Wolf Tackle ~ Kentavius Street ~ North Carolina State WolfPack ~ 6021/280
Old Roles are getting dramatically transformed, and virtually every Front 7 ~ or Front 6!! ~ Defensive Job Description is transitioning into an Hybrid Role where the Defender is asked to excel in multiple Roles and in multiple Fronts.
For that reason, and in order to offer NomenClature that speaks not to archaic, obsolete "Positions", but rather to Skill Sets that accurately reflect the dynamic Changes of the 21st Century Game and the Roles they have spawned, I have undertaken to craft Terminology that is designed to break Skill Sets down as they really are.
Defensive Coordinators have, since Time Immemorial, employed highly creative terminology in devising Defenses and in designating Assignments. In that Spirit, I have admittedly indulged myself considerably in devising the following NomenClature. It is undeniably colorful, but I like to think that there's an underlying Logic, as well:
Wolves ~ Wolves are the smaller, faster Defensive Tackles. Whereas Grizzlies will generally be counted on to command Double Teams and stop the Inside Run, Wolves will usually be asked to penetrate the Pocket and disrupt, especially against the Pass. The Prototype would be somewhere around 6015/300 or less, and they're getting smaller.
Of course, where and how any given Coach chooses to deploy his Players is his Business. Players that I characterize as Wolves may often or even routinely line up anywhere, on any given Down. My only purpose is simply to identify what I perceive as Skill Sets, to distinguish types, if you will, and perhaps create a universal Point of Reference.
When evaluating Wolves, this is how I break down the Attributes to which I pay most particular attention:
Power: Above all: Core Power. Torso Power is important, but Core Power, from the Knees to the Ribs, is absolutely crucial. All the Torso Power in the world will still fail if you simply can't dig in your Heels. But Core Power enables an Offensive Lineman to project Power in the Running Game and to reject Power in the Passing Game.
Agility: Launch Velocity, Acceleration, and, above all: Fluidity or Core Agility, which, I believe, is even more essential to sustained good Health ~ and to sustained good FootBall ~ than Core Power. The ability to react with Serpentine smoothness is a tremendous Asset in all Aspects of the Game, and certainly in the Hand to Hand Combat that characterizes Trench Warfare. All the Power in the World goes only so far if you're lurching around like FrankenStein.
Frame: Vertical Leverage, Hands, Arm Length, and WingSpan.
Combat Skills: Vertical Leverage, Paw Positioning, Paw Persistence, and FootWork. Above all: Pass Rush Repertoire.
Processing Speed: How quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to the Rapidly Roiling Tactical LandScape!!
Motor: Intensity and Stamina: How much Work has been put into Conditioning, and how it manifests itself.
Run Defense: All the Above, applied.
Pass Rush: Ditto.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
Power
* Core Power ~ lower body Power. Core Power trumps Torso Power. Tyrannosaurus Rex had exceptional Core Power.
* Torso Power ~ upper Body Power. Important, but not crucial. T Rex had lousy Torso Power...yet was King.
* Anchoring Strength against the Run.
* Drive Power, Rushing the Passer.
Agility
* Fluidity, above all things: Core Agility & Flexibility makes everything possible.
* Launch Velocity ~ Speed into Contact off the Snap.
* Acceleration ~ Short Speed or Quickness.
Frame
* Vertical Leverage. Height is crucial, but it's actually better, I believe, to be an Inch shorter than an Inch Taller.
* Hands. The larger the better, generally, but compact is never a bad Attribute in The Trenches.
* Arm Length. Absolutely crucial. He who boasts the longer Arms initiates Combat.
* WingSpan. Arm Length + Torso Width. A more complete Measurement.
Combat Skills
* Lateral Leverage. Angles. Getting Square or better with the Target.
* Paw Positioning ~ It's all about Angles & Leverage.
* Paw Persistence ~ RPMs: Activity & Persistence.
* FootWork ~ RPMs: Activity & Persistence.
* Pass Rush Repertoire: Variety.
Processing Speed
* Reading & Reacting to Offensive Blocking Schemes with Speed & Precision.
* Field Vision: Finding Targets & approaching them effectively.
