Detroit Lions REPLACEMENT For Alex Anzalone

Detroit Lions REPLACEMENT For Alex Anzalone

The latest news for the Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anelone is not good. Matter of fact, the latest rumor is that Alex may not be coming back to Detroit. And the Lions and Sports Stars management are not even close to a deal. And so, we’re going to be talking about the future. The writing is on the wall. This may have been the last season for Alex Analone under contract, but we may have already seen his last season, which was 2024. I will just throw this out there, just I’m not going to get into all the contract stuff with Alex in this video. That’ll be for another video. If the Lions were to part ways with Alex right now, they would save about $1.2 million in the cap this year and 1.2 million next year. So, there’s really no benefit for the Lions to move off of Alex unless they were to trade him. Uh, but that’s that’s really about it. That’s the only option for the Lions right now is to trade or to get a deal done. Um, rumors uh that I have heard, gentlemen that I’ve reached out to about the situation, Alex is potentially looking for 13 to$15 million per year. I just don’t see how the Lions are going to be willing to do that. Uh, Alex is, you know, approaching that age in football where you just don’t make too many mistakes by giving large contracts out. I don’t see Brad doing that. So, we’re going to be talking about the heart and the soul of the LSU defense today. And, uh, and his name is is uh, Whit Weeks. It’s kind of a tough name to say over and over and again, but uh, Whit Weeks, man, that’s who we’re talking about. He is uh currently a top 50 best players in college football uh entering the 2025 season according to PFF. Now Weeks is 6’2 225-lb linebacker like I said for LSU. He he plays primarily well all sides of the ball I should say or all sides of the field. He’s all over the place and and that’s that’s great to have right to have a utility guy on your squad that can play just about any position. Let’s take a quick look at his defensive alignment here. I’ll bring it up for you on the screen. And as you can see, uh, look, left outside linebacker, right outside linebacker primarily plays in the box. And just so we understand, you know, the box position for a linebacker and it’s a little bit of everything, right? Uh it’s a style of defense or defender that he plays off the line of scrimmage, behind the line of scrimmage, and are required to cover the ground against both the run and the pass. So, as you can see, I mean, you can look through this stuff on PFF. He is all over the place. He’s wellversed in playing every position on the field. And and when we think of a guy like Alex Analone and how hard it is to replace somebody like that, that’s the kind of player you’re looking for. It kind of helps that Whit Weekes at young age, right? He’s entering his third season with LSU. He played as a true freshman. Um, I mean, he’s played incredibly well. Uh, to think that a young guy like that coming in off of his junior season, which would be 2026, into the NFL draft and what he could potentially do for his next team in the NFL. Right now, sky’s is the limit, but I’m looking for a onetoone trade-off here. And right now, Whit Weeks is that next Alex Analone to me. Potentially much better linebacker than Alex has become. No shade, Alex. No shade. I’m just saying the future’s bright at the position for the Detroit Lions. But I do want you on the team. I do. We need you this year, man. Let’s get that deal done. All right. Let’s talk about Witw week sophomore season. Okay. Uh, let me roll slide two here. And it’s pretty simple, right? Whit Whit Weeks. Uh, and and Harold Perkins, man, they went at it last year. Harold Perkins, he drew most of the preseason hype at at LSU. It was Whit Weeks, though, that emerged as the breakout star. Now, Weeks was a very disruptive force as a sophomore, consistently uh making plays behind the line of scrimmage. 21 tackles for loss or no gain, ranked fourth among all linebackers nationally, and his 25 quarterback hits placed him or pressures, excuse me, placed him in the top 15 in the nation. Um, quick trigger, man. This this guy is hairpin like trigger, closing speed. It makes him one of the most instinctive defenders in college football according to PFF. My own take on the guy is I I see hairpin trigger like I said a minute ago. A guy that just moves all over, wherever, whenever. He just makes plays. That’s what he’s all about. You guys know how I love the TFLs versus the sacks. This is a linebacker. We’re not expecting a ton of sacks, but he can get to the quarterback. He has proven that he can get to the quarterback. And uh to make matters worse for the quarterback, he brings the pain. He’s a hard hitter. He’s only 6’2, 225 lbs, which if you look at the way the linebacker position is starting to shape in the NFL, that’s what we’re starting to see is a little bit lighter, uh, twitchier, faster guys at the position. Bringing in a guy like Jack Campbell a couple of seasons ago, I mean, that that’s the anomaly now. Like, you just don’t see guys that are 6’4, 65, 255 pounds playing linebacker position anymore. It’s it’s rare. It’s a lot of these, you know, 225, 230, 235 guys out there playing the position. Um, all right. So throughout throughout his sophomore season, he he’s, you know, he’s now entering his third season, I should say, uh, as a starter for the Tigers in 25, but in in two seasons, he tallied 174 tackles, 174 to go along with 13 and a half tackles for loss, three and a half sacks in just 24 games. Now, he did miss I I think the the final bowl of last year when he when he