Category: 2020 Player Profiles

STRENGTHS
Jeff is an aggressive, quality Defensive Back with good overall skills to be effective for the team that selects him. He shows on film the quickness to cover and the decisiveness to make tackles all over the field. He has quick feet and does an excellent job meeting blocks and shedding them to make tackles to his side of the field on sweeps and screens. He fights through blocks better than most cornerbacks in this draft and is a strong, physical defensive player who could be effective inside in the slot as well as outside on the perimeter. Jeff is smart and shows leadership skills through his play on the field and communicates well with his teammates on the field. He can be used in zone coverages because of his high football IQ, aggressiveness to tackle and because he fights through blocks. Jeff should be a quality addition to any team’s defensive backfield.

CONCERNS
The biggest concern I have with Jeff is in his back-pedal, he is on his heels and that usually sends a signal about a player’s balance. That back-pedal issue will be a big problem when he is defending those small, quick receivers unless he can correct it. Jeff will struggle with consistency in coverage if he struggles with correcting his balance issues. He also plays light without much bulk in his lower body and can easily be moved off his defensive line because of this balance issue and that means the bigger receivers will take advantage of that when they go deep.

BOTTOM LINE 2.06
I think Jeff can be an excellent Defensive Back in the right system and the right coach very much like Josh Norman. He has to deal with his balance issues that screw up his backpedal and makes it easy for big receivers to push him off his defensive line but that can be corrected. Jeff looks to be a quality player and maybe a move to safety where he can keep the play in front of him would benefit him. Anyway, you look at it, Jeff would be an excellent addition to any team because he can play more than one position with upper body strength and aggressiveness to tackle and fight through blocks and in Nickel/Dime packages.

STRENGTHS
Noah is that quick-twitch athlete and that makes it easy for him to cover just about any size receiver. He has the strength and bulk to be used inside covering the slot or outside as a pure CB. Noah shows leadership skills and communication skills along with good tackling skills, and because of his speed, quickness, and hands to intercept the ball, Noah could be used as your single free safety also. He is also a weapon as a returner for your special teams. Noah is one of the better cover corners in this draft because of his quick feet and quick hip flip along with the fact that he supports the run. He is also one of the better zone cover DB’s because of his willingness to tackle, his high football IQ and his natural quick twitch athletic talent to react to the play in front of him. Noah attacks a pass or run play like a stinger missile and believe me, most players he tackles feel that stinger.

CONCERNS
Those teams that look at size for their defensive backs will be disappointed and will rate taller cornerbacks higher than Noah, but I’m not them, I know that size may matter in selecting players in the draft but, means nothing once a player hits the field.

BOTTOM LINE 1.83
Noah is an impact player and although he is a smaller type of player than most teams are looking for in the draft, he is tall enough, big enough, skilled and smart enough to cover any size receiver. Noah came into the combine and measured 5’ 10”, 198 lbs. A few years ago, that was a good size but now it’s considered small. Every year as far as I’m concerned, selecting players “early” in the draft is all about how impacting and productive a player will be at the next level and I’m betting Noah will be an impact player for the team that selects him and size will not factor into that impact. Noah’s athletic talent lends itself to any one of the positions in a Defensive Backfield. Add to that, his potential to impact on special teams and I just wonder if his VALUE to impact and play more than one position on your defense, will override his size for some teams? My gut says no so, look at Rob’s board to see the likely round Noah should be selected in and pray your team is smart enough to select him. Remember what I stated before, Noah attacks a pass or run play like a stinger missile and if you don’t know what a stinger missile is, it’s a missile with supersonic speed, agility, and a highly accurate guidance and control system. That’s Noah and that’s how he plays the game.

STRENGTHS
Jaylon has the size, strength and long arms to play more than one position for you in your defensive backfield. He has strong hands and when he wants to, he can shed blocks easily with those strong hands. He can play in press coverage if he gets his hands on the receiver on the line of scrimmage. He is very good when keeping the play in front of him and playing off receivers. He has good hands to make the interception and solid speed to take it back all the way. Jaylon has all the tools to be an excellent defensive back for the team that selects him.

