Redskins' Draft Profiles

[MTK]

Robert McCune
ILB | (6'0", 245, 4.5) | LOUISVILLE

Strengths: Has an exceptional combination of size, strength and straight-line speed. Is powerful at the POA and shows the ability to take on blocks in the phone booth if he plays with better technique. Has great range and closing burst versus the run. Is an explosive tackler that closes quickly and shows very good short area power. Fills hard versus the run. Has great speed when he gets a clear lane to the quarterback as a blitzer. Also has adequate range in zone coverage and the speed to run with most backs downfield.

Weaknesses: Is still not as fundamentally sound as he needs to be. He plays too high at times and needs to show better leverage and consistency when it comes to taking on blocks in the phone booth. He must also learn to use his hands better to shed. At times he will take too long to diagnose a play. He gets away with it at the C-USA level because of his speed but he needs to make quicker reads and react faster. Too many arm tackles. Needs to do a better job of breaking down and wrapping up. He has elite speed but his hips are a little bit stiff and he doesn't have great man-to-man cover skills. He has potential in zone coverage but he needs to take fewer false steps versus play-action. He does a good job of knocking passes down in his zone, but his ball skills are below average.

Overall: McCune redshirted in 2000 and saw action only as a backup from 2001-'02 before taking over as Louisville's fulltime starting middle linebacker as a junior in 2003, when he finished with 143 total tackles, five TFL and four sacks. He started all 12 games (ILB and OLB) as a senior in 2004 and led the team with 115 total tackles, including four for loss, two sacks and one interception. A member of the National Guard; spent six months in Kuwait and a full year in Korea. He will be a 26-year old rookie in the NFL. McCune was much improved as a senior and his upside is extremely intriguing because of his rare combination of size (6-0, 245), strength (33 reps of 225-pound bench press) and speed (4.50). However, McCune is a much more attractive prospect when watching him work out in shorts than he is when studying him in pads on film. He has great top-end speed for his size but he plays stiff and he has lots of limitations in terms of his range versus the run and in coverage, as a result. Furthermore, he still lacks ideal technique and recognition skills, which leads to inconsistent play. In our opinion, McCune is worth the gamble in the fourth-to-fifth round range of the upcoming draft but anywhere earlier than that would be a classic case of getting caught up in McCune as a "workout warrior", not a football player.