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2019 EDGE Thread

Been watching ND vs CLE of yesterday night looking for the next great prospect Okwara killing some Olinemen.

This is him playing 4t, hands to the ground, sending a gift card to the RT
you´ll find the play at 13:28 of this link



2o3_7O.gif



And remember, I called it first guys lol
 
just made the gif of the play from makeagif because it´s the only gif maker that allows good quality and that while uploading +15 mins videos.

Gif was also visible until I posted. Maybe it´s still a heavy ass file for forums
 
Would like to point out to "thedraftnetwork.com" as one additional knowledgeable source to (cough) steelersdepot.
Just spent a 5 min read on Ferguson and he def looks like a late 1st/early 2nd from what´s written.

Also watched an extended amount of Okwara and Winovich both individual tapes and full games. I saved something like 30 plays that I´ll have to make gifs or take some screens of. Hopefully I´m able to do so in the very next days
 
Finding a way to upload media content is one fucking adventure (not because of the forum itself by any mean). I can only post a handful of gifs as those created from fullgame vids are way too high quality for forums. Later this evening I´m adding which tape and at which exact time you can find those other plays worth of notice.

However, this is a tiny part of my homework on Julian Okwara (Jr, ND)

Games watched:
Stan, NW, Mich, FSt, Pit, BallSt, Cle

While on one hand I´d love to see him declaring early it would be in his own best interest to stay in school one more year, as he should see an increased amount of reps and much lesser competition coming draft day.
I also say this because he was part of a pretty heavy rotation with Hayes (#9), opposed to Kareem (#53, who will also return in 2019). I don´t have the exact snap count but I guess he was at around 50-60%.
One would at first think it´s because of the playcall and because he doesn´t do well on run duties, but his skillset will make you realize he´s more than capable of holding his own and it´s all a matter of keeping your Dlinemen fresh and productive.

One of the things he´ll have to work on the most is the getoff: many times I´ve noticed him reacting late to the snap. It´s not like he lacks explosiveness (heck he´s very damn explosive); I think it all comes down to experience and an increased amount of specific practice.
But once the guy stands off: beware beatches, he turnes his jets on.
It´s not just a speed thing, he has a great understanding of leverage that bodes well with sound technique and timing, transforming a well set punch onto the T chest into powerful bullrushes despite not having the optimal NFL weight yet.
You´ll see him (#42) in the next two selected gifs knocking the OTs off their stance and creating the lane for the teammates to finish on the QB.
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As just mentioned, he´s not only a speed rusher who will try to make a living beating the Ts outside the numbers with low pads and timed rips. He can work through the blocker, which makes him at least a decent run stopper on occasion, despite not being the typical 2 gap defender á la Suggs.

Another striking trait is his acceleration after contact.
Watch him very actively counter inside, slapping the LT hands, slash in B gap and accelerate without apparently lose momentum.
That´s a great show of athleticism, motor and technique.

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Here he benches the LT, absorbs the FB pull to stop the RB progression for a mere 1 yard gain.

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Also displays a good variety of moves: here´s a nice push-pull to beat LT and pressure the QB.

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This said, I see him as a 3-4 OLB with the possibility to bring him inside on blitzes as he´s a very capable gap slasher and uses his hands well to prevent contact.
Might have to add a bit of weight for the pros but has displayed he has enough converted power to be a dangerous pass rusher already.
He´s also very patient while reading the run-option and you got to love some discipline in today´s league.
I´d bet he´s a 1st rounder already but might fall if he declares due to the heavy competition and relatively low amount of snaps. I personally love him as a top 10 already
 
These would be the notes I quickly wrote down for myself in order to quickly find back the plays and get a second look.
They might be subject to excessive excitement or disappointment at first take..that's why I do this at all.


Te'von Coney Vs Stan

00.16 patience, good read and fast reaction on the run option
00.23 rip and great closing angle
3.12 swim inside to avod RT and force RB to the left
4.11 good feeling for the position as he spins back inside as rhe QB steps up
4.50 good speed, explosiveness and hand placement to bring in the pressure
5.00 late reaction off the snap but good speed and slap to cross the RT face
5.17 puts on the jets, very fast and explosive to knock hands away and slash in B gap for FF
5.52 very fast and slap to cross LT face
6.09 late off the snap
6.17 good speed and slap with great closing angle
6.53 great explosion to knoff RT off and pressure the QB


