:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/4170994/126308305.jpg)
The St. Louis Rams are bringing in Cal linebacker Mychal Kendricks for a pre-draft visit next week, according to Jim Thomas at the Post-Dispatch. Whether they end up drafting the kid or not, they have certainly have a need at the position.
Kendricks reads like a nice balanced player, though is a little shorter than some 5'11". He hits hard, good character and decent against the run. By no means a perfect prospect. A textbook definition of a player pegged somewhere in the neutral zone between the second and third rounds.
But there is this from Rob Rang at CBS Sports/NFL Draft Scout:
04/03/2012 - NFL DRAFT CONCERNS: ILB Mychal Kendricks, Cal: Of the six players listed in this report, if Kendricks scores as poorly on the Wonderlic as I've been told scouts expect based on his struggles on the white board during team interviews, his stock could drop significantly. Teams hold inside linebackers to a higher standard than many other positions when it comes to intelligence. - Rob Rang, NFLDraftScout.com
No Wonderlic score has leaked on Kendricks. Doubt those start getting released in earnest again next March, once institutional memory fades from the whole Morris Claiborne flap.
Is he dumb? Who knows. Aren't we all dumb ... about something anyway?
Dumb or not, they may be looking at him for a change of roles. Kendricks is viewed by most as an inside linebacker. Where would they put him in St. Louis? Strong or weak? How this more bureaucratic take on running the defense raises all kinds of questions already.