Shaun Dion Hamilton: Future Starter?
June 26, 2018
by Steve Thomas
I’ve slowly worked my way through analysis of a number of the Redskins’ draft picks this offseason, including first round pick Daron Payne (read it here), fourth round pick Troy Apke (read it here), and 7th round pick/Mr. Irrelevant, Trey Quinn from SMU (read it here). I’ll get to fan favorite Derrius Guice at some point, but considering how much has been written about him in other media outlets already, this week I thought I’d tackle one of this year’s more under the radar draft picks, the 6th round pick, inside linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton.
Background
Hamilton, who is 6’0” and 230 pounds, is a native of Montgomery, Alabama, was a four star recruit coming out of high school and was his high school valedictorian. At the University of Alabama, Hamilton was a 2 year starter at linebacker, including one year opposite the San Francisco 49ers 2017 first round pick Reuben Foster. He played a total of 33 games for the Crimson Tide between 2014 and 2017, with 65 solo tackles, 69 assisted tackles, including 16 tackles for a loss, and 4.5 sacks. He also had 2 interceptions and was credited with 4 pass defenses. This is Hamilton’s year to year statistical breakdown from his time at Alabama:
2014: 2 gms, 3 assisted tackles
2015: 10 gms, 14 solo tackles, 13 assisted tackles, 1.5 tackles/loss, 1 PD
2016: 12 gms, 31 solo tackles, 33 assisted tackles, 9 tackles/loss, 1 PD, 2 int, 2 sacks
2017: 9 gms, 20 solo tackles, 20 assisted tackles, 5.5 tackles/loss, 2 PD, 2.5 sacks
Hamilton was elected as a captain as a senior at Alabama and earned a 3.4 GPA in college. Clearly, he is smart, both in the classroom and on the field, and was respected by his teammates. Hamilton was head coach Nick Saban’s defensive signal caller on the field. However, despite the good things, his time at Alabama will be forever highlighted by injury. Hamilton tore his ACL in his right knee in the 2016 SEC championship game. He miraculously returned for the start of the 2017 season, only to fracture his right kneecap in the ninth game of the season against LSU on November 4, 2017. The reports from the Alabama media were that he had an unbelievably dedicated approach to both of his rehabilitations. It isn’t simply an accident of timing that he was able to play the 2017 season prior to the fracture of his kneecap in game 9. Hamilton is a smart, dedicated worker.
One consequence of his fractured kneecap was that he was unable to participate in physical testing or drills at the NFL Combine or the Alabama pro day in March except for the bench press, at which he performed 20 reps at 225 pounds. The website www.draftscout.com lists Hamilton’s 40 time as 4.76, but didn’t source its information; presumably, this was either a high school time or from at some point at Alabama, but it’s unclear. Obviously, the injury greatly impacted his draft status. There’s no telling where Hamilton would’ve been drafted if he hadn’t suffered fractured.
Hamilton becomes a part of the seemingly always growing Crimson Tide contingent at Redskins Park, joining his collegiate teammates, defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and linebacker Ryan Anderson from the 2017 draft class, and fellow rookie Cam Sims, the undrafted free agent rookie wide receiver. Other than there just being a weird fetish for crimson elephants in Ashburn, the truth is that Alabama players have a reputation for being tough, smart, and well coached, particularly on defense, and injury concerns aside, it’s likely that the Redskins scouting staff views Hamilton in that same vein.
What does his film show?
First of all, as I always say in these pieces, I’m not a professional scout, and I don’t profess to be an expert, particularly when it comes to inside linebackers. #notascout. These are simply my semi-educated observations that come from watching some of Hamilton’s collegiate film. For this study, I watched Alabama’s matchup against LSU from November 5, 2016, and their game against Texas A&M on October 7, 2017, plus his YouTube highlights. First and foremost, Hamilton’s film shows that he usually makes the correct decisions in both run and pass defense. There isn’t a perfect player, of course – we’re all flawed – but overwhelmingly, Hamilton reads the field well, is in the right spot, and takes the right angles. He is a hard hitter who does not shy away from contact despite his size. He squares up on his opponent and usually (but not always) wraps up while tackling. His recognition skills are already at a very high level, and he shouldn’t require much coaching in order to absorb the Redskins defense and be ready to play.
