Thread: The Case for 28- Stephone Anthony

Next up is ILB Stephone Anthony. Anthony showed off his natural athletic ability at the combine. He weighed in at 6' 2 1/2" 243 pounds. His 4.56 40 time was tied for 2nd among all linebackers. He has been one of the fastest risers up draft boards since the senior bowl and combine.
Anthony (6-foot-2, 245 pounds) had a combined 206 tackles, 6.5 sacks and 24 tackles for loss as a junior and senior at Clemson, and NFL Media analyst Charles Davis said Anthony has impressed him this week at practices for the Reese's Senior Bowl.

"He caught my eye with his ability to run; then he caught my eye with his ability to hit," Davis said Thursday during the NFL Network's coverage of the Senior Bowl. "He's a big-time player. Not many people around the country know enough about him. They're gonna learn quickly about him. He's a heck of a player."

Clemson’s Stephone Anthony and Georgia’s Amarlo Herrera helped their draft stock, with one day of practices remaining in Mobile, Ala. Anthony, 6-2, 245, was the best of the linebackers, according to packers.com draft analyst Tony Pauline.

“Complete linebacker. Tremendous plays in coverage; gets to the flanks in run support. Didn’t make a lot of errors, tough and also competitive. Can play inside or outside. Listed as inside. Three-down guy that can play in a variety of systems,” Pauline said of Anthony.

Anthony was a defensive captain and the vocal leader for the Clemson defense. He made the on field adjustments as well, often moving teammates pre-snap to put them in optimum position. He's a solid tackler, and gets to top speed quickly. Anthony may not be the most polished inside linebacker in this draft, but he does have the highest ceiling. He's not rising because of his combine numbers. That was happening before he turned in his sterling performance there. What the combine numbers show is that he is every bit athletic as he looks on film.



If Elway wants to draft the next Al Wilson, Anthony may hear his named called at 28. Though they are similar on film, Anthony is a bit more athletic.

Al Wilson Combine Results:
Size- 6'1 239
40 Time- 4.56
10 Yard Dash- 1.60
Bench Press- 17 Reps
Vertical Leap- 33 inches
Broad Jump- 116 inches
3 Cone- 7.31

Stephone Anthony Combine Results:
Size- 6'2 243
40 Time- 4.56
10 Yard Dash- 1.57
Bench Press- 23
Vertical Leap- 37 Inches
Broad Jump- 122 Inches
3 Cone- 7.07

Anthony was actually benched during his sophomore year due to a lack of focus.

“He’s kind of been that quarterback-captain guy since the day he got in here, but we sort of had a little bit of a glitch his sophomore year where he got a little bit fat and happy and lost his focus a little,” Swinney said. “All it took was sitting him on the sideline for a little bit and he got refocused.”

Swinney had no more problems out of Anthony. In his junior season, Anthony led the team with 131 tackles and 13 1/2 tackles for a loss. He considered leaving school early for the NFL, where he would join a weak group of inside linebackers after Alabama’s C.J. Mosley, but he wanted to stay at Clemson and work on becoming a legitimate first-rounder.

Swinney named Anthony a permanent team co-captain before his senior season. Without hesitation, Anthony says his best game tape is the September loss against Florida State. He led the team with eight tackles, and two for a loss, one sack, two pass breakups and two quarterback pressures.

There's a reason Anthony is one of the fastest pre-draft risers. I'll bet money that he goes in the first. I'm not sure if it will be before the Broncos pick, after, or right at 28. He has star potential, leadership qualities, high character, and athletic ability. I'm not expecting to see him in a Broncos uniform in 2015, but it wouldn't shock me either.