Sportsfrog.com

Paul Posluzny gets all the press; Tim Shaw makes it all happen. Ok, Posluzny’s a good player and that’s going too far. But when writing about Tim Shaw, a little overstatement should be allowed because he’s gone underrated relative to his former teammate during the entire build up to this year’s draft.

And since these two players are forever compared because they each come from the same linebacker famous school, let’s look at their Combine stats together:

Shaw was a high school sprint champion and his 40 time is better than Posluzny’s. Other than that, both set of measurables are about the same. Paul is listed at 6′1, 236. Shaw is listed at 6′1, 233.

Shaw possesses the same, great instincts that Posluzny is acclaimed with. Shaw came to Penn State as a running back, and switched to LB in 2004. His senior season, Shaw was asked to play left defensive end and did so unselfishly. He’s a Dean’s List and academic honors athlete who also has a reputation for being a blue-collar overachiever.

So what are the downsides to Shaw’s game? His lack of experience in coverage limits his immediate upside. He’s a little top heavy and narrow in the legs and isn’t best suited to play the strong side because of his limited size. At the same time, he probably isn’t agile enough to be a great weakside linebacker either.

I’ll compare him here to Barrett Ruud because they’re both great, instictive players who are position tweeners. But if put in the right scenario, Shaw can be a solid contributor. And you know with his versatility, work ethic, and excellent straight line speed, he’ll be a special teams stand-out from day one of his career. He’s the kind of guy that the Patriots have won championships with.