CONCERNS
Jaylon has cover skills but they are limited and not the pure cover corner skills needed for the next level. He is an inconsistent tackler and that makes a move to safety or using him in the slot dicey, to say the least. When he is used in press coverage he needs to get his hands on the receiver at the line and disrupt the route or he struggles. Because of his inconsistent tackling techniques, playing him in zone coverages will be a big question mark also. In his defense, Jaylon has all the tools to be an excellent Defensive Back if he becomes more consistent at the next level.

BOTTOM LINE 2.67
There is nothing wrong with this kid’s overall talent and skill set, he just has to stop listening to others around him telling him he is a great cover corner. He can be a solid cover corner but the truth is he would be a better cover safety if he decides to clean up his tackling and become more consistent. I know the money is at the corner position and I guess that’s what he is thinking but the receivers at the next level are going to eat him up alive because he lacks the true quick hips to change directions. The biggest problem is, he doesn’t see that himself. Against the taller, big receivers, he’s fine and in the red zone, he is good but out in the middle of the field and with his lack of aggressiveness to tackle he will give up big plays and be the cause a lot of penalties. As a safety, he will match up much better as long as he decides that become a better tackler. That will be the key to him becoming, a core player and a fan favorite. I’m not sure who told this kid he was destined to become the next great cover corner but blowing smoke up the proverbial buttocks is not the way I do profiles. I do them from film and this kid could be as good a safety as the Buffalo Bills Safety Jordan Poyer, but as the next great cover corner, my opinion is, he will be average.

STRENGTHS
Cesar is a quick, athletic offensive lineman. He is stout against a bull rush and has the quick feet to handle blocking on passing downs. He has solid lateral agility to help out his fellow lineman when it is needed but his true strengths lie in his athletic ability to combo block and go out to the second level. He does a good job snapping the ball for the shotgun and is quick to get out of his stance to handle those big nose tackles who are ready to plow through him like a snowplow in the dead of winter going 30 miles an hour, clearing the highways in 10 inches of snow. Cesar should be considered as one of the most athletic offensive centers coming out in a draft.

CONCERNS
Cezar is built like a pit bull and although he is athletic he struggles out in the open to change directions. This can be a problem for him at times and cause him to miss or overrun his blocks and causing him to fall off his blocks against Defensive Lineman who have as much athleticism as he has. He also is short and that size ca struggle against Defensive Lineman who shoots the gaps with swim moves.

BOTTOM LINE 3.11
Cesar can play more than one position at the next level but I believe his size and athletic talents are better suited at the guard position rather than the center position. He will need help against a 1 gap defensive scheme and that help will come from a center rather them Cesar being one on one as a center, against that type of scheme. Also, as a guard, his athletic talents can be better used as a pulling guard, for combo blocking, and also sweeps and screens. He will impact more if he is kept on the move and when he needs help a bigger

STRENGTHS
Lucas is a very big and surprisingly athletic offensive lineman. He has solid movement skills and does an excellent job going to the second level with quick feet to make his blocks. He has those long arms that make it difficult for speed pass rushers to get around him and has good size and strength to hold his own against a bull rush. Lucas has the athleticism and is quick enough to get out of his stance, to play more than one position on the offensive line. He has a lot of pride in his play and although he might not fit every type of offensive line scheme for the next level, his effort to succeed on every play is without question.

CONCERNS
Lucas tried playing through an injury this year and has fallen into some very poor habits and techniques. He also is so big and tall that he loses leverage when run blocking and that will be a problem at the next level unless he can learn to lower his pads. Of course, having a hip injury will affect a player’s pass blocking techniques and also causes issues with leverage when run blocking and falling off of blocks. Lucas was carrying to much weight towards the end of the 2019 year and this is an issue too.

BOTTOM LINE 2.72
Looking at the film from one year to the next on Lucas, I saw a significant difference in his pass blocking techniques. Towards the end of the 2019 season, Lucas was back peddling like a defensive back on pass coverage just to get into some sort of position to defend. He also was falling off blocks big time and not staying with blocks. All of this I suspect was because of his hip injury and not the Lucas I saw on film in 2018. Lucas was listed at the combine at 315 lbs but on film this year looked at least in the 340lb range and if I’m correct and he has lost that much weight, that will help Lucas big time at the next level. He is athletic but I’m not convinced even in his 2018 film that he has the ability to dominate against speed pass rushers but for sure I believe once Lucas gets back in shape and uses better techniques, he will become a solid Right Tackle for the team that selects him. You just have to give him some time to develop and improve on the 2018 Lucas and hope the 2019 Lucas was an anomaly. It’s obvious if you look from one year to the next that Lucas was playing hurt and trying to stay on the field when maybe he shouldn’t have.