broke his fibula. I don’t know what’s going on with Fibulas, but there’s been a lot of those injuries the last season or two. Now, this guy, like I said, he is the heart and soul of this LF LSU defense. He does more than just rack up stats. He does embody what it is to be an LSU Tiger. They have a very specific type of energy and spirit on this team. We know from Mai Wingo and his time in LSU what that means, wearing number 18. Now, obviously, Whit Weeks is not wearing that jersey, but he is regarded as one of the leaders on this team. Relentless motor, uh, drive to be the best on and off the field kind of earned him this nickname of the Energizer Bunny because the guy just doesn’t stop. He doesn’t stop. A matter of fact, there’s a a funny antidote about Whit Weeks where he’s often described as living with the football and and to the point where the joke is either the football or Weeks is going to have to start paying rent here because they’re they’re just, you know, he’s he’s always getting his hands on the ball. He’s always playing near the ball. Whatever the anecdotal uh phrase is with him, it’s kind of funny, right? We can kind of laugh at that one. It’s kind of like, you know, when you live rent free in somebody’s head, they’re always talking about you. It’s kind of the same, I guess, same anecdotal phrase here. Uh, let’s go to some awards for Whitw Weeks. Man, you’re going to be blown away by what this guy has been able to do so far. It’s just insane. I I I I just I haven’t seen a a linebacker rack up this much in this short amount of time. Uh, but let’s go ahead and roll roll slide number two, please. and roll slide number two, please. Okay, here we go. Uh, awards in 2024. 2024 first team all SEC. That was voted by the AP and the SE SEC coaches. Uh, 2024 SEC defensive player of the week. That was verse miss. Now, Miss was not an easy offense last year. Very tough team. Uh, Jackson Dart, 2024 SEC defensive player of the week versus Oklahoma. Double-digit tackle games. I mean, my goodness, this dude racked up six of them. Uh, 18 tackles versus Miss, 17 versus Bama and Oklahoma, 11 versus South Carolina and South Alabama, and 10 versus Arkansas. I mean, you want to talk about you want to talk about a body of work. Like, that’s that’s just insanity to me that this guy has been able to to put this I mean, so young, right, to put this kind of an effort in this early into his career. I can’t wait to see what he does as a junior. Now, as a true freshman in 2023, he appeared in 11 games, um, three starts as a true freshman. Pretty pretty solid, right? Uh he led all freshman though. All true freshman with 49 tackles. He added three and a half TFLs, half a sack, and four quarterback hurries in his freshman season. 305 defensive snaps for weeks and another 182 on special teams. When we look at guys that fit in Detroit, there’s a few things that I definitely look at, but without going too deep into it right now, we know that special teams pops out, right? because he didn’t just play special teams, he played on all four units for LSU. So, he plays it all. Kickoff, punt return, you name it. Kick return, he all of it. Field goal unit, he does it all. So, you you look at a guy that you want to bring into your team after the draft and they need an immediate spot. Special teams is it. If you can play special teams, you’re going to win a spot on a roster. and and he can do that and he does it at a high level. Uh big connection here with with Mai Wingo uh the Detroit connection. He teamed up with Mai Wingo in 2023 to sack Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson on a second and eight at the LSU nine yardd line in the third quarter, excuse me there. Uh sophomore season. So let’s jump uh back to last year. Look, this guy has an ability a ball val to just click and close. I mean, it’s you hear the C ball, get ball, right, from Ahmed Hosanin. I see the same thing with Weeks here. The guy just gets after it. Um, his his click and close plays, I mean, they’re on display. They’re among some of the best in the nation. He excels in both uh both roles as a run defender and a pass rusher, making him, you know, kind of this dual threat, if you will, in in on the field for the defense. Often we hear that about a quarterback. He’s the quarterback of the defense. Kind of the same situation. Now, he only had four sacks only, right, as a linebacker. That’s pretty good. Uh he had four sacks last season. He has proven that he can not only stop the run, but he can also get pre pressure on the quarterback and and effectively. He played in all 13 games last year with 11 starts. He was a first team all SEC by both the AP and the SEC coaches. and and the rest of the, you know, accolades that he earned last season like SEC defensive player of the year, I’m sorry, defensive player of the week twice and uh and finished second in the SEC and ninth in tackles nationally with 125. Now, he added an impressive 21 tackles for loss. And that’s where I’m going to stop for a moment. TFLs to me are more important than a sack. If you are able to affect a game more, it’s going to be by getting after the running back and the wide receiver more so than it is the quarterback. There’s more plays designed to those two in features than there is to just the quarterback, right? So, TFLs mean more to me because there’s more opportunities for that in a game. And this guy is racking him up. If he’s not getting a sack, he’s trying to get after, you know, the other guys on the field. 