#12: Danny Shelton, NT, Washington

[Soar]

Discuss

 

[Sebastian]

Great smile. Nice cheekbones.

 

[Randolphkeys]

Nobody is posting info here yet, so I'll go ahead.

Remember when the Browns looked like they were going to the playoffs at one point in late October/ early November? I do. At that time, I thought the Browns would be drafting in the early 20s. At that time, Danny Boy was projected to be a run stuffing nose tackle with too little pass rush to go any earlier than the late first round. I was hoping like mad the Browns would draft Shelton and grab a top-shelf wide receiver in the top ten, with that Buffalo pick that was sure to be a glittering diamond.

Guess which entity had its stock flying upward with amazing play, and which entity shit the bed like its an hour into Trainspotting?

Shelton is a PERFECT fit for what the Browns needed all year last year. He commands double teams as the nose tackle and is just relentless against the run. On top of all that, he might be the smartest player in the defensive film room and has leadership intangibles oozing out of his jheri curl. He taught a class as an adjunct at the University of Washington, while on the football roster and fulfilling his commitments as a team leader. I don't think I've ever heard of that before.

 

[Amherstcavsfan]

This will be the best Pick the Browns have made since Joe Haden, maybe since Joe Thomas.

He will command respect in the middle of the defense, keep the MLB clean, and he gets to everyone. He is a hustler, an amazing tackler for a guy his size, and I think he has underrated pass rusher.

Just a tremendous pick that restores a lot of faith in Farmer for me. He'll be a Pro Bowler next year, IMO.

 

[Amherstcavsfan]

BTW, to Randolph's point, Danny Shelton was the only player in the NCAA to make both the All American, and All Academic Team.

That's insane.

 

[spydy13]

Discuss

View attachment 1047

By the way, those draft hats are pretty slick. Love the skyline on the underside of the brim. Think I'll pick one up probably.

http://www.nflshop.com/league/nfl/t...wn_2015_nfl_draft_on-stage_59fifty_fitted_hat

http://www.nflshop.com/Hats_Draft_C...ew_Era_Gray_2015_NFL_Draft_59FIFTY_Fitted_Hat

 

[Randolphkeys]

Must read stuff... I think this was the article last year that made me a big Danny Shelton fan. This dude is going to love Cleveland.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/10/21/3444514/an-nfl-future-awaits-but-for-now.html

Just one highlight:

Shelton is what the UW calls a “FIG leader.” FIG is an acronym for “First-year Interest Group.” The purpose of a FIG, in general terms, is to allow a group of 20-some freshmen students to take a pre-configured cluster of classes together — big, basic courses like Psychology 101, usually — while also meeting once per week for a 50-minute, two-credit, pass-fail class to discuss … well, in Denny 315, that’s up to Shelton.
Rap music plays at low volume from Shelton’s iPhone — “to keep me relaxed,” he says — as he asks, in his naturally soft-spoken tone, if anyone knows of any on-campus events their classmates might be interested in attending this week. Participation, he has written in clean, neat handwriting on the white board behind him, is worth 30 percent of their final grade.
Last week, he brought in three of his friends — UW receiver DiAndre Campbell and fellow defensive linemen Drew Schultz, an Olympia native, among them — to tell the class about their academic pursuits, the basics of their major (Sociology and a minor in Law, Societies and Justice for Schultz, and a double-major in Political Science and Communication for Campbell), and who they can contact if they’re interested in a similar education.
Students are encouraged to ask questions. If they don’t, Shelton prompts each speaker with one of his own. How do you juggle a Business major with a social life? What’s your favorite Sociology class?
“The plan,” Shelton said, “was just for the kids to be exposed to different majors and have questions, have connections available for them. Networking.”
This venture spawned from an email Shelton received last winter — at first, he thought it was spam — seeking out FIG leaders. He was asked to interview for a position.
“I kind of thought to myself, ‘Why wouldn’t I take this opportunity?’ ” said Shelton, who thought about teaching as a high-schooler. “What is there to lose?”
So, he interviewed. It went well enough, and in the spring, he was offered a spot as a FIG leader, and registered for the required training classes.