STRENGTHS
Neville never stops coming off the snap of the ball on every play. He has good, straight-line foot speed and has the size to be a top pass-rushing defensive lineman for the team that selects him. Neville works well with his teammates on the line of scrimmage and because of his size and fierce style of using his hands most teams feel the need to double team him on most downs. His main strength is in his every down, consistent, bullying type, effort, that wears down his opponent and allows Neville to harass the QB in and out of the pocket.

CONCERNS
Neville has talent but it’s locked up in a brain that is not allowing him to reach his full potential. He has DT size and talent but plays like he is a pass-rushing DE. He struggles off the snap of the ball because he stands straight up losing leverage. His hand fighting is relentless but he lacks the strength and leverage to defeat double teams and hold his gap. He also lacks the change of direction talent and lateral agility to be used as a pass rusher on the outside or develop into a power rusher on the outside. In short, Neville has the body type of a Defensive Tackle but plays and thinks he is a pass-rushing Defensive End.

BOTTOM LINE 3.28
Right now, most teams love this kid’s effort on every play and will think of him as a rotational pass rushing DT. He might be able to slim down and learn to be a power pass rusher on the outside or in a 3/4 defensive but because he lacks stoutness against the run and the ability to fire off the line of scrimmage instead of first standing straight, he will struggle to get off the line and impact against the run or the pass. The first thing Neville has to do is, decide the type of player he wants to be. He has good, athletic talent to be a one-gap attack defensive lineman causing havoc in an opponent’s backfield but he has that bad habit of first standing up and then engaging. Standing up like that at the snap of the ball nullifies his athletic quickness and strength. Standing up at the snap also sends a signal that Neville struggles with his balance and that is a problem also. That being said, there is athletic talent, size, and amazing effort on every play to use Neville as a rotation Defensive Lineman
with the developmental potential to become a starting three-down defensive lineman in the right scheme.

STRENGTHS
Siaosi reminds a lot of the Jets Robby Anderson, the good Robby, not the bad one. He has the same build and size, and the same slinky style of running routes. He has excellent hands with a big catch radius. He has that strong, pipe cleaner type of body, that allows him to make acrobatic catches when other receivers would give up on the ball. Siaosi has that sneaky suddenness when he runs routes, that is surprising cornerbacks on how quickly he can cover ground and eat up their cushion when defending him.

CONCERNS
Siaosi has done everything in his power to camouflage his existence for the draft. He played for Utah and then for Utah State. Then, he changed his last name from Wilson to Mariner. He wasn’t invited to the combine or the Senior Bowl or even the Shrine game. As far as medicals or anything else, you guess is as good as mine and yet I still felt the need to profile him.

BOTTOM LINE 3.56
I noticed him only when I turned on the film to evaluate his QB. I tied to ignore him but every time his QB made a play in the passing game Siaosi’s talent was at the end of the pass. I made a mental note and just wanted to see where he would pop up in the draft process. I’m stunned that he wasn’t included in any of it as of this writing so, I started to dig into why. After all, he has the talent and you can’t tell me that when scouts and GM’s went to Utah State to evaluate and analyze his QB that they didn’t notice Siaosi. Either I haven’t got a clue what I’m doing (And we all know that’s not likely) or this kid has a bigger problem that I don’t know about because for sure, he has the size, speed, and ability to play the game at the next level. I mean even if he is slower than the average receiver in this draft, he still has excellent talent to play and at best should have been invited to one of the draft evaluation games. All I can tell you is that Siaosi stood out for me and I don’t doubt that he can become a core receiver if a team selects him but right now I don’t see that happening because so far, he has been left out of the process, so to speak. I would think in the later rounds this kid could be selected or maybe as a priority rookie free agent. For me, I think he has third-round talent but I see no reason to jump and select him that early because of two reasons. First being, there are so many receivers in this draft and the second reason, Siaosi has done everything to camouflaged his talent and I’m not convinced that anyone but me has noticed him, that is, up till now.

