How is Baun different?

Biggest difference is neither Kikaha or Tull played LB in college and had to convert in the pros. Baun plays both, and both at a high level.

Kikaha was an excellent football player who tested poorly and had durability issues that ultimately proved to be his undoing. Even w/average to poor athletic ability, Kikaha managed to play and was transitioning well into the hybrid EDGE/LB role. Flat out, he just got hurt and never recovered. Had he not been cursed by injuries, I'm fairly certain he'd still be here and playing an integral role as our primary EDGE/LB.

Tull was just an uber athlete who feasted on lesser college competition. He was a DE only who we attempted to convert into a LB and he simply couldnt do it. The jump to the pros seemed to be too much for him.

Both Kikaha and Tull had holes in their designs, Kikaha being an average athlete and injury cursed, and Tull being an athlete and not a football player. Only real similarity Baun has w/both those guys are their size and projection as a EDGE/LB. Baun seems like he has both of Kikaha and Tull's best traits, and really none of the negatives that pretty much ended their NFL careers.

On the field, Baun plays crazy fast, he can bend the edge as a pressure player, seek and destroy vs the run, and is really fluid in coverage. It's actually quite impressive to see how much Wiss moved him around and the production Baun amassed for them. On top of that, he proved the onfield athleticism he displayed on film was legit at the Combine. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Baun is the exact guy we thought/wished we had in Kikaha and Tull. I love DJ's Uchenna Nwosu pro comp, but I think Baun's film showed way more versatility and way better instincts and football IQ. To me, I think Baun is a Clay Matthews Jr-type. Deploy him as an EDGE, and he'll generate tons of pressures and get us Sacks. Play Baun as a FORCE/off the ball/read and react LB, and he'll find the ball, kill the carrier, and get us TFLs.

I love Ruiz and the rest of our picks, but Baun is by far my favorite player of this draft class. I believe he's the pick who makes an immediate mark as a rookie.