NFL Draft 2020 - Football Film Fight Volume 2 Part 5 - Outside Linebackers

Livin' on the Edge - Part I

The designation "Edge" is assigned to off the ball pass rushers at defensive end or outside linebacker.  Despite similar pass rushing duties, the roles are different so we will examine each position separately.  First, we will look at the OLB position and check out DEs in the next post.  Let's get into this Outside Linebacker Football Film Fight!

As always we take the first Mel Kiper post season Top 10 position list (published January 24, 2020 - we will compare his first list with his final list in another post) and pit them against each other head to head.  I view 3 games for each ( preferably, one from 2018 and two from the 2019 season) starting with #9 and #10. Winner moves on to face the next challenger and so on until we get a champion.  

*= In DL group of NFL Combine; ^= Ran the 40 at the Combine;  Ht = Height (inches); Wt = Weight (pound); DNS (Simple Density; highlighted = average range); DNS to Avg (Density + or - Combine LB Average); Sack Concentration = Team providing most sacks and % of total; Expl  =Explosiveness (70 or better is best per Pat Kirwan's formula here); n/a = Expl tests not performed.  

Round 1:  #10 Highsmith vs. #9 Gay

Highsmith Notes:

• Charlotte Career 
• Earned All-American honors as a senior along with All-Conference honors junior and senior years.  
• Career stats: 47 Tackles for Loss (TFL); 21 Sacks, 5 Passes Defended (PD) and 4 Forced Fumbles (FF) over 45 games.
• High School 
• All Conference (Wilmington, NC)
• Team Captain and MVP.

Viewed -  Clemson 2019, Buffalo 2019 and Florida Atlantic 2019 -  Primarily lined up at DE.  Acceptable get off at the LOS.  Can be blocked by a TE.  Does not hold the edge; often crashed in leaving the edge exposed. Think this is because he loses the ball in the backfield and commits w/o knowing who the ball carrier is.  Will work on developing tools -really saw only a sparingly used spin. Ran the 40 and his 4.70 time reflects his speed around the edge. Can use hands to shed blockers more effectively.

Gay Notes:

• Mississippi State Career 
• Started six of a total 31 career games. 
• Tallied 11 TFL, 6 sacks, 4 PD and 2 FF.
• High School 
• Four star prospect rating by multiple recruiting outlets.
• Considered as high as LB3 in his recruiting class. 
• Participated in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
• Also All-State (MS) junior and senior years. 

Viewed - Alabama 2018, Louisville 2019 and Kentucky 2019- Lined up at LB.  Coaches will want to sit him in the film room to look at analyze his pursuit angles in college; getting this corrected will make a huge difference.  Eyes in the backfield but can get frozen on play action.

Winner:   Gay, Jr.

His body of work is limited, which is a concern but he played at a higher competition level with greater intensity.     

Round 2:   Gay, Jr. vs. #8 Jennings

Jennings Notes:

• Alabama Career 
• Ended his campaign with 33.5 TFL, 14.5 sacks, 18 PD and 3 FF over 48 games.
• Rewarded with All-Conference honors his senior year. 
• High School 
•  All-state (AL) senior year playing in the Semper Fidelis All-American Game
• Consensus four start recruit.

Viewed - Ole Miss 2018, South Carolina 2019 and LSU  2019 -  Lined up at end. Smart, strong, disciplined player.  Holds that edge with eyes in the backfield.  Keeps hands moving to shed blocks. FAST get off when he needs it. Effective swim and cut moves.  Excellent in pursuit angles. Understands his role and will take on a block so his teammates can clean up.

Winner: Jennings  

No idea why Jennings is not being talked about more.  This is Danielle Hunter at LSU the year he came out.  Fully understands his assignments and does all the little things right so his numbers are not gaudy but it's clear if he were an exclusive pass rusher, he would have ridiculous numbers.

Round 3:   Jennings vs. #7 Uche

Uche Notes:

• Michigan Career 
• Tallied 19.5 TFL, 15.5 Sacks, 2 PD and 3 FF in a total of 26 games.
• All Conference honors (2019) and team's defensive Player of the Year. 
• High School 
• FL state championship finalist junior and senior years.
• Unanimous three-star prospect.  

Viewed - Ohio State 2018, Iowa 2019 and  Illinois 2019 - Played all over. All about speed but he has power also.  Tends to get absorbed by OL when lined up as DE so more effective from LB position. Eyes in backfield.  Quick around the edge but once larger OL gets hands on him he can be neutralized.

Winner:  Jennings
Uche has a lot of tools to work with but Jennings has a distinct advantage in power. 

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Round 4: Jennings  vs. #6 Okwara

Okwara Notes:  

• Notre Dame Career:
• In 35 games notched 24 TFL, 15.5 sacks and 4 FF.
• Team captain.  
• High School 
• All-region defensive lineman (Charlotte, NC).
• Brother Romeo is ND alum and current NY Giant.

Viewed - Vanderbilt 2018, Georgia 2019 and Virginia 2019 - Lined up mainly at DE.  Will need to fully develop a couple of moves. Coaches will instruct him to use his arms more to keep OL away...too often they get into his chest (per Mockdraftable, his arm length is in the 82nd percentile so this has he has to utilize this strength). Has the tools to be a game wrecker if properly utilized.