STRENGTHS
Tanner is listed as a safety and can play safety but the truth is, he is an impact linebacker pretending to be a safety. He has been a productive player playing the safety position, making plays all over the field. Tanner is athletic, and he showed at the combine the athletic talent that most analysts assumed he did not process because he was playing out of position. He has excellent speed and quickness along with instincts and football intelligence that comes from three years of being a starter at safety. Tanner has the passion to make tackles in the open field and the aggressiveness to finish without committing penalties. He has the hands to make the interception and the cover skills to stay with those big receivers and Tight Ends who line up in the slot. He shows leadership skills through his play on the field making impact plays that will bring his teammates off the bench to watch the replay on the big screen. Tanner reminds me of the Buffalo Bills LB Matt Milano and if you want to use him as a safety instead of a linebacker, I don’t believe that will matter very much because Tanner is just an impact defensive player and the position he plays will not affect that impact.

CONCERNS
Some teams are going to overthink the process and worry about what position he will play and nitpick his talents and that will affect his draft status. I won’t, but they will. Don’t you do that because it doesn’t matter the position he plays because Tanner is a playmaker.

BOTTOM LINE 1.92
Tanner is a playmaker and if you want to make a mistake and label him a tweener or safety who doesn’t have the athleticism to play safety than you run the risk of passing over selecting a playmaker for your defense. Most of the time players like Tanner don’t get selected until the third or fourth round. The Bills Matt Milano didn’t get selected until the 5th round because he too was labeled as a twiner and had a history of injury issues. I know before the combine that Tanner was labeled as a safety who did not have the cover skills. Most were suggesting that he will be a good special team’s player only, but not a starting safety for the next level. Well, I disagree. He forced his way on to the field for his college team making plays and I believe he will do the same thing for the team that selects him as a Weakside linebacker or maybe a safety, who knows, and for that matter, who cares what position he plays. He is smart enough to play multiple positions and athletic enough to play on either side of the ball. I believe once he gets on the field no matter what round he is selected in the will play and have the impact like a player who is picked in the 1st round. That’s what the talent board is all about, not to suggest to you what round a player might be selected in, only to suggest how well he will play and impact for the team that selects him no matter what round. Of course, for me, I would select him as early as the first round but that’s just me, talking to myself.

STRENGTHS
Malik has the size and athletic talent to play more than one position for you in the front seven of your defense. He is sneaky good and can play on or off the line because of his size and high football IQ. Malik has just enough speed and athletic agility to be used in coverage situations close to the line of scrimmage and in zone coverages with his condor like long arms and wingspan, he comes in very handy knocking down balls and intimidating QB’s into hesitating, setting them up for the pass rush to make sacks. He might be one of the smartest defensive players in this draft and a total team player because of his assignment savvy intelligence. Malik has this ghost like ability to sneak past offensive lineman and show up in the backfield, making offensive lineman look at each other and question who was supposed to block him. He is stout against the run and uses his sneaky skills to shed blocks and make tackles without much effort. He has that sneaky ability to all of a sudden appear in the QB’s passing lane when that QB was sure there was no one there. Malik is a ghost and he may disappear from view but he never disappears from being one of the best players on the field.

CONCERNS
Malik is big and tested well at the combine but not many noticed, typical for him. He has good speed but not outstanding speed. He might lack single coverage skills but even that could be debated. He has some hidden developmental talents to rush the passer as a DE in a 4/3 defense. That being said, his movement skills all tested in the high percentile of the LB group. What’s his biggest weakness? Malik is not explosive to the play but he is good and does make plays.

BOTTOM LINE 2.01
I bet you’re asking yourself, what does “assignment, savvy” mean. It means that Malik understands his assignment and his teammate’s assignments and the purpose of calling that particular defensive play at that time it is called in the game. He’s a little bit more than a coach on the field, he’s more like having a computer on the field helping his teammates to understand and accept the coaches call. You won’t see Malik moving players around on the field after a call and his teammates understand that and in not moving players they know that he knows, that the call and the defensive scheme are the keys to this defensive stop. Two players come to mind that had this talent in the past. The Giants LB Harry Carson and the Bills LB Daryl Tally. Both players were not the most athletically talented players on their defensives and yet both LB’s were key players and core players for good defenses that became Super Bowl defenses. As good and as productive as Malik has been as an LB, I can’t help seeing some hidden talent as a DE in a 4/3 defense as maybe, his impact position at the next level. Then again, I’m not a coach, just a profiler and I’m profiling Malik, as a top defensive player in this draft with the ability to impact at more than one position and be a computer on the field. My guess, look for Rob’s board to see what round Malik could be selected in and then, don’t forget where you saw him rated because he could even sneak into the 1st round. Like a ghost. Boo!

