cunningham is able to convert speed to power as a tackler, showing no hesitancy in the hole against big (or small) runners and ripping at the ball, when possible. Cunningham’s future in the NFL could be on the outside as he possesses the range and body control to excel in space. He changes direction well for a man of his size, showing light feet and loose hips. He possesses the range to beat backs to the edge, as well as exciting closing speed while in pursuit and coverage. Cunningham shows good awareness of passing lanes, as well as the body control and long arms to contort in space to knock down throws.”

One question we should answer is whether or not Mr. C’s 125 tackles in a season is a significant number given the conference (SEC) he made those tackles in? The chart below is from a piece called, “Why the Big Ten isn’t college football’s best conference in 2016” by Bill Connelly for SBNation showing the best conferences since 2005.

While I have come to feel that the SEC Conference is like New York, New, York — “If you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere”  — I have been hesitant to see any players except the “star” players drafted from a team like Alabama. No, not just because of the Nico Johnson failure. It’s because it’s hard to tell if a player is really a good player, when he’s playing next to so many other top rated talents. That, however, is not the case with Zach Cunningham but, it sure would be nice to see what he could do if he was dropped in the middle of a defense that has recently had five Pro Bowl players on it, like Justin Houston, Dontari Poe, Derrick Johnson, Eric Berry and Marcus Peters.

My Evaluation

When I watch Zach Cunningham he reminds me a lot of Derrick Johnson because he flies to the ball carrier using his speed and 6-foot-4 inch, 230 lb. frame to stop plays before they begin. At 6-foot-4 he would immediately become the Chiefs tallest linebacker and although height is not a requirement to be a good linebacker, Cunningham uses his length as leverage against linemen who come up to block him. They are often surprised to find that he shreds-n-sheds their blocks easily. While Mr. Zach gets his pads too high sometimes I haven’t yet seen a running back plant his helmet in Cunningham’s chest. The thing I like most about Zach Cunningham is that he plays downhill and is always moving towards the line of scrimmage. That’s a positive in his case because he so very often reads the play well and appears to have good instincts. Although good instincts in college don’t always translate to good instincts in the NFL his combination of size, strength, passion and controlled aggression should allow him to have an excellent career in the bigs.

Here’s some game tape of Zach Cunningham vs. Georgia. Since Vanderbilt finished the year at 6-and-7 and Georgia’s 2016 record was 8-and-5, it shows Cunningham playing for a bad team against a decidedly better team. RB Nick Chubb of Georgia has 1,130 yards rushing in 2016 but Cunningham helped to hold him to 40 for the game, far below his average. Zach Cunningham has 19 tackles in this game, a best for him.

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Watching “game” tape gives you a better sense of who a player really is from game to game. However, watching a highlight reel can also inform you of a player’s upside. With that in mind, here’s a highlight reel aptly named, “Zach Cunningham, Best LB in the Country, Vanderbilt Highlights.”

Perhaps you can tell from these videos that Zach Cunningham doesn’t allow his pad level — which is sometimes too high as I mentioned above — he doesn’t allow his pad level to hurt what he’s trying to accomplish. What will have to be improved is his arm-tackling. In the NFL he’ll not only have to get used to the speed of the game but many of the arm-tackles he made in college won’t be tackles. However, at 6-foot-4 inches he’s getting to ball carriers that a lot of other ILBs are not.

After reading enough about Zach Cunningham and watching enough film on Zach Cunningham… you get a feel for how good he is and/or can be as a Chiefs inside linebacker. Somewhere along the line, it occurs to you that this guy is worth trading up to get… IF… he falls to a certain place in the first round.

How far would he have to fall?

Here’s a list of team needs. The information for this was provided by Lance Zierlein at NFL.com.

You notice that three teams ahead of the Chiefs have been identified as needing an inside linebacker. So, where would the Chiefs have to jump to get Cunningham and what it would take to get him? It’s interesting to note that CBS Sports has moved Zach Cunningham from the ranks of ILBs and placed him in with the OLB edge rushers and, they’ve made him the #1 OLB in this draft by so doing. If you’re Cunningham you likely take that promotion because it vaults him to #16 overall (and he’s moved up and over since the beginning of the writing of this peice which was only 24 hours ago). I don’t agree with this re-distribution or re-assessment of his true value, which I believe is better utilized as an ILB. After watching his tapes, does anyone think they’re looking at the next Justin Houston or even, Tamba Hali? I doubt it.

DraftTek has ILB Reuben Foster of Alabama rated as the #14 overall talent in this draft. CBS Sports has Foster at #7. Obviously, he’ll be taken as high as the top ten and it’s hard to imagine him getting past the Arizona Cardinals who select at #13. If Washington decides to go to one of their other more primary needs like Defensive Line or Safety — and there should be plenty of choices at those positions at #17 — then the Chiefs could jump up to pick numbers 21-through-23 — in front of the ILB needy Texans (actually, the Texans don’t have any real defensive needs so I don’t know what NFL.com is talking about) — and take Cunningham there. Then, all Johnny-Be-Good-Dorsey would have to do is side-step the Broncos at #20 and the Raiders at #24.

For the Kansas City Chiefs to move up that far in this draft shouldn’t be too hard to do. Nor should it be a surprise if they move up to take a better prospect they have their eyes fixed upon, if the opportunity arises. DraftTek reveals a trade value chart for the 2017 NFL draft and the Chiefs, picking at #27, have a trade value of 680. If the Chiefs use their third round pick (they’ll still have the compensatory 3rd rounder), a value of 136, plus a 5th round pick, a value of 29.8, it would give them enough points (845.8) and leverage to trade up with either, the Lions at #21 (800 value), the Dolphins at #22 (780 value) or the Giants at #23 (760 value). 

You also have to weigh and assess if ILB Zach Cunningham would be worth the trade? Remember, the Chiefs basically gave away a third round pick in 2016 — on KeiVarae Russell — and while I don’t think they should use that as their standard, this trade would still leave the Chiefs with 8 picks (or more, depending on the number of compensatory picks they’re granted).

I’m of the opinion that, if you can field a killer defense and put the ball back in the hands of your offense as many times as possible, then you greatly increase your chances to win a championship. Yes, the offense needs some attention in the draft too, especially on the interior of the offensive line but I believe a player like OG Dion Dawkins could be had in the third round. What the Chiefs need is a future playmaker at ILB and Zach Cunningham could be that guy. Except… they might have to go up a few slots in the draft to get him.

Clearly, I have a man-crush on Zach Cunningham. Is there anyone else out there who likes him enough to be willing to trade up to get him?