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Film Room: Analyzing E.J Speed's First Career Start

With star linebacker Darius Leonard out due to Covid-19, reserve player E.J Speed stepped in as the starter. How did the young linebacker perform in his first career start?
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Perhaps the biggest "who?" draft selection of Chris Ballard's tenure, linebacker E.J Speed got his first career start on Saturday in place of Darius Leonard.

It has been quite a journey for the young linebacker in the NFL. Speed was a 5th round selection out of little Tarleton State in the 2019 NFL Draft. It has been a slow process to get him on the field, as he had logged less than 4% of the total defensive snaps the past two seasons.

This year has been a slightly different story, as Speed is up to 14% of the total defensive snaps in 2021. He started his first career game this past Saturday, and he had a largely positive impact on the Colts' win.

In today's film room, I dive into the ups and downs of the young linebacker's start and talk about his long-term potential with the defense.

The Good

Physicality in Run Defense

Playing linebacker in the NFL is a violent, fast job. Linebackers have to be able to quickly diagnose what is happening in front of them, sift through the chaos, and then track down the ball carrier for a minimal gain.

While Speed had some ups and downs in diagnosing proper reads in the run game, I liked how he played fast and physical all game long. This goal line stop is a good example.

He crashes downhill on the outside toss play and gets outside leverage on the tight end that is trying to block him. He keeps moving with the flow of the play while maintaining that outside leverage. Once the ball carrier gets in range, he detaches from the block and makes the goal line stop.

The hardest part about playing linebacker is trusting your reads and trusting the players in front to maintain their gap assignments. Speed does an excellent job on this next clip at staying patient and making a stop in the hole for a minimal gain.

He stays square to the line of scrimmage and doesn't over-commit until the ball carrier begins to work downhill on the draw play. He then finishes it off with a strong tackle to drive the ball carrier back on the play.

Athleticism

Speed is a freaky athlete that ran a 4.6 forty yard dash and a sub-seven second three cone out of college. That movement skill showed up quite a few times on Saturday against the Cardinals.

On this draw play, Speed is able to close the distance between himself and quarterback Kyler Murray in a hurry. Reminder that Murray knifed through this defense for a huge run earlier in the game. Speed makes him look like a normal player with how quick he closes this space.

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Zone Drops/Zone Eyes

A difficult area for young defenders to succeed in is their zone drops/zone eyes. It is certainly an area where players have to get better over time with film work and overall feel on the field.

Speed, however, looked like a veteran in this department. His best play of the game was when he got excellent depth on this mid-zone drop below. He followed Murray's eyes perfectly, dropped into the passing lane, and nearly came away with a huge interception. This is a near perfect rep.

The Bad

Man Coverage

The only notable area of weakness for Speed was when he was asked to line up in straight man to man coverage on Saturday. He was given a tough task of locking down veteran tight end Zach Ertz, and the overall experience of Ertz certainly played a factor here.

On paper, Speed should have no problem covering Ertz one on one. He is the much better athlete with a much longer wingspan. Where Ertz was able to win was in the subtleties of the position.

Ertz used his body to create natural leverage and knock Speed off of his landmark quite a few times. This was a bit of a "welcome to the NFL" for the young linebacker that likely never had to deal with a player as savvy as Ertz in his career.

I anticipate Speed being able to learn from this experience and improve in this area going forward.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I would say this start went better than anybody could have ever  expected for the young linebacker. While he has had two years to sit back and learn the position, it is a much different experience being thrust into the starting lineup against NFL players.

Speed come a long way since his Tarleton State days and appears to only be getting better. This start was a huge positive for him, and the team, and I only see him getting better from here.

You all can firmly count me as part of the E.J Speed bandwagon going forward.


Follow Zach on Twitter @ZachHicks2.

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