Is a hard worker who is violent with his hands when working himself free from blocks after the initial surge and showcases the range to make plays away from his frame.
Nevertheless, he really lacks instincts when asked to find the football inside and has a tendency to take himself out of too many plays. Makes the majority of his tackles in the run game 5-plus yards down the field.
Now, does a nice job keeping his pad level down initially off the snap as a pass rusher and can deliver a slight pop on contact when extending his arms into contact.
However, he lacks great lower body strength and doesn't have the type of power to simply drive opposing lineman into the backfield on his bull rush, as he consistently gets engulfed at the point. Displays the flexibility to coil up into his stance and fire off the football with an above-average first step.
But doesn't showcase much in the way of lateral agility as a pass rusher. Nevertheless, he does exhibit the ability to quickly change directions and accelerate on stunts inside and can move with some fluidity when asked to drop off into coverage, he just hasn't put it all together as a pass rusher yet.
Is trying to come back from two ruptured Achilles injuries -one on each leg- he's suffered over the course of one year. Obviously medical is going to be a huge issue with him and it will be interesting to see if he can get back to his 2009 form.
Impression: Has a good looking frame and some intriguing physical attributes, but his lack of lower body strength and power has me worried about how effective he can be at the next level. Now, he does have some burst as a pass rusher and range vs. the run game and should get a shot in an NFL camp as a 3-4-rush guy. However, he needs to prove he can be the guy he was in 2009 and even then he still looks like a fringe roster guy. The cards are stacked against him."