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/10/21/3444514/an-nfl-future-awaits-but-for-now.html#storylink=cpy

 

[Otsego Mar]

Those jerseys are ass.

 

[The Hill]

Grantland has a great feature on Shelton. He has been through a lot, including witnessing his brother's murder (and his other brother nearly getting killed in the same incident).

Shelton parks his rented Kia Sorento at the corner of 37th Street and D Place, less than a 10-minute drive from his family’s apartment in Auburn, Washington. He won’t go any farther north near the cul-de-sac where it happened. “I haven’t been back there since,” he says.

May 1, 2011, was a Sunday. Shelton and his family hadn’t been out of church long when his older brother Shennon, who went by Skeevie, got a call from their oldest brother Tui’s girlfriend. In a nearby apartment complex, a fight had escalated throughout the day.1 An argument between two 13-year-olds had intensified to include their families and others. Tui, then 23, had been recording the scuffles with his phone when he’d been pulled into the fray and punched in the back of the head before fending off three men. Tui’s face was cut and bloodied, and he’d called his girlfriend, urging her to tell his brothers to meet him nearby. Soon, five men — Skeevie, Danny, their youngest brother Kevin, a cousin, and another friend — approached the apartment of Olenthis Woods, the older brother of one of the 13-year-old boys. Woods was one of the men who’d jumped Tui.

Danny moved to the left side of the house. Through a window, he could see Woods carrying a gun as he walked toward the front door. He called out to his brothers, who didn’t budge. The first shot hit Tui in the chest. A second shot hit Shennon in the head, behind the ear. By then, Shelton was in front of the house, with a chair in his right hand. Woods raised the gun but didn’t fire. It was jammed. After throwing the chair, Shelton was able to wrestle the gun from Woods before pulling him to the ground. Gun in hand, Shelton hit Woods in the face repeatedly as Woods’s sister and mother yanked at Shelton’s hair and pepper-sprayed his face. He says he let up only when his right biceps seized, allowing Woods to shake free.

“My whole body was covered with blood,” Shelton says. “The guy’s blood and my brother’s blood, because we carried him to the curb. I went home, washed all the blood and pepper spray from my eyes, and went to the hospital.” Paramedics said Shennon had died before reaching the hospital. The bullet lodged in Tui’s chest was too deep to remove, but after surgery he would eventually recover.

All summer, Shelton felt lost. On prom night, a few drinks deep, he insisted he and his friends walk to his brother’s grave, a miles-long trip. Graduation brought a similar ache. Moments came when he didn’t know whether he even wanted to come to Washington.

“There are times when it was hard, and I was just like, ‘What would Skeevie do?’” Shelton says. “If I give up now, then why am I here? Why did I want to make my brothers happy and make my family happy? Why waste it? I just kept with it. I kept quiet and kept going.”

http://grantland.com/features/danny-shelton-washington-nfl-draft/

 

[tristan+kyrie=$]

This guy is a beast

 

[Phills14]

Good for the Browns. It appears they got the pick right. They let the board come to them and it paid off with the best player available who happens to fill a pressing team need. That's about all you can ask for.

I also would have been happy with DeVante Parker but Shelton should be a mainstay on that line for a long time. Our defense was seriously upgraded with this 1 pick.

 

[Phills14]

From Dane Brugler's Draft Guide...

3. DANNY SHELTON | Washington 6021|339 lbs|4SR
Auburn, Wash. (Auburn Senior HS)
8/20/1993 (age 21)
GRADE 1st Round
2011: (13/1) 11/0.0/0.0/0/1
2012: (13/13) 45/4.0/0.5/0/1
2013: (13/13) 59/3.5/2.0/0/0
2014: (13/13) 93/16.5/9.0/0/5
Total: (52/40) 208/24.0/11.5/0/7
MEASUREABLES Arm: 32 | Hand: 10 1/4 | Wingspan: 77 1/2
COMBINE 40-YD: 5.64 | 10-YD: 1.90 | 20-YD: 3.21 | BP: 34 | VJ: 30 1/2 | BJ: 07’11” | SS: 4.65 | 3C: 7.99
PRO DAY N/A (positional drills only)

