Category: Scouting Reports – 2014

Stephon Tuitt Scouting Report

Scouting Reports - 2014
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Stephon Tuitt DT Notre Dame #7
Ht: 6’6″
Wt: 304

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Size/Athleticism: Prototypical build for a three-tech interior lineman or a 3-4 end. Long arms allow him to keep physical linemen out of his pads and help him shed blocks. Modest overall athleticism, but fairly impressive for his size. Shows quickness in short bursts.

Run Defense: Can be a dominant anchor. Tough to move off his spot. Keeps his eye on the backfield a quickly sheds blocks to make plays in pursuit.

Pass Rush: Does a great job converting speed to power, especially when lined up on the edge. Has tools to collapse the pocket in a variety of ways. Quick enough to split gaps. Also strong enough and plays with the leverage necessary to bull-rush his way through the line. Long arms and does a nice job getting them up into passing lanes. Quickness and speed are an asset when lined up inside, but he lacks the elite burst to be a consistently effective edge-rusher in a 4-3 scheme.

Intangibles: Questionable and inconsistent work ethic. Dedication and work ethic were praised in high school and early in college, but dropped off prior to 2013 season which led to weight gain and sub-par performance. Weight ballooned up to 328 pounds by end of senior year, but dropped to 304 during NFL Combine. Comes across as a little immature during interviews, in a very innocent and impressionable way. Will need to be surrounded by leaders to ensure he stays focused.

Durability: Doctors discovered a fractured foot at the combine. Suffered a sports hernia in 2012 which required surgery.

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Comments: Tuitt has the tools be elite, but how motivated is he? It was impossible not to notice his weight gain and overall decline in 2013. However, he also had a strong track record of working hard prior to the 2013 season. He may not have been surrounded by the type of leadership he needs at Notre Dame, with fellow lineman Louis Nix also suffering from a questionable work ethic and weight issues. His potential is elite, and if surrounded by the right teammates and coaching staff he could be a dominant lineman in either a 4-3 or 3-4 scheme.

Timmy Jernigan Scouting Report

Scouting Reports - 2014
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Timmy Jernigan DT Florida State #8
Ht: 6’2″
Wt: 299

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Size/Athleticism: Lacks ideal height, length and size. Doesn’t have the length and power to keep offensive linemen from getting into his chest and shutting him down. Doesn’t really look like an athlete. Clearly carries some extra weight that ideally would be converted into muscle.

Run Defense: Struggles at the point of attack due to his lack of elite size and strength. Does a decent job anchoring in one-on-one battles, but lacks the power to ploww through and blow up the play in the backfield. Decent speed and is capable of making some plays in pursuit. Shows the ability to disengage and chase after the ball carrier. Plays smart and seems to consistently keep an eye in the backfield to react to the ball carrier.

Pass Rush: Can be extremely explosive off the snap, but shows very inconsistent snap anticipation. Occasionally flies off the line and gets immediate penetration, but is often the last lineman to react. Impressive closing speed when he’s disengages and has a clean path to the quarterback. Plays out of control and times and loses balance. Has a tendency to get too upright and can be knocked back by a single punch from a powerful offensive lineman. Doesn’t show an array of pass-rush moves and relies heavily on winning with speed off the snap by shooting the gaps.

Intangibles: Conditioning may be an issue. Was noticeably winded and sat out significant portions of the second half of the National Championship Game. Younger than the average prospect, will be a 21-year-old rookie. Only 16 career starts.

Durability: Suffered torn MCL during spring workouts in 2012.

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Comments: Jernigan is an impressive athlete and has potential to impact the game in a variety of ways, but he’s inexperienced and doesn’t have many polished skills which will immediately translate to the NFL. He has a reputation for being immature, and how he interviews could have a dramatic impact on where he goes in the draft. Given this reputation and the amount of refining he needs to do, he clearly falls into the boom-or-bust category.

Dominique Easley Scouting Report

Scouting Reports - 2014
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Dominique Easley DT Minnesota #2
Ht: 6’2″
Wt: 288

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Size/Athleticism: Lacks ideal height and length. Arms are slightly shorter than ideal for his position. Not the type of guy who can greatly impact passing lanes. Weighed in at 288 at the combine, but it’s tough to believe he played at that weight in 2013 based on how he appears on film—likely added weight in offseason and probably needs to add some more. Has experience lining up as a 3-4 end and three-tech interior lineman in the 4-3 set.

Run Defense: Impressive speed to make plays in pursuit. Swallowed up at the point of attack. Lacks the anchor to hold his ground and can be easily pushed around by road grader offensive linemen. Quick enough off the snap to penetrate the gaps and blow up the play in the backfield.

Pass Rush: A pin-your-ears back and fire full speed ahead type interior pass-rusher. Does a nice job staying low and playing with leverage. Stays low, is exceptionally quick off the snap and delivers a nasty initial punch. Consistently blows up the middle of the line, collapsing the pocket and forcing the quarterback to roll out. Lacks dominant strength but shows violent hand fighting technique and can consistently shed blocks.

