2017 Broncos roster: Linebacker Kevin Snyder

Name: Kevin Snyder
Position: LB
Height: 6’2" Weight: 245 lbs
Age: 24 Experience: 3rd
College: Rutgers

After being released due to injury by the New England Patriots, the Denver Broncos signed Snyder to their practice squad after promoting Vontarrius Dora to the 53-man roster last December. He then signed a reserve/future contract with Denver in January.

Snyder went undrafted in 2015 and has spent time with both the Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins before ending up in Denver.

The Good

Surprisingly, Snyder posted the best 40-yard dash coming out of college of any other inside linebacker currently on the Broncos roster; running a 4.58. His specialty is as a coverage linebacker and blitzing. He posted 6.5 sacks and 18.5 tackles for losses in college, but also 10 pass defenses.

His pro day was particularly impressive:

Snyder's 4.54 seconds in the 40-yard dash would have ranked him second behind Clemson prospect and NFL combine invitee Vic Beasley. His 60-yard shuttle run of 11.41 seconds would put him third.

Snyder's pro shuttle (4.28), vertical leap (35") and 23 reps at 225 pounds in the bench press all rank in the Top 15 at his position.

The Bad

Pro Football Focus was not particularly impressed with his run defense coming out of college. In Denver’s 3-4 alignment, the inside linebacker is key to securing the interior of the run defense as the last line of defense if the middle of the defensive line doesn’t make the stop.

For all his athleticism coming out of college, he has yet to put it all together for more than a fringe roster guy in at the NFL level.

The other thing is Snyder’s injury history. Every season in the NFL has ended with injury and that injury history goes back to college as well. It’s hard to put it all together if you can’t stay healthy long enough to make an impressive.

Quotable

When the Detroit Lions picked him off after the 2015 NFL Draft, they called Bob Fraser at Rutgers to learn more about the player they just signed.

“I said, ‘Bill, look, I really think if the guy is going to make your squad, he’s going to be a good special teams guy because he can run, he’s big and people don’t understand he had this turf toe which slowed him down,’” Fraser said. “He couldn’t push off. So sometimes he couldn’t hit people. He couldn’t plant off it and push, and that’s hard to do out there. That’s not the easiest thing for a linebacker, you know.”

Status

Snyder is an interesting player. He likely won’t make the field on defense, but he has the quickness to excel on special teams and his versatility as a long snapper in college could make him a valuable practice squad candidate as insurance for Casey Krieter, the current Broncos starting long snapper.

I would consider Snyder a long-shot to make the Broncos roster, even for the practice squad. He’ll need to have a really good training camp and emerge from the preseason healthy and having caught the coaching staffs eye. He is 100% heading into camp, so he has a chance to do exactly that.