Giants LB Darrian Beavers: Film & First-year Expectations

Nick Falato breaks down Giants' sixth-round pick Darrian Beavers' film.

Darrian Beavers, LB

Height: 6’4

Weight: 237 lbs

Class: Senior

School: Cincinnati

Arm length: 32 ⅜”

Hands: 9 ¾”

A former three-star recruit out of Colerain High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, Beavers was a 6’3, 218-pound safety recruit who was the 157th ranked safety in the 2017 class; he was also the 78th ranked recruit out of Ohio. Beavers initially attended UCONN before transferring to Cincinnati in 2019.

Darrian Beavers Film & First-year Expectations

Notables

Beavers was first-team All-Conference in 2021 after an impressive 102 tackle, 53 STOP, 11.5 TFL, 4.5 sack, 21 pressure, season where he also had four PBUs and two picks. Beavers finished his college career with 230 tackles, 100 STOPS, 27.5 tackles for a loss, 13.5 sacks, three picks, three forced fumbles, and 54 total pressures.

Beavers is a versatile weapon who was used all over the Bearcats’ defense. He can align at EDGE and is an effective inside-the-box linebacker. Beavers had an impressive Reese’s Senior Bowl week before attending the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine. He ran the 40-yard-dash at his Pro Day, the rest of these numbers were from the Combine:

• 40-yard-dash: 4.70s 
• Vertical jump: 36 ½”
• Broad jump: 10’5”
• 3-Cone: 6.91s
• Short-shuttle: 4.28s

 

Strengths

• Excellent size with a thick frame
• Excellent overall play strength - is a thumper
• Shows some twitch in confined spots - solid COD to avoid contact
• A balanced player who can sink and lower his leverage, despite height
• Very good at filling his gap with the timing to maximize a STOP
• Does a good job getting low in the box to avoid OL punches
• Good at stacking & shedding OL who climb up to the second-level
• Times his block absorption well - shocks opponents with his jolt
• Heavy handed
• Very smart - an effective tackle-to-tackle linebacker
• Does a great job working through trash and finding ball carriers from the backside
• Doesn’t over-pursue as the backside defender
• Powerful lower body
• Solid overall tackler, better in pursuit than in space
• Solid in zone coverage with solid overall peripheral vision
• Has pass-rushing upside with solid hand usage - uses good timing/aiming points
• Can set a solid EDGE on the outside
• Elite competitive toughness - resilient whistle to whistle

 

Weaknesses

• Athletic testing doesn’t translate to his tape
• Isn’t very explosive
• Range, gets out-paced to the sideline too often
• Man coverage upside is marginal
• Can be exposed in space

First-year Expectation

Beavers will fight to make the final 53-man roster. His skill-set is translatable to certain packages that Martindale will employ; heavier packages that can use his ability to blitz and twist, while also leveraging his box skills on early downs. 

Beavers will have to make an impact on special teams to stick to the roster while working on the field in certain situations as a SAM that can blitz. His struggles with speed and athletic ability could prevent him from consistently seeing the field.

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