Te'von Coney Vs NW

1.37 bull rush to flesh the QB out of the pocket
2.48 slashes in the gap and absorbs TE pull while performing Tkl
3.39 quick feet and fast spin inside, albeit a tad ineffective
4.07 good getoff pushes off and shoulder dip
6.05 hands on the ground, bullrush
6.38 great speed and explosion to penchpress LT and knock him off his feet
7.13 good pads and timed rip to add pressure
8.04 good speed rip and motor to maintain pursuit angle and sack the QB
8.54 great explosion and motor
9.38 great explosion to shread off 2 blocks and pursuit the QB
10.43 good acceleration and slap to counter inside and force throw
10.52 good speed and angle to take outside lane
10.57 good speed and slap to get around 2 blockers
11.13 great patience and reaction time on the rpo
12.08 creates inside lane by speeding and slapping outside..then comes back inside for strip sack
12.27 good speed and pads to hit the gap..needs double team


Te'von Coney Vs Mich

5.35 good speed and use of the hand to disengage
7.30 Got a little lost dropping back in coverage but good ball tracking to force incompletion
10.20 great getoff and speed..reads well the rpo and qb hit
11.28 non stop motor and gets chipped by TE..then LT + LG to contain him
11.46 chipped by RB then RT + RG and still manages to be in a good position to finish


ND Vs FST

7.23 speed flatterns and closes angle despite LT pushes him in the back
31.45 last one to get off the snap
1.08.30 well timed spin to win inside and pressure
1.15.52 great explosion as he faces double team
1.40.52 late off the snap
1.46.40 good straight line acceleration forcing the QB to anticipate throw
1.59.50 good speed around the edgeand closing angle


ND Vs Pitt
32.10 quick feet and hands to swim inside and pressure QB
44.25 violent and fast club move to hit qb
1.05.28 good technique and upper body steength to sustain and shred block for run stop
1.08.45 same exact play of 1.05.28
1.12.57 nice low pads and hands placement to get push LT and get QB moving out of the pocket
1.29.50 gets overpowered and moved aside by RT
1.41.54 good reaction and angle to get RB in the flat
1.59.41 very active feet and hands to fight through RT for pressure
2.00.24 good use of the hands to pressure inside
2.03.33 quick feet and spin to get inside pressure


ND Vs BallSt

23.15 not particularly fast but well executed rip
1.12.13 good stunt with him slashing quickly in A gap with low pads for QB hit
1.28.16 takes inside lane on run right and gets solid block from TE. Couldn't hold 2 gaps
1.28.35 wrong read on run option
2.15.59 very good bullrush for QB hurry
2.26.14 good bullrush


ND Vs Cle

9.29 drops in coverage and gets in good position but misses tackle as doesn't sink hips and stay patient
13.30 playing 4t hands on the ground. Insane explosiveness to reject RT
28.04 3t hands to the ground. good burst and control of the block. Great motor to pursue the QB and finish
34.17 nice drop in his zone
 
Last edited:

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
I keep going back to Montez sweat, and I can’t fight the feeling that he’s gonna be a legit nfl pass rusher, but for some reason I can’t make myself buy in.

The dudes disengage is excellent and he finishes so well, he has a really solid first step and also anticipates the snap count well, he uses that length well to keep blockers at bay with the inside arm as he turns the tackle and gets hips squared to the qb, he combines an average shoulder dip with a good underhook to keep the blockers outer arm off of him and his length is what makes this work, he does it frequently and does it incredibly well, almost the way Derek Barnett wasn’t flashy but he had that rock solid method of bending the edge that worked so frequently, he didn’t even have to change it up and it still worked and it’s carried over to the nfl, I think sweats skill set is similar, his bend is nowhere near that but he disengages in such an effective way that there just doesn’t appear to be a way to eliminate his rush consistently.

That said, flexibility and change of direction is weak, burst could be better, and he’s still not the biggest or strongest guy.

I’m torn on him but I feel if we drafted him I’d be happy with it and he would work out.
 

Ravensnation5220

Ravens Ring of Honor
I keep going back to Montez sweat, and I can’t fight the feeling that he’s gonna be a legit nfl pass rusher, but for some reason I can’t make myself buy in.

