If you like quality defensive tackle play, Saturday was a treat.
Alabama’s Quinnen Williams put on a performance as good as you’ll ever see from a college DT. Auburn’s Derrick Brown dominated against Texas A&M. Clemson’s Christian Wilkins also put on a tremendous show — aided by his team mate Dexter Lawrence.
Let’s start with Williams.
Alabama beats LSU 29-0
There’s only one team capable of stopping Alabama this year. It’s Clemson. Just put them both in the playoff final now.
Quinnen Williams is a redshirt sophomore and not many Alabama players declare after a single season as a starter. It’ll be interesting to see which way Williams is leaning because against LSU, he was unblockable.
In the first half he took on a double team, disengaged and then sacked the quarterback for a six yard loss. On the second play of the second half he shook off the center with ease and sprinted into the backfield before dumping the QB on his backside.
In possibly the worst play call of the night, LSU had their quarterback run a QB draw up the gut. It was never on. Williams disengaged his blocker with a fantastic pull/push move and hammered the quarterback for a TFL. The same drive was ended when Williams stunted to the right, shoved off the running back’s attempted block and dumped the QB (who had to try and scramble) at the LOS for no gain.
With 1:34 left in the third quarter, Williams worked along the LOS to pursue the running back and hit him out of bounds. It’s an underrated play that teams will love. Having the athleticism and will to get on the move and stretch out running plays (and make the tackle) is a huge plus.
He had his third sack with 14:14 left in the game. Williams swims to get free of the right guard. The center notices the trouble and steps across to help. So Williams swims him too. He gets into the backfield and throws the QB to the ground. The assist goes to Isaiah Buggs for driving a double team into the quarterback from the edge, forcing him up and into the pocket where Williams was waiting.
I’m still not sure Williams will declare. Not many redshirt sophomores leave Alabama. Yet he’s played well enough this year for it to be a consideration. If he does turn pro, he has every chance of being a very early pick on this evidence.
Buggs and Raekwon Davis also played very well. Buggs had numerous pressures off the edge and also worked well on his snaps kicking inside. Davis, in the fourth quarter, drew a holding call and also shook off a block with a great swim move to force a pressure. Davis’ combination of size and athleticism will secure a place in the top half of round one. Buggs looks like a top-50 type.
Last week we highlighted how well Christian Miller is playing. Here he had one terrific rush against the left tackle to force a punt on third down. He exploded off the snap and ran by the LT before he’d even set his feet properly. He had no chance to halt his path to the QB. Miller also had a nice rush right at the end of the game — beating the tackle and hitting the QB from behind to force an incompletion.
Miller is a fantastic athlete with great quickness. He’s someone to keep in your mind. This isn’t a particularly deep draft class and as long as the health checks are right at the combine — Miller could go earlier than many are projecting.
Mack Wilson, the middle linebacker, benefits from Alabama’s talented D-line. He’s always kept clean. It enables him to roam around and make plays. He ended LSU’s final chance of points with a leaping interception in the end zone. It was a remarkable grab. This might be Alabama’s most talented defensive group, even with all the first round picks from previous years.
LSU played the first half against Alabama without Devin White. A dubious targeting call in LSU’s last game ruled him out for the first two quarters. It got worse. Ten minutes into the game, their second best defender — safety Grant Delpit — was flagged for targeting. And yet on review they overturned the call. It felt like a ‘make up’ call for a fortnight ago. Delpit’s hit was worse than White’s. There was absolutely zero reason to overturn it. I don’t want to see Delpit out of the game bu it very much felt like they didn’t want White and Delpit out at the same time. Not that it would’ve made much difference. LSU’s defense is very good but once again they were let down by an impotent offense.
Derrick Brown is legit
In a year dominated by talented defensive linemen, Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown is near the top of the list. He was absolutely fantastic against Texas A&M, ending the game with with a sack and 2.5 TFL’s. That barely tells the story of his great day.
In the first quarter he put two offensive linemen on the turf D.J. Fluker style. He consistently controlled the LOS and carried two blockers. When he left the field for the first time as part of the rotation, Texas A&M immediately had a big gain in the running game.
On one play he drove his blocker deep into the backfield then shook him off with an inside spin move to pressure the quarterback. With 10:32 left in the game, Brown shot the A-gap and was far too quick for the guard who was desperately trying not to hold. He flew into the backfield, forced a bad throw and the subsequent field goal was missed (proving crucial in the end).
With 4:35 left he took on a guard and the full back at the same time and drove both into the running back to make a stop for no gain.
None of this compares to what should’ve been the play of the day. With 2:31 left, Auburn trailed 24-21. They needed a stop to extend the game. Brown engaged the center at the LOS and bull-rushed him seven yards into the backfield. He drove him straight into the QB’s lap. With his left arm he disengages and hits the QB, forcing a fumble. The ball fell right to a team mate on the D-line and somehow (I’m still not sure how) he didn’t manage to fall on the ball allowing a Texas A&M lineman to recover. Auburn still got the ball back and drove downfield to win the game — but this should’ve been the play. It was a major highlight reel moment for Brown and a play NFL teams will salivate over.
After Auburn took the lead 28-24 with seconds to go, Brown stunted to the outside then leapt into the air to tip a swing pass to the sideline for an incompletion.
This was a masterclass. Brown was aggressive, strong and set the tone. He’s quick and mobile for his great size. He can do it all — absorb blocks, line-up at the one, three or five, shoot gaps with quickness and get-off and drive blockers with a terrific bull rush.
He’s a cast-iron high first round pick and thoroughly deserves a home in the top-20.
