Welcome back to Two-look Tuesday! Here at Buffalo Rumblings, we like to keep an open mind on 2016 NFL Draft prospects, knowing that there are members of the writing staff and community with different backgrounds and skills to collectively evaluate. That's why we're bringing in guests to help break down prospects for you.
This is a stream-of-consciousness series, where two viewers watch the same cut-up, write notes as we're viewing, and then deliver some short thoughts following the conclusion of the game. Two people may watch the same video and come out with different conclusions - or they may find themselves in total agreement. With the added perspective, we hope you'll join in with your own thoughts on the players we scout.
This week's guest is Buffalo Rumblings commenter Grif, one of the omnipresent commenters in any draft discussion on the site. Grif has been following the NFL Draft for a number of years, and we're happy to collaborate with him this offseason. We both watched Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright's game against UCLA, and it was our first viewing of that game. Grif's notes come first, and mine follow. Read the notes, watch the game if you'd like, and share your own thoughts below!
Grif's notes
- Quarterback sneak by UCLA, helps clean up the tackle
- Lined up as pass rusher, gets stonewalled and pushed past quarterback
- Shoots the gap on a run, running back runs through another gap but Wright hustles and makes a downfield tackle
- Delayed pass rush up the middle, successfully blocked by the guard
- Shoots gap, successfully popped by the fullback
- Successfully pushes running back inside on a stretch run
- Helps stretch a run out to the sideline and makes tackle
- Delayed blitz up the middle, doesn't arrive at the quarterback in time
- Takes on the fullback, successfully disengages to help tackle the running back for a two-yard gain
- Tackles the back in space on a check-down pass play
- Missed open field tackle on a check-down, back gains first down, Wright left his feet to make the tackle
- Earns an offside penalty on a blitz up the middle; too aggressive and couldn't stop his momentum
- Sheds block but misses tackle on running back in the hole, back then scores; tried to tackle too high
- Takes on block, misses arm tackle
- Lined up as pass rusher, stonewalled by the tackle
- Sifts through interior traffic and makes tackle
- Shoots gap on the goal line, pushes the running back out wide where he scores
- Lines up out wide, makes tackle on in the backfield
- Successfully blocked in the hole by the pulling guard
- Misses another tackle in the hole
- Misses tackle on a run by the quarterback in the open field, difficult tackle to make
- Lines up as pass rusher, shoots a gap but back runs out wide
- Successfully blocked by a guard at the second level
- Stacks a guard with one had, makes a tackle with the other
- Shoots wrong gap, running back runs through another gap and scores
Pros: Versatile, shows initial burst when lined up on the edge, shows a willingness to take on blocks, good hustle, solid upper body strength, shows good hand usage when taking on blocks, diagnoses runs well.
Cons: Lacks fluid hips and pass rush moves to really threaten on the edge, faster running in a straight line than left to right, more quick than fast, tackles too high (arm length?), was only in coverage a couple times, needs more patience, lacks great size.
Verdict: Wright is a polarizing prospect in the draft community. After watching his game against UCLA, I can see why. Wright's good qualities are very obvious, and they showed up in this game; he's quick, versatile, hustles, and can successfully take on blocks. Equally, he also demonstrated a lot of negatives to his game; he's overly aggressive, isn't a solid tackler, and commits to shooting gaps too quickly. I generally see a smart prospect that needs to demonstrate more patience and discipline in both his assignments and his fundamentals. He would fit in an aggressive 4-3 or 3-4 defense that asks its linebackers to shoot gaps and make tackles behind the line of scrimmage. In my eyes, Wright is a third- or fourth-round prospect with starter upside.
