Senior Bowl Takeaways: Steelers Get Good Look at Star Defenders
After what was a scorching hot day one of Senior Bowl practice that saw two players leave practice with heat-related issues (cramping, dehydration), it became a cloudy, chilly day with some decent wind that we're more accustomed to seeing with football weather. The Pittsburgh Steelers saw players string consistent practices together and some who didn't do much on day one, really shine today.
Backs on backers
The biggest thing I wanted to check out today versus day one was the linebackers versus the running backs one on one in pass protection, and while this drill favors the linebackers, I thought they were really impressive overall.
SirVocea Dennis of Pitt really stood out, not only in this drill but in scrimmages where he was making plays as the backside pursuit player, making the right run fits. Aubrey Miller Jr. played with a ton of intensity which fed off on other defenders, while Marte Mapu, who is a safety converted to linebacker, was the biggest standout of any player on day two.
Mapu was physical downhill, with no hesitation and his length led to quite a few pass breakups in coverage. If you didn't know who he was coming into today, you do now, and he's someone who has my firm attention.
Tyjae Spears shows a lot of want as a pass protector, but just doesn't quite know the nuances of it all. Saw him duck his head a bit too much, which is never good because you can't see what you're hitting, and just got out powered at the point of attack.
It's tough because he's ripping off explosive play after explosive play at every practice. He's an absolute blur in the open field with special traits as a runner, but pass protection is the key to becoming a three-down back.
Edge defenders in all shapes and sizes
Derrick Hall has probably the most ideal height, weight and length combo that you can ask for an edge rusher. Being only 6'2 allows him to win that natural leverage battle at the point of attack, while his 34-inch arms give him free rein to just get into tackle's chests and control the line of scrimmage. He works everything off that long arm stab. He had a good rep in one on ones where he strung a long arm stab into a swim over. Super twitched up, but not as bendy as you'd expect. Still a promising prospect who's flashed quite a bit as a run defender down in Mobile.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Will McDonald IV is an ultra-twitched-up edge rusher with a 35-inch arm length and bends like gumbo around the corner.
Would not describe him as a pure finesse rusher, but the lack of speed to power is apparent on film and at practices. The thing is he wins with hands, explosive get-off, quickness and bend, which are some of the most sought-after traits that you look for in an edge defender.
He's favored in these one-on-ones versus tackles, but it feels like Darnell Wright, whenever they match up, has had no answer for him whatsoever. He just explodes, and then, if he doesn't counter inside with a spin, he beats the hands and bends through contact at the apex.
He's not a finished product, but the potential is astronomically high, especially if learns how to utilize his length consistently and convert speed to power.
Stanford teammates steal the show
Michael Wilson already made a decent first impression on day one, but with Puka Nacua out on day one, he turned it up to 11.
Just absolutely could not be covered at all in one on ones, mixing some really good variance with his releases like a slide skip and saw him abuse Riley Moss on a post route where he gave the nod outside before bending back inside while attacking the ball in the end zone. Manipulation and finishing the catch were the big parts that stood out with Wilson.
His teammate on the other side at cornerback, Kyu Blu Kelly, also built on a good first impression and was just a fiend around the ball today. From my eyes alone, it looked like he had about five interceptable passes in his area, came down with two and just really showed excellent zone eyes playing the quarterback. He did a good job of staying patient overall in one on ones which was huge for me because I thought on film he had a tendency to open the gate too soon from an off-man alignment, so it was good to see progress towards his faults out here.
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