STRENGTHS
AJ is a tall, athletic, smooth running, cover corner. He has those long arms that make it easy to trail players in coverage and still make a play on the ball. He has good enough hands to make the interception along with the change of direction skills that will allow him to cover any size receiver at the next level. AJ uses solid techniques and this along with his pure athletic talents and his good football IQ makes him the type of corner who can be used in any style of defensive backfield system. He is a willing tackler when he is left on an island against his opponent but cautious also. AJ has the potential to be a pure perimeter, cover corner for the team that selects him.

CONCERNS
AJ is a willing tackler when he has to be, but at the same time, a sloppy tackler and that will not do at the next level. He has to improve mentally and physically in this area. He also needs to get stronger and not allow receivers to push him off his coverage. He relies too much on his athleticism to cover and not enough on techniques. He must get stronger in his upper and lower body and more physical if he wants to be a true cover corner for the team that selects him. He seems to lack that alpha dog mentality when he plays the top dog receiver of his opponents’ team.

BOTTOM LINE 2.06
AJ has all the athletic talent, and size to be a top-flight cover corner but needs to work harder on believing that himself. This could come with maturity but most likely he will struggle and give up the big play until it happens. For the purposes of this draft, AJ projects as a number two corner with development talents to become a number one cover corner. It’s hard to change a player’s natural tendencies in their mental makeup but for AJ you have to guess that the alpha dog is just waiting to emerge with a little cattle prodding. Selecting AJ too early and expecting him to change overnight is expecting too much but, selecting him a little later and bringing him along slowly, might be the better plan to discovering and seeing that alpha dog come alive. It happened to Patriots Stephon Gilmore. He got selected early by the Buffalo Bills and could not overcome poor coaching and being pushed on to the field too early. Stephon went to the Patriots and he came out of his cocoon and the alpha dog emerged just like I profiled it would in the 2012 Draft. Let AJ be the number 2 corner until he is ready to be the number 1 alpha dog cover corner. Trust me he will show you when he is ready in his play, just like Stephon did in the 2017 season for the Patriots after it took him a full four years with the Bills to show it. He was average with the Bills, impacting with the Patriots.

STRENGTHS
Logan is a tackling machine with excellent natural strength. He has the good foot speed and an excellent burst to the ball. He is patient, waiting for the play to develop in front of him before committing to it but when he does, he commits and finishes. He can play inside or outside because of his high football IQ. He can be used to blitz off the line of scrimmage because of his burst and quickness. He can meet bigger offensive lineman, shed and make tackles in fact, I have seen him on film explode through a whole and put offensive lineman on their backs with little effort while moving to fill his gap and make a tackle. He shows leadership skills and communicates well with his teammates. Logan does a good job in zone converge and I suspect he will do a good job in single coverage if the defense calls for it. Logan is underrated right now but I suspect after he works out at the combine that will all change.

CONCERNS
Logan has to prove that he has some cover skills. He will also have to run a solid or better than solid 40 time or most teams will think he is just a 2 down linebacker or just a special team’s player. His workout at the combine will be the deciding factor for sure. From what I see in the film I don’t think the combine is going to be a problem. Logan is more athletic than most think.

BOTTOM LINE 2.67
When you look up online, (or in a dictionary Yup, they still have them in the library) for the definition of the linebacker position, I suspect you will see Logan’s face beside the definition of the standard. Logan is smart and athletic and has the natural strength to handle the linebacker position in any style of defense. I suspect putting 4 big defensive linemen in front of him and letting him run to the play will allow him to impact more than, taking on those big-bodied offensive linemen, shedding and then making plays but you never know for sure. The key to Logan playing the inside position or if he is more of an outside linebacker will have everything to do with his 40 time in the combine. That forty times will affect his draft status and also will affect his ability to play linebacker in any style of defense. That 40 time will also decide if Logan will be considered as an every-down linebacker or if he will just be a 2 down linebacker having to come off the field on passing downs. That being said, I believe that once Logan gets on the field he should become a core player for your defense and a fan favorite for years to come.