Courtney Upshaw/DE-OLB/Alabama:
Hard hitter, sure tackler, closes well. Not a great athlete. Burst is just “good enough.” Maintains speed during his rush angle. Doesn’t always time the snap well, which is a problem because he doesn’t have great burst off the snap. Scheme diverse (played as both 3-4 OLB and 4-3 DE). Dropped into coverage very infrequently and never made a visible impact there. Must be taught that skill if he’s going to play in a 3-4. Not always effective enough with block shedding, but is stiff at the point of attack and does a good job of forcing the play back inside where he has help. Could use some more moves as a rusher since he isn’t often going to just blow by his man with speed. Fooled by the option on a few occasions, but other times sniffed it out well. He finds a way to be active in the backfield, both in terms of sacks and run stuffs. However, it’s concerning how many of his sacks came when he either was unblocked or the QB held the ball for 4+ seconds. His game is entirely rooted in physicality. Can be a “hot-and-cold” player. Makes at least a few impact plays in every game. Pick-6 vs. Florida as a rusher. Ball thrown right to him, but he was fighting off a blocker at the same time. Will happily crush someone when given the opportunity to do so. Plays aggressively and with a mean streak. Constantly in pursuit of the ball. Showed an ability to punctuate sacks with forced fumbles. Very good production, but how much of it is the product of being on the best defense in the NCAA? Often battled 1v1; can he be the #1 guy on an NFL team and beat double-teams at the next level? Is his burst good enough to win in the NFL? How much room is there left for him to grow?
Games Watched: Mississippi State, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee
Grade: 6.1