Clemson quartet continue to wow
Let’s call it the Deshaun Watson effect. A couple of years ago everyone went cold on Watson. People started to knock him and nitpick. He went from possible #1 overall pick to late first rounder (if not worse). The group think was tiresome. Familiarity was breeding contempt.
It happens every year.
Highly touted prospects who return to school create ridiculous expectations. People expect the world. They’ve heard so much about these players, they expect outstanding performances every week. Maybe even every snap.
We’re now seeing the same thing with Clelin Ferrell, Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence. Fantastic prospects who are having great seasons. Yet if you look at the various mock drafts online, you’d think they’d been struggling.
Nonsense.
Today Clemson’s D-line flat out embarrassed Louisville.
Top-45 prospect Austin Bryant started things off with a sack by dominating a tight end. You can’t block Bryant with a TE. For some reason Louisville did it twice early in the game and he won both battles with ease.
Dexter Lawrence quickly followed with a fantastic bull rush, driving the guard into the backfield. Lawrence regularly occupied two blocks to make life easier for his team mates.
On one play with 9:28 left in the first quarter, Clelin Ferrell flew by the left tackle who barely got a finger on him. It was a perfect display of quickness, explosive athleticism and suddenness. Austin Bryant met Ferrell in the backfield after being given the TE as a blocker again. The QB was lucky to dodge both players before being hammered by a linebacker for a two yard loss.
On the next play Christian Wilkins shot through the A gap to make a TFL on the running back. On the same drive, Wilkins shot the B gap and wasn’t fooled by a play-action fake. He used a great rip move to get off his blocker and met the quarterback 10 yards deep in the backfield — forcing a throw away. Clelin Ferrell then blew up a running play, forcing the running back to cut back inside where Christian Wilkins was waiting for another TFL.
With 13:27 left in the second quarter, Wilkins stunted to the outside, got around the right tackle and hit the quarterback forcing a fumble (recovered by Louisville). Wilkins had another TFL when both he and Austin Bryant side-stepped blocks and met the running back in the backfield.
Finally with 13:32 left in the third quarter, Wilkins used a swim move to beat the centre and hit the RB in the backfield for yet another TFL. Two plays later, Wilkins and Ferrell shared a sack. It was a well designed play. Dexter Lawrence worked to the outside from defensive tackle allowing Ferrell to stunt inside. He exploded through the gap created by Lawrence’s unexpected outside move. Wilkins just flat out beat his blocker with speed and a swim move.
If you don’t think these four are playing well and worthy of a high grade, I don’t really know what to say. Ferrell is destined for the top-five. Wilkins is destined for the top-20. Lawrence should be a high pick. Bryant could go in the 25-50 range. Today was a masterclass.
For the second week in a row, Clemson put Wilkins at running back and Lawrence at full back in the red zone. Wilkins scored a touchdown last week. On Saturday it was the turn of Lawrence. He barrelled in for a two-yard score.
Elsewhere…
— Dre’Mont Jones collected another sack in Ohio State’s narrow victory over Nebraska. He’s up to 6.5 for the season — a major improvement on last year.
— Georgia linebacker D’Andre Walker limped out of the Kentucky game early with an ankle injury but thankfully returned to the game. Kentucky’s Josh Allen recovered a fumble following a high snap from the center. He barely had an impact apart from that and on multiple occasions Georgia had success running right at his side of the line (they ended the night with 331 rushing yards). One of the big differences between Walker and Allen is run defense. Walker controls his side of the line, uses his arms well and sets the edge. Allen isn’t as strong vs the run. Georgia DE Jonathan Ledbetter hasn’t had the production this year but he’s a name to keep on your radar. He had his first sack of the season and two TFL’s against Kentucky.
— Drew Lock led Missouri to a big upset win against Florida. He played well. Get ready for the Lock hype. In a year without a clear #1 quarterback, Lock could easily fill the void. Florida’s pass rush was surprisingly stymied by Mizzou, with Jachai Polite recording one TFL and no sacks while Jabari Zuniga didn’t make any plays in the backfield. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson — a safety converted to nickel this year — had seven tackles, a sack and two TFL’s.
— Rashan Gary has missed some time with an injury but he returned against Penn State, recording a couple of tackles. Chase Winovich added to his productive year with another sack, beating the right tackle with a nice B gap pressure. He also recovered a fumble in a blowout win. The combine is vital for Winovich but he looked very quick in this game — quicker than the other times I’ve watched him.
— Zach Allen failed to record a sack or TFL during Boston College’s latest win (vs Virginia Tech) but he did deflect two passes and have two quarterback hurries.
— Florida State lost again but the one consistent performer this year has been Brian Burns. He didn’t record any sacks against NC State but he did manage two TFL’s.
— For the first time this season, Washington State were broadcast on British TV. A lot of people have been asking for a thought on Gardner Minshew recently. It’s my first opportunity to watch him and it’d be unfair to judge solely on one game. There are some things to like. He looks off defenders, makes use of the pocket and seems relatively accurate (although there were some misses too). Yet physically he’s a long way off the ideal, the offense is a whole lot of checkdowns, passes into the flat and bubble screens. You can’t watch this tape and find evidence of 5-7 NFL throws. Minshew appears to have been having a great year and has elevated Washington State and created a high level of excitement in the process. But I’m not sure I just watched a pro quarterback. That said, you’ve got to love his character and energy.
— Washington cornerback Byron Murphy had his first interception of the season against Stanford. Murphy is undersized at CB but he’s sudden, quick to the ball and extremely physical. I’d love to see if he can convert to free safety.
You can now support Seahawks Draft Blog via Patreon by clicking the tab below.
Become a Patron!
