STRENGTHS
LJ is one of these “weird body guys” that play’s bigger than their size because of his long arms, powerful legs, and natural strength to defeat offensive lineman off the snap. LJ is not tall enough to play outside and not big enough to play inside but he does do a good job no matter where you put him on your defensive line. He can easily, stuff the run and does a good job getting into the back field to disrupt the play. LJ Has the natural strength to change the line of scrimmage to his advantage when he is playing on the inside or on the outside. He has enough foot speed to run players down but its his effort that helps him make those plays. Teams will be confused as to how to use his talent but I think LJ is better taking a direct line to the quarterbacks on passing plays and because of his ability to be stout against the run, it would seem to me playing him at a tackle position would be the best use of his developing talents.
CONCERNS
LJ hand usage is poor and inconsistent and he is going no place at the next level unless he improves those techniques. He can be used on the outside to rush the passer but once again he will have to learn power pass rushing techniques to survive as a defensive end in a 4/3 because he lacks the agility to turn the corner, bend and sack the quarterback. Right now, his biggest problem is getting off blocks quicker and finish when rushing the passer. All of that will come from using the correct hand techniques.
TALENT BOARD ROUND 3.44
It’s hard for me to see LJ as anything but a rotation defensive lineman who can play more that one position in multiple styles of defensive fronts. The problem with that is I don’t see him being outstanding in any one position and yet there is this nagging thought, that if he gains a few pounds, he could be a quick, strong, defensive tackle, similar to Warren Sapp or Aaron Darnold. I’m not convince he has that type of quickness but this kid is powerful and if he adds some techniques, he will be very hard to handle inside and that means he has the potential to start and impact. You never know I could be right…