Intangibles: Team captain in 2013, but reportedly struggled with maturity issues early in his career. Shows a ton of emotion on the field (usually in a positive way) and acts a little bit crazy pre-snap sometimes (waving arms, playing air drums, etc). He’s definitely emotional and a little crazy on the field, but some coaches will love that.

Durability: Suffered torn ACL in both knees in college, one in 2011 and the other in 2013. Missed time with undisclosed injury in 2012. Got into an altercation with an Alabama player after their game in 2011 outside the stadium.

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Comments: I’m admittedly biased towards players with a slightly crazy side who play with consistent positive emotion and relentless effort, and Easley fits that description perfectly. He’s a wild ball of energy from start to finish every game, and while it will lead to some mistakes, it comes from a positive attitude and strong effort. If he can be reined in just a bit, he could further improve his ability to be a disruptive force on the line. But for all the positives Easley brings to the table, the two ACL injuries (in both knees) raise concerns that can’t be overlooked. He’s a first-round talent, but there’s just no way his injury history makes him worth the risk in that range. He may be a Day 2 steal, but the injury history gives him high bust potential.

Ra’Shede Hageman Scouting Report

Scouting Reports - 2014
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Ra’Shede Hageman DT Minnesota #99
Ht: 6’6″
Wt: 310

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Size/Athleticism: Prototypical size and impressive strength. Has experience lining up as the nose tackle and a three-tech in both 3-4 and 4-3 base sets. Originally recruited as a tight end.

Run Defense: Adequate strength to anchor at the point of attack. Takes on a lot of double-teams and is capable of holding his ground, although he lacks the dominant strength to create a disruption against the double-team. Quick off the snap and is capable of splitting the gaps and getting into the backfield. Marginal change-of-direction ability, even for a guy his size, and doesn’t make a ton of plays in the backfield unless the ball carrier is trapped. Makes very few plays in pursuit and only gives a margain effort to chase down the ball carrier.

Pass Rush: Can be extremely explosive off the snap, but shows somewhat inconsistent effort. Does a great job converting speed to power. When linemen attempt to deep set against him he’s capable of generating momentum and delivering a devestating punch. Long arms and does a nice job getting them up into passing lanes. Frequently double-teamed and does a nice job holding his ground, although he rarely splits the double team and isn’t quite dominant enough to quickly shed the double-team and bounce out to a new angle. Struggles to consistently play with leverage and gets stood up and thrown off balance by more polished offensive linemen.

Intangibles: Team captain. Raised in a difficult situation until his mother was arrested and he was found in a crack house closet at the age of four. Put into foster care and eventually adopted. Stayed at Minnesota rather than accept other offers in order to remain close to his adoptive family. Suspended for three games for academic reasons in 2010. Arrested for misdemeanor disorderly conduct at a bar in 2012.

Durability: No known issues. 26 starts over final three seasons.

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Comments: Hageman is a physical specimen who is still getting by with just his raw tools. He needs to refine his technique in order to reach an elite level, but all the talent is there. He explodes off the snap and has the long arms and violent hands to develop into a dominant interior pass-rusher. He can be controlled if the offensive line focuses on him, but even then he’s impacting the game by opening things up for his teammates. He’s not nearly polished enough to be labeled a sure thing, but his upside will almost certainly land him in the first round.

Aaron Donald Scouting Report

Scouting Reports - 2014
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Aaron Donald DT Pittsburgh #87
Ht: 6’1″
Wt: 285

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Size/Athleticism: Lacks the size of a typical interior lineman. Lacks the arm length to make up for his size and keep offensive linemen from getting into his pads. Elite quickness for the position. Has enough speed to make some plays in pursuit.

Run Defense: At his best when he’s able to shoot the gaps and disrupt the play in the backfield. Can get stacked fairly easily and is often shutdown at the point of attack, especially by double teams. Easily moved off his spot at the point of attack by more physically powerful linemen. Has the skills to disengage and makes plays in pursuit when the play is directed away from him. Shows good awareness and reacts quickly.

Pass Rush: Phenomenal first step and can slip into the backfield right off the snap simply by beating the offensive linemen to the gap. Capable of converting speed to power when linemen try to compensate for his speed with a deep set. Get get stonewalled by more physical offensive linemen, but he fights hard and does have the ability to shed blocks. Can be manipulated by savvy offensive linemen when why anticipate the gap he will try to exploit off the snap—he tries to win with pure speed so often, that when a lineman anticipates it, they can use that use that to their advantage and go with him, allowing his momentum to carry him outside.

Intangibles: Hard worker who was praised by coaching staff. Clearly gets the most out of his physical tools. Brother played linebacker at Toledo.

Durability: Missed one game with a knee injury in 2012.

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Comments: Donald gets the most out of his small frame and works hard to do so, but how much more does he have to give? The biggest concern with Donald is that he’s already maxed out his potential. But even if he’s a what-you-see-is-what-you-get prospect, he has a future in the NFL. In the worst case scenario, he can be an effective situational interior pass-rusher and pulled on short-yardage plays in favor of a more stout run defender.