BACKGROUND:
A four-star defensive tackle recruit out of high school, Shelton was intensely pursued by Oregon, UCLA and other west coast programs, but he decided to stay home and enroll at Washington. He played sparingly as a true freshman before earning the starting nose tackle job as a sophomore, recording 45 tackles and 4.0 tackles for loss in 2012. He started all 13 games in 2013 as a junior and finished with 59 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks, earning All-Pac 12 Honorable Mention honors. Shelton had his best season in 2014 as a senior, recording 93 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, 9.0 sacks and five fumble recoveries, earning First Team All-Pac 12 and All-American honors. He accepted his invitation to the 2015 Senior Bowl.

STRENGTHS:
Girthy body type with meaty thighs/hips and natural thickness – built like a vending machine and plays often come to him…carries his weight well with functional range to make plays outside the hashes…balanced and plays light on his feet with coordinated body control and movement skills…active with stunts and shows smooth lateral quickness to avoid blocks and change directions well on the move…tree stump in the middle of the line of scrimmage – tough guy to move from his spot…powerful upper body with active hands and a strong punch to rip and sustain bull rush at the point of attack…heady backfield vision and ball awareness to quickly locate and recognize screens…good initial quickness to split doubles and attack gaps…highly active with a bull in a china shop mentality…terrific on-field motor for the position, moving up and down the line – played 900+ snaps in 2014…plays through pain – battled through a left shoulder injury in 2013 that required postseason surgery…above average production for the position with 208 career tackles over 40 starts – also blocked three kicks on special teams…smart on and off the field – three straight years Academic All-First Team honors…mature, but loose personality and has dealt with adversity in his past – older brother was shot and killed in front of him (May 2011).

WEAKNESSES:
Has bad weight in his midsection and his conditioning needs monitored – played at 360 pounds in 2014…too upright off the snap and needs to play with more consistent knee bend and leverage – sloppy tendencies…powerful, but relies too much on his upper body strength and needs to develop his hand moves – convoluted pass rush plan…doesn’t generate consistent power from stagnant position and much better when he drops his hips and has upfield momentum…too reactionary and needs to consistently force the action, lacking twitch off the snap…needs to be a consistent finisher once he makes contact…too many frustration penalties on his résumé and needs to improve his discipline…wears himself out with his intensity and ends up taking plays off…

SUMMARY:
A prospect of Samoan heritage, Shelton has a rare mix of quickness and power for the position, showing the range to make plays on the perimeter and the unyielding hustle to continue pursuit through the whistle. He requires double-teams due to his nimble feet and upper body strength to shock blockers, using his natural gifts well, although his arm/hand techniques are still in development. Shelton started every game at nose tackle the last three seasons, playing a large percentage of the Huskies’ defensive snaps, but is better suited for a timeshare role to sustain his intensity. He lined up everywhere on the line in college from the zero- to five-technique positions, but is ideally suited as a two-gapping nose tackle, who can fit a 3-4 or 4-3 scheme – not on the same level as Haloti Ngata as a prospect, but deserving of top-15 consideration in this draft class.

 

[macbdog]

All the tradition and prestige are gone now with those jerseys, I felt I was witnessing the Arena League draft.

 

[I'mWithDan]

Those jerseys are ass.

Saw the jersey in person last night and they look a lot better than they come off in darker lighted / indoor settings (like the unveil and at the draft stage).

I was pretty critical of them but seeing the end product, they are pretty nice. Obviously different but nice. The colors look SOOOOOOOOO much better in natural light. The indoor lighting does something really bizarre with the color combo.

This photo isn't great but it gives better context to what they look like. It's really hi res. Click in to see some of the texture / detail on the numbers. Looks nice.

 

[Real Deal]

All the tradition and prestige are gone now with those jerseys, I felt I was witnessing the Arena League draft.

Good. My 24 years was complete shit. Glad it's gone.