NFL Scouting Report on AJ Edds WTF?

[DuffMan]

Can someone help me understand this? AJ was lauded in while he was here for being able to cover wide receivers in pass coverage but the NLF scouting report is he will struggle covering tight ends one on one... WTF?


From the Conbine Website:
Edds has been a productive three year starter for the Hawkeye defense. He wins with intelligence, toughness, instincts and technique rather than elite athleticism. Edds has decent range in pursuit and is aggressive to the pile. He is effective leveraging tight ends but needs added strength and power to set the edge versus larger offensive lineman. Edds needs to react quicker as route progressions unfold but has enough athleticism and instincts to be an effective zone coverage defender. He may be a liability in man schemes versus athletic tight ends and backs. Edds is a reliable open field tackler but not explosive on contact. Edds is a good football player that will likely contribute on special teams as well as giving valuable depth in his rookie season

 

[tm3308]

Can someone help me understand this? AJ was lauded in while he was here for being able to cover wide receivers in pass coverage but the NLF scouting report is he will struggle covering tight ends one on one... WTF?


From the Conbine Website:
Edds has been a productive three year starter for the Hawkeye defense. He wins with intelligence, toughness, instincts and technique rather than elite athleticism. Edds has decent range in pursuit and is aggressive to the pile. He is effective leveraging tight ends but needs added strength and power to set the edge versus larger offensive lineman. Edds needs to react quicker as route progressions unfold but has enough athleticism and instincts to be an effective zone coverage defender. He may be a liability in man schemes versus athletic tight ends and backs. Edds is a reliable open field tackler but not explosive on contact. Edds is a good football player that will likely contribute on special teams as well as giving valuable depth in his rookie season

Trust the NFL to throw out all the tape on a guy and just look at his numbers in the Combine. Anybody who has watched the kid knows that he can cover wide receivers, so I'm sure he can handle tight ends. But again, that's not how the NFL works, and it IS how guys like Troy Williamson and Derrius Heyward-Bey get picked in the top 10 for millions of dollars.

 

[Rawkhawk73]

Trust the NFL to throw out all the tape on a guy and just look at his numbers in the Combine. Anybody who has watched the kid knows that he can cover wide receivers, so I'm sure he can handle tight ends. But again, that's not how the NFL works, and it IS how guys like Troy Williamson and Derrius Heyward-Bey get picked in the top 10 for millions of dollars.

I actually don't disagree with their assessment. They DID say that Edds would be effective in zone coverages, which he was at Iowa. But I'm not aware of anytime that he was forced to cover TEs or WRs in man coverage and I think he would struggle doing that at the next level.

 

[DaDynasty]

and it IS how guys like Troy Williamson and Derrius Heyward-Bey get picked in the top 10 for millions of dollars.

Who?!?!?!?.... exactly....

 

[tm3308]

I actually don't disagree with their assessment. They DID say that Edds would be effective in zone coverages, which he was at Iowa. But I'm not aware of anytime that he was forced to cover TEs or WRs in man coverage and I think he would struggle doing that at the next level.

Actually, read it all again, and this time with the "Analysis" section included. They say that Edds CAN be an effective zone coverage guy. In the analysis, they say he's not great in zone coverage.

 

[JHHawk]

Edds was good in man to man...and has plenty of tape to show it.
I predict he will be in the NFL for ten years.

 

[hawkeye2188]

I think he will be a good nfl player as well, i do think he can cover wr's man-man and te's man-man however with the te's im not sure he will be able to cover guys like gonzalez, clark or other te's that could play wr.(would be interesting to watch, as i thought it would have been wierd seeing bob sanders whacking greene in the playoffs). The wr's he will be covering will be 3rd or 4th options so he will be good there.

 

[fufred]

AJ Hawk was a very good coverage LB at OSU, in the pros he gets beaten like a drum by TE's. Edds will most likely suffer the same fate. The TE's in the NFL now are to big, fast and athletic to be covered by 95% of the LB's.

 

[hawkinaclownhouse]

AJ Hawk was a very good coverage LB at OSU, in the pros he gets beaten like a drum by TE's. Edds will most likely suffer the same fate. The TE's in the NFL now are to big, fast and athletic to be covered by 95% of the LB's.

I think it is true for the top 20% of the tights ends in the NFL (Vernon Davis, Dallas Clark, etc.) that LB's aren't going to cover those guys. The question is whether he can cover the "normal" tight ends. Based on his tape and his combine times in the 40, short shuttle, and 60 yard shuttle I think Edds has a good shot at covering that type of TE.

 

[boneshq]

i have to disagree with the statement questioning his athleticism. if aj would have been moved down to the will backer, i think we would be talking about a first or second round pick.

 

[NewEraKinnick]

He was pretty dang good at covering College WR's with College QB's throwing the ball.

I'd take a starting "pass catching" TE in the NFL over any college WR right now. So Edds may have troble covering the TE's that get thrown to.

 

[boss]

Can someone help me understand this? AJ was lauded in while he was here for being able to cover wide receivers in pass coverage but the NLF scouting report is he will struggle covering tight ends one on one... WTF?


From the Conbine Website:
Edds has been a productive three year starter for the Hawkeye defense. He wins with intelligence, toughness, instincts and technique rather than elite athleticism. Edds has decent range in pursuit and is aggressive to the pile. He is effective leveraging tight ends but needs added strength and power to set the edge versus larger offensive lineman. Edds needs to react quicker as route progressions unfold but has enough athleticism and instincts to be an effective zone coverage defender. He may be a liability in man schemes versus athletic tight ends and backs. Edds is a reliable open field tackler but not explosive on contact. Edds is a good football player that will likely contribute on special teams as well as giving valuable depth in his rookie season

Every linebacker in the NFL is a liability in man schemes versus athletic tight ends and backs. There are very few who can cover Antonio Gates or Dallas Clark.

 

[DDThompson]

Some good posts here. And I think fair to Edds.

I would agree. The top-tier TEs are difficult for most LB to handle because of speed and are difficult for most safeties to handle because of size.

 

[theboat]

I think someone is going to get very lucky with Edds if he stays healthy. I don't think he will be able to overcome an injury the way Greenway did. I love Angerer, but I just have a feeling that Edds will have the longer, more fruitful career.

 

[ibahawkeye]

I think someone is going to get very lucky with Edds if he stays healthy. I don't think he will be able to overcome an injury the way Greenway did. I love Angerer, but I just have a feeling that Edds will have the longer, more fruitful career.

I agree... as far as a personality and effort, Anger was always one of my favorite hawks but I think Edds is more athletic when it comes to speed and thats why I thought he would make it farther in the NFL.

I hope they both do well though.

 

[Couppee]

Don't forget that KF thought that AJ could have been an NFL TE, had he played that position at Iowa.

 

[SoCalHawkI]

The whole premise of pre-draft scouting reports is 95% psychic reading, 5% true assessment.

As has been proven every year by around 3/4 of the draft, player selection is a crapshoot.

The write-ups being discussed could be compared to daily horoscopes in their universality.

 

[lightning1]

AJ Hawk was a very good coverage LB at OSU, in the pros he gets beaten like a drum by TE's. Edds will most likely suffer the same fate. The TE's in the NFL now are to big, fast and athletic to be covered by 95% of the LB's.

I never considered AJ a great cover LB. I thought Greenway was better in coverage but AJ was better at the point of attack.