Micah Kiser could vie for a starting role at ILB for the Redskins

Micah Kiser, LB
School: Viginia | Conference: ACC
College Experience: Senior | Age: 22?
Height / Weight: 6-0 / 236 lbs
Projected Draft Status: 3rd Round or 4th Round
NFL Comparison: Denzel Perryman

College Statistics

Player Overview

During his acceptance speech for the Campbell trophy which is the equivalent of the academic Heisman Micah Kiser credited his parents for where he is today. Kiser cited his parents always holding him to a high standard in his education and as a person. Kiser is from Baltimore, Maryland and was a 3-star prospect coming out of the Gilman School. Kiser has excelled on the football field as a student-athlete while at Virginia. He graduated with a 3.4 GPA and has his degree in Foreign Affairs and he is also pursuing a graduate degree in higher education. Kiser is lauded for his character and leadership by his coaches at Virginia. In addition to his success in the classroom, Kiser has also had three prolific seasons while at Virginia. His production this year, in which he had a career year in recorded tackles, is exceptional considering he played all season on a torn MCL. Kiser has the mold of the old school NFL linebacker. No frills, nothing fancy, just solid consistent reliable production which comes from solid technique, block shedding ability, effort, and instincts.

Strengths

• On the shorter size height, wise but is well built overall.
• Eager to takes on blocks and gets dirty, generates a good amount of power and fights through blocks and is pretty good at shedding them.
• Always working instincts get him a fair amount of plays on the ball but second and third efforts get him in on a lot of plays as well.
• Not going to test well athletically but definitely looks better on the field than the numbers are going to indicate (consider the torn MCL) especially his closing burst rushing the passer.
• Praised for leadership and intelligence did make calls on the defensive side of the ball.
• Plays with great leverage and squares up before hits solid tackler.

Weaknesses

• Not an elite athlete, moves with a bit of stiffness, especially when having to change direction.
• Plays need to be in front of him if he gets turned around by a defender he can lose sight of the ball.
• Coverage is a question mark. I saw him drop into zone coverage but didn't see the ball go his way much.

Let’s see his work:

More Micah Kiser videos

How He Would Fit On The Redskins

Micah Kiser would be competing with Mason Foster for MIKE duties in the Redskins 3-4. It could make for a very interesting competition as I view both players as quite similar not only physically but also having a similar skill set. This could very well be the scenario if the Redskins believe upgrading the inside linebacker position isn't a priority. Kiser is a physical linebacker with good instincts who is a lunch pail type player. He will not be sexy to people looking for great athleticism at the position but he will be highly effective at blowing up blocks, defending gaps, making tackles at and behind the LOS, and getting the occasional sack. Kiser ought to be able to compete at a level rivaling Foster as far as run defense goes and may even be a bit better as a pass rusher. I’m not nearly as enthralled with super athletic linebackers who may lack instincts, put up average production, and don’t play to the whistle so guys like Kiser are right up my alley when I consider the needs the Redskins have in run defense. That being said I think the re-signing of a player like Zach Brown is paramount to play the WILL if the Redskins aren't going to invest in the position during the first couple of rounds to ensure the starting unit is more well rounded than it would be.

I am going to be really interested to see if Kiser competes at the combine. I would say that his 40 time is going to be big for his draft status. However, I assume at some point he will have to have surgery on his MCL - this could mean he misses the combine and may even miss time at the beginning of the season. All of this is speculation on my part. If the speculation is right though and Kiser can not solidify his draft status he may end up being one of the greater values in the draft if he slides. His path will be interesting to watch.