25 pressures last season, four sacks, two forced fumbles, an interception, and six quarterback hurries, three batted down passes. Pretty pretty solid allaround good season for the guy. Uh, matter of fact, it was one of the best all-around seasons as an LSU linebacker in program history. He had six games again with double double- digit tackles and five of them coming against SEC teams, career best 18 against Miss. Now, before we get to this best game, you probably notice this little clock right here, right down there somewhere. And that is the Pro Sports Zone kickoff countdown. The Lions versus Chargers Hall of Fame game. So, let’s give a quick shout out to Pro Sport Zone right now. If you guys haven’t had an opportunity, please check out Pro Sports Zone in Leavonia and make sure that you get all of your training camp gear and regular season gear there in Laurel Park Place Mall. Pro Sports Zone, man. Get in the zone. Get your get your Lions gear, your Tigers, your your everything, man. Your Red Wings, your Michigan Panthers, even your local schools. Pro Sports Zone has it all. They have two giant stores inside of Laurel Parkplace Mall. Lowest prices, biggest selection, only the best in service. Pro Sports Zone, man. Get in the zone. Check them out today. So, the best game in 2023, it was against Miss. Go figure. LSU gave up 55 points, 706 total yards, and a forced fumble with less than a minute to go in the second quarter uh by by Whit Weeks led to an LSU field goal and pulled the Tigers to within three. And then at halftime or just after the half, he sacked Jackson Dart for a six year six-yard loss on a final play of regulation. It sent the game into overtime. So you want to talk about a guy that’s clutch. The guy’s clutch coming up a big plays. Jackson Dart had a hell of a season last year and he just got after that team. Huge game for him against uh Miss last year, I’m sorry, in 2023. uh injury status suffered a broken fibula during the 24 Texas Bowl versus Baylor. He obviously underwent surgery January 2nd of this year and he should be good to go despite the injury. He is expected to return and return just as strong as he was in 2025. How does he fit the Lions? So something I touched on a little earlier uh he’s a smart guy, super intelligent, eclectic behavior about him and wants to study or is studying his major is entrepreneurship. So, his eyes are set on something bigger than football. And I think this is this is a Brad Holmes guy. It’s someone that loves football, but wants to be better than just the game of football. He wants to do something great with his life. Uh, future captain of LSU. I’m thinking he might be a captain this year. Uh, number one, I think the biggest reason is he comes from a football family. Father played at Georgia. His two other brothers, Zack and West, are going to be joining the LSU roster this year. So, he’ll have an opportunity to play with I mean, there’s gonna be three uh weeks on the field. It’s kind of weird saying it. There’s going to be three weeks, brothers, on the field for LSU. Um, so he’s he’s got some some of the bloodline, right? And and I think that when you when you look at that and then you look at all the transfers that are happening around him right now, a lot of transfers in and out of the program, but a lot more coming into LSU. I think that it’s going to give Weeks an opportunity to take a leadership role. entering his third season with LSU and he’s already regarded as one of the leaders on the team. His experience, his performance, I mean, everything that he has put forth so far makes the case for him to have an impact on the game this season, an impact on his his, you know, his his brethren, you know, uh, in the locker room. So, projected first round pick, that’s where I see him going. Um, honestly, I’m I’m going to back him up just a little bit. I see him projected as a first round pick right now. I think at the very latest he’s probably going to get projected to be or will end up as as a second round pick, mid-sec round pick. I think the Lions are going to have a shot at him. I don’t know that they’re going to waste a first round pick on a linebacker next year. They could. Brad Holmes hasn’t gone back in the first round and grabbed the same position twice ever in a draft or in ever with all first round picks. So, I don’t know. Uh I’m not I’m not real sure if he’s if he’s going to do that this year. Let’s take a look at Dane Bugler and what he had to say about Mr. Weeks here. He has him as a first round pick in next year’s draft. If you can see that there LSU linebacker Whit Weeks a firstround draft pick. Excuse me. I don’t know why that’s not showing up, but that’s what Dane Bugler also feels. Whit weeks first round pick. So Detroit Lions, the future’s bright. We know that the future also comes in a hurry. Whether or not something gets done with Alex Analone, well, that’s yet to be determined. And as we know, anything can change at a moment’s notice in the NFL. You know, the rumor, like I said, is that Alex Analone may not be back. Doesn’t sound like they’re even close on a deal. And and that’s too bad because Alex Analone has kind of been our heartbeat, you know, of this defense. and um we’ll be be sorely missed, but I I’m hoping that something gets done. I really am hoping that that something gets done. We’ll keep our ears to the pavement and if it gets done, we’ll be the first to let you know. You guys have a wonderful day. Go on probably. Go Detroit Lions. We’ll see you in the next one. Good weeks LSU. I’ll be watching a lot of film this year.

With the Alex Anzalone contract talks frozen, we look to the future at the position for the Detroit Lions REPLACEMENT For Alex Anzalone. Starting this series off with LSU Linebacker Whit Weeks, top 50 in the league, ranked #1 overall linebacke to start 2025!

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