The dudes disengage is excellent and he finishes so well, he has a really solid first step and also anticipates the snap count well, he uses that length well to keep blockers at bay with the inside arm as he turns the tackle and gets hips squared to the qb, he combines an average shoulder dip with a good underhook to keep the blockers outer arm off of him and his length is what makes this work, he does it frequently and does it incredibly well, almost the way Derek Barnett wasn’t flashy but he had that rock solid method of bending the edge that worked so frequently, he didn’t even have to change it up and it still worked and it’s carried over to the nfl, I think sweats skill set is similar, his bend is nowhere near that but he disengages in such an effective way that there just doesn’t appear to be a way to eliminate his rush consistently.

That said, flexibility and change of direction is weak, burst could be better, and he’s still not the biggest or strongest guy.

I’m torn on him but I feel if we drafted him I’d be happy with it and he would work out.
He would fit in that Mcphee ZDS mold of pass rushers we always get although i feel like he has more potential as an edge rusher than both
 

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
He would fit in that Mcphee ZDS mold of pass rushers we always get although i feel like he has more potential as an edge rusher than both
Those guys were movers and rushed from nose/ilb a lot, sweat to me looks more like a pure edge guy. He’s a bender and disengager, not a penetrator or pusher
 

Ravensnation5220

Ravens Ring of Honor
Those guys were movers and rushed from nose/ilb a lot, sweat to me looks more like a pure edge guy. He’s a bender and disengager, not a penetrator or pusher
I dont see a lot of bend out of him. Not saying he cant bend but like you said hes not the most flexible athlete. My point was that if he comes here and develops and adds more muscle he could fill that role and then some. I think hed be more versatile but he just jumps out as a guy that wed develop into that mold for me
 

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
I dont see a lot of bend out of him. Not saying he cant bend but like you said hes not the most flexible athlete. My point was that if he comes here and develops and adds more muscle he could fill that role and then some. I think hed be more versatile but he just jumps out as a guy that wed develop into that mold for me
Bender as in he’s just good at getting around that corner, bend doesn’t necessarily mean flexible bend. Bosa can bend and he’s pretty stiff as well
 
It appears my boy will go back to school. Good for him as it should boost his draft status, coming 2020.


“When I chose to attend Notre Dame over three years ago, I did so with two primary goals in mind. I not only wanted to graduate from the greatest University in the world but I also wanted to do everything I could to help the Fighting Irish win a National Championship.

“After speaking at length with my coaches and family, I’ve decided to return to Notre Dame for my senior year. I’ve simply got too much work left to do. I can’t wait to get back with my brothers and continue the work we started this season.”

As a junior, Okwara recorded 37 tackles, 11.0 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks but also led the country in 3rd and 4th down pressures with 35 according to Pro Football Focus.
 

Jacquouille

Ravens Ring of Honor
Supporter
I'm just going to ask. You can assume we trade back for the sake of it. But how would you feel if our first pick is Chase Winovich?
 

RaineV1

Ravens Ring of Honor
I'm just going to ask. You can assume we trade back for the sake of it. But how would you feel if our first pick is Chase Winovich?
I think he's kinda stiff when coming around the corner. He has potential, but if we're going passrusher early, I want someone with great bend, and someone a bit more athletic. If we can't get Sweat or Polite, I'd rather grab a penetrating DE or rush linebacker later in the draft.
 
I'm just going to ask. You can assume we trade back for the sake of it. But how would you feel if our first pick is Chase Winovich?
Oh..I'd definitely feel good. Of course it always depends on who's still there but he has a fairly high floor. I do have some tapes' notes on him too of course
 

allblackraven

Hall of Famer

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
Obviously Bosa is going number one, and Clowney was the same way in 2014. Of course leading up to the draft, talk started whether the Texans should take Mack over Clowney. Is it going to happen here where it's Allen vs Bosa to decide who goes first overall?

Clowney’s been great for sure but looking back at the 2014 draft the top 4 teams missed compared to almost all of the next 13 picks

Top 4: Clowney, Greg Robinson, Blake Bortles, Sammy Watkins

If you forget justin gilbert at 8 and Ebron at 10 (Ebron’s been fine and better with the colts but not a top 10 pick) and forgive the Ryan shazier pick because of the injury (and he looked elite beforehand)

Then you’ve got:

Khalil Mack, Jake Matthews, Mike Evans, Anthony Barr, Taylor Lewan, Odell Beckham Jr, Aaron Donald, Kyle Fuller, Zach Martin, CJ Mosley

Only 3 of those players (Lewan, Matthews and Barr) haven’t made an all-pro team...

Clowney was great but I’m not sure he’s even top 10 with hindsight - looking back that was an incredible draft for high end talent all the way through
 
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