Hamilton is good in pass coverage. Not that he was facing the likes of Rob Gronkowski in college, but I did not see instances of him either getting badly burnt or clearly blowing an assignment while in coverage. As was the case in run defense, he knows where he’s supposed to be and the identity and location of his principal assignment. He has quality skills in all phases of his game, and has the right mentality for a linebacker, which is no doubt why he was respected enough by his Crimson Tide teammates to be elected captain as a senior despite spending the entire offseason rehabbing his ACL tear.
He did have a total of 4.5 sacks at Alabama, but none occurred in the game film I watched. He was an infrequent pass rusher in college, and while there’s nothing to prevent the Redskins from blitzing him at times, I do not anticipate Hamilton becoming a consistent threat as a rusher in the NFL. This wouldn’t be unusual for a 3-4 inside linebacker.
Hamilton’s principal weakness is his size. At only 6’0” and approximately 230 pounds, he lacks ideal height and bulk. For the sake of perspective, Redskins starters Mason Foster and Zach Brown are 6’1”/250 and 6’1”/244, respectively. Backup Martrell Spaight is also 6’0”, but is about 10 pounds heavier. Hamilton’s 20 reps on the bench press don’t provide evidence that he is significantly stronger than his NFL peers, and if the 4.76 40 time is accurate, or even in the ballpark of accurate, he’s not fast enough to make up for his lack of size. At least one observer thought that Hamilton looked slower upon his return from his 2016 ACL tear[1]. Brown, the weakside backer who is slightly less bulky than Foster, runs a sub-4.5 second 40 yard dash and might be the fastest inside linebacker in the NFL. The best way to make up for a lack of bulk is speed, and while Hamilton isn’t necessarily slow, he doesn’t have speed by NFL linebacker standards.
Along those lines, the film showed that Hamilton was able to be beaten to the edge. He was occasionally unable to seal the edge because did not have the speed to laterally pursue a running back either carrying the ball or waiting for a flat pass. In some instances, if additional help was not present, backs were able to turn the corner on him. Hamilton also sometimes gets caught up in traffic in the interior offensive line. That in and of itself isn’t unusual, but he does not have the size and strength to always be able to shed blocks in the interior of the line. He can get swallowed up by offensive lineman and be unable to disengage.
I don’t mean to give the impression that Hamilton is a clone of Will Compton and is merely a gritty, determined player who is slow and weak. Hamilton is more than that, physically. He’s not on the level of the NFL’s athletic elite, but his collegiate film shows that he also isn’t going to be significantly behind other NFL starters in that regard. Yes, he’s a bit smaller and doesn’t have a ton of speed, but his film reveals a smart, hard-hitting player who is consistently in the right place.
Where does he fit in with the Redskins?
The Redskins will probably keep 10 or 11 linebackers, which will most likely include between 4 and at most 6 inside linebackers. Starters Foster and Brown are locks, and Martrell Spaight, who is a proven veteran backup at this point, is probably a lock as well. Therefore, that leaves Hamilton competing with 2017 seventh round draft pick Josh Harvey-Clemons, 2016 undrafted free agent Pete Robertson, 2015 undrafted free agent Zach Vigil, and rookie undrafted free agents Vontae Diggs and Jerod Fernandez for between 1 and 3 spots on the active roster. As a draft pick, Hamilton will have a leg up on Diggs and Fernandez, but will most likely be behind Vigil, Harvey-Clemons, and Robertson at the start of training camp by virtue of their seniority with the team. The Redskins will undoubtedly keep at least one inside linebacker on the practice squad, if not more, so one or two will probably be cut outright.
One issue to be considered is Hamilton’s health. Hamilton stated back in early May that he viewed himself as about “85 – 90 percent” ready at that time, and that he would be “full speed” when training camp begins[2]. However, if his fractured kneecap is still an issue during the preseason, he could be a candidate for the Physically Unable to Perform list, which would save the team a roster spot and give the team the option of placing him on the active roster after the team’s sixth game.
For the long-term, I think the team views Hamilton as having starting potential, despite the limitations of his size, provided that he demonstrates that he can stay healthy. Coming from the vaunted Alabama defense, it is extremely likely that if Hamilton hadn’t fractured his kneecap last season, he would have been drafted much higher than the 6th round. He makes up for his size and average athleticism with his intelligence, effort, and understanding of the game. If things go right for him, Hamilton could be a Redskin for a long time.
Do you have thoughts? Let me know in the comment section below.
[1] https://www.nfl.com/prospects/shaun%20dion-hamilton?id=32462018-0002-5600-07bf-34f3d8e28f9c
[2] https://www.redskins.com/news/close-to-full-health-shaun-dion-hamilton-ready-to-bring-winning-mentali-20626817