To start this post, I just want to apologize for my lack of activity lately. I did put out a tweet, but for those that don’t use Twitter much, I’ve been sick for the last 10 days with pretty strong Covid-type symptoms (though I’ve tested negative). I started to feel better towards the end of last week but still lacked the energy and ability to concentrate for long enough to watch and write about a player. I’m now mostly recovered, so posts should be coming far more regularly between now and the draft at the end of the month. If there are any players you’d like to see me break down that I haven’t yet, feel free to leave a comment here or message me on Twitter.
My plan for this week is to look at the top two linebacker prospects in Devin Lloyd and Nakobe Dean, and then perhaps move on to LSU cornerback Derek Stingley towards the end of the week as a lot of you asked me about him on twitter last week. I’m still working on a plan for next week, but I was thinking of circling back to cover some WRs I missed like Jameson Williams or some potential second round options for Washington. Again, I’m open to all suggestions, so let me know who you’d like to read about.
For today’s post, I thought I’d look at Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd. Washington still needs a true Mike linebacker and Lloyd is one of the highest rated linebackers in this draft class. So let's take a closer look at his game.
The Utah prospect measured in at 6-foot-3, 235 pounds at the combine, which is remarkably similar to the linebacker Washington drafted in the first-round last year, Jamin Davis. They are a little bit different in terms of play-style though. Davis was a run-and-hit linebacker in college. Lloyd can do that too, he’s certainly athletic enough to play that way, but he’s also more willing to be physical and take on blockers than Davis was in college.
On this play, Stanford looks to run the ball to their right. Lloyd aligns more towards the left side of the line and has the left tackle working up to try and block him on the second level. Lloyd could easily have tried to just avoid the tackle, but instead he embraces the contact and initiates it himself. He makes the first hit, which enables him to stack up the tackle by getting under his pad level and knocking him upwards. From there, Lloyd has control of the block and manages to get off the block to go and make the tackle as the running back cuts into his lane.
I wouldn’t say Lloyd is the most physical linebacker around, but he understands when he needs to engage with blockers and, most importantly, how to get off blocks to go and make a play.
This time, USC runs the ball to the left with the left guard working up to the second level to block Lloyd. Lloyd doesn’t trigger instantly and attack the guard, instead holding his position and allowing the guard to work up towards him. However, when the guard engages, Lloyd gets his hands inside, which allows him to manipulate the block and peek into the backfield to find the running back. As soon as he spots the back bouncing his run to the edge, Lloyd quickly drops his hands and rips through to disengage with the guard and chase down the running back on the edge for another tackle.
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