Washington Redskins Draft Profiles: Shayne Skov, ILB

Shayne Skov (Pronounced: Sk-Oh-v)

Inside Linebacker

Height: 6'2" Weight: 240 lbs

Stanford

Strengths: He's an animal! Skov is an aggressive, relentless backer with prototypical physical measurables. Like fellow ILB Chris Borland, Skov's success stems from his natural football instincts. He may not have the top-end speed some people look for but he reads and reacts as well as any ILB outside of C.J. Mosley and Borland. He excels in wrap up tackling and blitzing is an underrated strength of his. Skov demonstrates a high-level of awareness for timing up blitzes and reading potential gaps in protection to shoot.

Weaknesses: He tore his ACL in 2011 and looked slow and tentative in 2012; to this day his top-end speed is still lacking. He'll likely run his 40 in the mid-4.9's. Skov was also arrested for a DUI in 2012, causing him to be suspended for one game. On the field, two weaknesses of Skov's are his tendencies to stay high on blocks and lunge into tackles. His over-aggressiveness at the LOS and lack of speed leads to him whiffing on tackles from time to time. His coverage ability is just average. Missteps on PA fakes are difficult for him to recover from.

Bottom Line: If you like Chris Borland you'll probably like Shayne Skov. Like Borland, the worst case scenario (aside from injury) is that he will be a special teams coverage specialist for years. His ceiling as a WILL in a 3-4, on the other hand, is high because of his instincts for the game. He's a heady player who guesses right far more than he guesses wrong. What separates him from the pack is that Skov is a natural, vocal leader. His passion for the game is not limited to his mohawk and eyeblack but his words and production prove it. Say what you will about London, but our defense lacks vocal leadership with his departure. DeAngelo Hall will have his say, but the linebacker corps needs their guy. Skov could be just that.

Projected Round: Late 2nd- Early 3rd

Team He Fits Best On: 3-4 Defense. The Redskins could give him a legitimate look with their 3rd round pick. Look out for San Francisco and Jim Harbaugh to go after his former Stanford player as a stop-gap replacement for NaVorro Bowmen (ACL injury). Skov could be the BPA for San Francisco to use one of their two 3rd round picks on. Other teams in the mix could be Cleveland, Indianapolis, or Green Bay.

***Why You'll Love Shayne Skov***

Take a minute a check out his Twitter Profile: @ShayneSkov11. You'll quickly realize that this "animal on the field" is an absolute fanboy of the virtual animals of... Pokemon. Yes...Pokemon. His other pastimes include: League of Legends, Battlefield, and Skyrim. I'm sure many NFL players fire up video games when they get home but you won't find many of these titles in their collections.

From learning American Football in Mexico to learning to deal with his mother having MS, check out ESPN's special on Skov's journey to Stanford here.

Highlight Reel: Favorite moment is at 2:15. He's a hawk at the LOS.

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Shayne Skov Highlights ᴴᴰ "Hell and Back" (via Harris Highlights)