Winner:  Jennings 

 Okwara has the physical tools to excel but Jennings is farther up the learning curve at this point.

Round 5:   vs. #5 Weaver

Weaver Notes:  

• Boise State Career 
• 2019 All-American according to multiple outlets; 2019 Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
• Several 2017 All-American accolades.
• During his 40 game career rung up 47.5 TFL, 34 sacks, 6 PD and 3 FF.
• High School 
• Three star recruit out of St Anthony (Long Beach, CA) 
• All Section honors.

Viewed -  Florida State 2019,  Washington 2019 and UNLV 2019 - He plays on the DL and off as a true OLB so, for a big guy, he is an interesting evaluation.  Not to be rude, but based on his DNS/Avg he is 11.2% heavier than the average LB in the Combine group.  There will likely be quicker options for pure OLB in the draft so that will limit where he is selected. Functional but he is a tweener - not sure if he can even add any more bulk.  And if he drops weight, will he lose power?  Some plays will pursue all over the field others he will stand and watch the play. 

Winner:  Jennings

I  like the variety Weaver offers, but wish he would play with more consistent fire and quickness.

Round 6:  Jennings  vs. #4 Lewis

Lewis Notes:

• Alabama Career 
• Productive in the 14 games in which he played as he missed significant time due to injuries in 2017 (arm - missed 10 games) and 2018 (preseason knee kept him out all season) ending his career with 13.5 TFL, 7 sacks and 3 PD.
• Generated 11.5 TFL his final year at Bama his r-Junior year, earning All Conference honors.
• High School
• Five star prospect according to several outlets.
• Was Gatorade Player of the Year (DC).
• Under Armour All-America Game participant. 

Viewed - Georgia 2017,  South Carolina 2019 and Auburn 2019 - Lines up on DL mainly. Engages OL but doesn't have the functional strength to overcome them but also doesn't use the natural speed advantage you might expect. Needs to develop a move or two so he won't have to rely on power. Willing to hold edge but unable to disengage to make plays.

Winner: Jennings
Members of the Tide square off, but it seems the missed time on the practice field may have put Lewis behind Jennings at least for this viewing.

Round 7:   Jennings vs. #3 Baun

Baun Notes:

• Wisconsin Career 
• Generated 30.5 TFL, 15 sacks, 4 PD and 3 FF over 34 games.
• 2019 All American by several outlets.
• High School
• Three star prospect by most outlets.
• All-State (WI) as a QB scoring 94 total TDs over his 22 game career.

Viewed - Penn State 2018, Michigan State 2019 and Nebraska 2019  - Played all over. Prefer him vs run than pass because he lets OL get into his chest. Had success vs blocking TEs/Backs at the college level. Eyes in the backfield but sometimes fooled; needs to find the ball before reacting. Improved strength would help defeat OL since he relies on power more than speed/moves. At OLB, improved year over year in terms of reading plays.

Winner:  Jennings
Baun is a former QB who will make a lot of money for himself this draft on the other side of the ball. If he lands with a team that can work him up he has a great future.
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Round 8: Jennings vs. #2 Chaisson

Chaisson Notes:

• LSU Career 
• Registered stats in 24 games with 19.0 TFL, 9.5 sacks and 4 PD.
• All Conference honors2017 and 2019); Conference Honor Roll every year in attendance.
• Permanent Team Captain (2019).
• High School 
• As high as five star prospect.
• All State (TX) senior year which was only his second year in organized ball.

Viewed - Miami 2018, Texas 2019 and Alabama 2019 - Set up on the defensive line, mainly.   Quick off the line but question the functional strength vs. NFL caliber OL.  Never too late to add moves to the repertoire so next level coaching will be critical.  Wanted to see him use the speed more but he engages much larger OL and doesn't quite yet have the power to disengage.

Winner - Jennings

 I know many have Chaisson as a top 10 pick and the 2nd Edge player off the board but the games viewed show a high ceiling, low floor player which, given he is relatively new to the sport, is not a diss.  

Round 9:   Jennings vs. #1 Simmons

Simmons Notes:

• Clemson Career 
  • Generated stats in 44 games ending his career with 28.5 TFL, 11 sacks, 20 PD and 6 FF.
  • Unanimous All-American and Butkus Award winner as a senior.
  • .
• High School 
  • All-State (KS) as both WR and DB.
  • State champion in the long jump in 2014 and 2015.

Viewed - Notre Dame 2018, North Carolina 2019 and Virginia 2019 -  Well, the kid is a safety.  Let's just put that out in the open and be honest.  He can run all over the field so putting him at WILL is OK but not sure we can expect very much in the way of DE at the next level (outside of stunts and/or blitzes).  This Football Film Fight is about finding the best OLB prospect so I have to judge him on the same standards as I have the other players so his FFF ranking is way different from his eventual draft landing spot.

2020 Outside Linebacker Football Film Fight Champion...

Anfernee Jennings

I know I'm not supposed to think for myself when it comes to draft rankings, but it's clear Jennings has competed at the highest level and has a foundation that NFL coaches can build upon.  He's OLB1.

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