Dan's notes
- I'm coming into this Wright video close to blind; I know Wright is being projected at linebacker, but that he had ridiculous sack numbers in 2014; I also know he was injured for a large part of 2015
- Second play from scrimmage, Wright's playing end with his hand in the dirt
- He spent some time tangled with the tackle and came free, but ultimately the quarterback moved away from him and wasn't pressured
- Playing inside, was in man coverage on the back, blitzed when the back was pass protecting
- Totally blocked away by the fullback on a Perkins run from the Mike spot
- Back to Mike on the next drive, looks like that's his home. Not fooled by fake throw, but overshot the running back
- Did a good job slapping a guard's hand away on a blitz, but was too deep to affect the throw
- Gets his arms up in passing lanes when he knows he won't make it home on a blitz
- Nice play on 1st and 10 at 5:07 Q1. Takes on fullback block, disengages, wraps up runner with one arm and drags him down
- 3rd and 4, fakes the blitz pre-snap then in man coverage on Perkins
- Can't hit runner on the edge, tackle broken for first down. Perkins is a great player, but you still want to see Wright faster than that
- Then Perkins breaks two more tackles on that run. Stud
- It was a pretty far distance to run, looking at the end zone view. And the announcers mention that Wright had an injury he was recovering from that held him back
- Start of the second quarter, Wright was called offside
- 2nd and 3, Wright does a good job shedding the lineman's block and wraps up Perkins, but Perkins sheds the tackle and nearly runs in another touchdown. Half Perkins being great, half Wright not playing well
- 3rd and 3 near the end zone, they drop eight, Wright in the middle, offense throws a fade for a TD and no one in Wright's zone. Shrug
- Next play Wright again sheds the fullback block and then is grasping at air as Perkins defeats any possible tackle attempt
- 3rd and 14 and Scooby is blitzing as an end. Good hand movements, but the tackle is all over it. Didn't see any significant power from Wright
- Wright follows the Perkins run well and wraps him up for a medium gain
- Starks TD: Pretty much every lineman won his matchup on that play. Not directly Wright's responsibility, but he didn't blow the play up either
- It's almost halftime and already 35-14 in favor of UCLA. This was a rough game for Arizona all around
- 3rd and goal, Wright attacks one gap, Perkins attacks the other, and it's a TD. The play before, Wright wrapped up Perkins for a short gain
- Lining up at end on 3rd and 21, a nice counter step and swim move earn Wright a TFL
- I'm not sure who, I think it's Sam linebacker 44, he's doing outstanding timing his blitzes. Notable difference from Wright's timing
- Wright again blocked away by the fullback on 2nd and 10. Looks like he's lacking the core power to anchor himself
- Perkins runs for first down on 3rd and 2 and again Wright is too slow to make it to the sideline for the saving tackle
- Wright generally looks like he knows what he's doing when he drops into coverage. Can drop to depth, but hasn't been asked to cover any receivers in man coverage
- Wright diagnoses a bubble screen fairly quick
- Another slipped tackle from Wright by Perkins
- Wright just got juked by Rosen and gave up a first down run on a scramble
- 3rd and 17 and UCLA hands off to Perkins, Wright blocked away again
- 1st and 10, Wright is double teamed by two linemen
- On 2nd and 7, Wright came up and gave a nice pop into a pulling guard. Maybe he has some power hiding in his frame yet?
- Wright is being ignored in the middle. UCLA is attacking the sidelines, and if they run up the middle, Wright is wham-blocked away
- 3rd and 9, playing end, Wright rushes the passer, but on what looked like a draw play the running back breaks past him and picks up a huge gain
- Wright with a good job extending his arm to stay disengaged with a lineman and make the tackle
- Wright attacked too far to the right and left a hole open up the middle for the runner to score. I think it's about 56 points for UCLA now, and that was the last play
On the upside, I know that Wright diagnoses plays pretty well and that he uses his hands effectively when engaged with blockers. I like that he can play with his hand in the dirt if the scheme asks for it, and that he can drop into coverage. However, he didn't look especially fast to the sideline, and didn't display consistent core power against fullbacks and linemen. Also concerning was how often he lost one-on-one against Paul Perkins (whom admittedly, I really like). I understand that Wright's sophomore season was tremendous statistically, and that he was injury-plagued in the 2015 season, but viewing this game, I would probably be giving him third-day consideration. I really need to see other, better games.