Motor
* Intensity.
* Stamina.
Power: 90. Tremendous Power throughout, and outstanding Core Power in particular. He played mostly Defensive End at North Carolina State ~ usually Left End ~ but possesses more than enough Power for the Trenches.
Agility: 66. Excellent Launch Velocity and tremendous Acceleration. Mediocre Fluidity. Like most Work Out Warriors, Street has sacrificed Core Agility for Core Power and thus damaged his Fluidity. But he is explosive.
Frame: 40. His Height is fine, and his WingSpan is sufficient for playing Tackle, but a Liability when he plays End.
Combat Skills: 33. Solid Paw Positioning and adequate FootWork, but his Paw Persistence is lacking, and his Lateral Leverage is awful. Consequently, he rarely disengages successfully from a Block, and often surges recklessly in no particular direction, taking himself out of the Play and sometimes opening up gaping holes in the Pocket.
Processing Speed: 33. Too many Plays where he seems a tick behind.
Motor: 33. His Conditioning and Stamina is impressive, but his Intensity seems to be severely lacking.
Run Defense: 66. Excellent at The Point of Attack. When he knows it's a Run, he sets a strong Anchor. Potentially excellent In Pursuit, if his Motor and Field Vision can catch up with his Conditioning and Speed.
Pass Rush: 33. He's got the Power, Launch Velocity, and Closing Speed to excel as an inside Pass Rusher, perhaps even to dominate, but he's got a long ways to go with his Combat Skills before he accomplishes that.
Red Flag: Street had the horrific misfortune of tearing an ACL during a private workout, this Spring. That effectively sets a torch to the 2018 campaign, while rendering 2019 one of those Tack It Through The Gears Years. If the Miners are smart, they'll book the Loss and accept it, rather than try to rush'm back. If so, that's effectively just the one lost year, as you generally expect a Training Year to need to be invested with most Draft Picks, anyway. But it affects Value.
Ceiling? If his admirably intense work out habits translate to the Field of Battle in the Future ~ meaning: if his Intensity begins to match it ~ and if his Combat Skills and Field Vision improve dramatically, Street has the Launch Velocity, Power, and Acceleration to develop into one of the most dangerous interior Pass Rushers on the planet...and he's already a stout Point of Attack Run Defender and could be an overall great Run Defender, if he's ever able to get his Processing Speed to synchronize with his Foot Speed in Run Defense In Pursuit. So his Ceiling is Beast. 1st Rounder.
Floor? Reserve. 6th/7th Rounder. Right now, he's all Thunder and no Lightning: All the Power and Straight Line Speed in the world, but very little production at North Carolina State, despite all the one on one Blocks that Bradley Chubb and that talented crew freed him up for. If he doesn't enormously improve his Combat Skills and Field Vision, to say nothing of his problems with channeling all that weight room Intensity onto the Field of Battle, he'll never pay off.
Risk/Reward Ratio? Sketchy, my friends. Sketchy. I see little in Street's Field Vision, Processing Speed, raw Combat Skills, or Motor to persuade me that he's a strong bet to take on the colossal load of Work, Time, and Training that he's going to need to put in to become All That He Can Be, nor possessed of the intensive FootBall Intelligence that he's going to need to possess to translate all that Work, Time, and Training successfully and functionally onto the Field of Battle.
Thank you so very much, Draft BreakDown, without whom my Work would be virtually impossible.
Market Value #128 | Yankee Grade 4th/5th Round |
Please also note, Fellow FootBall Fiends: These CyberScouting Reports are not intended as predictions of success or failure, but as assessments ~ ludicrously amateurish assessments ~ of potential success. FootBall is a rough and often unfair business, and many a worthy Prospect has fallen far short of his potential, sometimes not because of his own failings, but because of those of coaching, scheme, timing...or because huge investments were made on other Prospects.
In other words: If any of my Super Dooper Deeper Sleepers ever fail to fulfill their vast potential, I’m confident that it goes without saying that it wasn’t their fault…or mine!!...Yes, I think that I'm being funny.
In other words: Caveat Emptor, Fellow FootBall Fiends!!
Enter at your own risk!!