2022 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: LB Channing Tindall, Georgia

We continue our scouting profiles on the loaded Georgia defense by taking a look at Channing Tindall.

Author:
Nick Falato
Publish date:
Feb 28, 2022 8:00 AM EST

Channing Tindall, LB

Height: 6’1”
Weight: 223 lbs.
Class: Senior
School: Georgia
Arm Length: 32 3/8”
Wingspan: 77 1/4”
Hand: 10 1/4”

A former four-star recruit out of Columbia, South Carolina, where he attended Spring Valley High School, Tindall was the third-ranked South Carolina recruit in the 2018 cycle and the fifth-ranked ILB in that class.

He operated as the third linebacker on one of the best defenses in recent college football memory.

Notables

In tackles, Tindall finished third on the Georgia Bulldogs with 67, 7.5 for a loss, 5.5 sacks, and 26 pressures in 2021. Tindall also had 31 STOPS near the line of scrimmage. He concluded his Bulldog career with 108 tackles, 16 for a loss, 12 sacks, and 36 pressures.

Tindall is a rare athlete at the linebacker position; he reportedly jumped a 39.6-vertical in high school. At the Senior Bowl, Daniel Jeremiah compared him to Patrick Willis, the great former San Francisco 49er. There’s a lot of reason for excitement with Tindall, but he’s not a polished product yet.

Strengths

Elite athletic ability for the linebacker position
Rare explosiveness when triggering downhill
Moves well and stays square to the target when flowing laterally
Solid lower-body flexion, can bend
Good play strength with excellent physicality
Is a bull in a china shop, at times
Tough tackler who commands respect
Great pop on contact, large tackle radius, and excellent location skills
Potential to be good in coverage (man or zone), feel isn’t quite there yet
Dynamic blitzing linebacker with excellent acceleration and burst
Has potential to be dynamic SAM in the NFL

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Can Improve

Raw player, needs to be coached up
Eye discipline isn’t refined
Key & diagnose ability is only adequate at the moment
More physical than technical when deconstructing blocks, will get him in trouble at the NFL level
Has all the athletic capabilities to be good in coverage, but he’s not overly instinctive
Spatial awareness is only adequate when in zone
Was in a rotation, and never started a game in his senior season
Has only one year of experience

Summary

Overall, Channing Tindall is an incredible athletic linebacker who plays with elite competitive toughness and physicality. He lacks experience, is raw, and needs coaching on the finer points of playing linebacker (run recognition, block deconstruction, etc.).

Still, the versatility he offers, combined with his rare athletic traits will get him drafted in the top 100. Tindall is a great fit for Wink Martindale’s scheme, and the Giants should be interested in the skills he brings to the table.

GRADE: 6.3