Chris Burke at nfl.si.com has a good article about former Kentucky linebacker Danny Trevathan and how he has emerged as Denver’s defensive leader.
That Danny Trevathan — 6-feet-and-change and about 235 pounds — was smaller than the ideal NFL linebacker came as no surprise to scouts prior to the 2012 draft. But there was another issue.
Trevathan was slow.
He did not run the 40 at the combine, then posted a lumbering 4.82-second time during Kentucky’s Pro Day. That’s a time equal to the marks put up that year by QB Kellen Moore, 300-pound defensive tackle Kendall Reyes and Auburn center Josh Harris, among others.
Trevethan had just wrapped a college career that included 144 tackles in 2010 and 143 in ’11, the latter of which landed him on Sports Illustrated‘s All-America Team, alongside Lavonte David and Manti Te’o. And suddenly, that barely mattered. Drafting a linebacker who is either too short or too slow is one thing. Taking a guy who fell into both categories? Almost unthinkable.
But at least for Denver linebackers coach Richard Smith, Trevathan’s performances at the combine and Pro Day did not mesh with the player Kentucky had trotted out on the field for four seasons. So he decided to check in with Trevathan one more time.
“Are you faster than that 40 time?” Smith asked.
“Yeah,” Trevathan responded. “I had a pulled hamstring. … When I’m healthy, I’m a 4.45 guy.”
“Oh, come on,” a hesitant Smith said. “Don’t be kidding me.”
“Give me another opportunity, and I’ll run a 4.4 for you.”
The Broncos provided Trevathan with that second chance and then some, after stopping his slide through the draft in Round 6. Trevathan’s story could have become a footnote there — the selection Denver used on him, No. 188 overall, was one of the picks acquired by trading Tim Tebow to the Jets.
Read Slow and steady: Danny Trevathan emerges as Denver’s defensive leader by clicking here.
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