- Joined
- Apr 7, 2013
- Messages
- 120,029
By Jeff Cavanaugh 5h ago
If you slept through yesterday or went offline around 5:00 p.m. I have a bit of unfortunate news for you this morning. Randy Gregory is suspended indefinitely. Again. You can read all about it here.
For the purposes of this particular article, we’ll spend zero time lamenting what has already happened and move on to what it means. The Cowboys’ pass rush just became a need again. One way or another, sack leader DeMarcus Lawrence will be on the team again. The man with the second-most QB takedowns may not be. That leaves Tyrone Crawford and Jaylon Smith as the team’s second- and third-best pass rushers if we go by last year’s stats.
With that in mind, let’s look for help. Some of it could come through the progression of Dorance Armstrong but I’d like to propose adding another body to the mix to go chase after quarterbacks this fall. Thankfully, we don’t have to go very far to find a candidate I love for this job.
L.J. Collier — Defensive End —#91 — TCU
Height: 6’4
Weight: 278
40-yard dash: 4.84 (estimated)
After studying tape of the TCU product I was shocked I hadn’t heard more about him already. His production isn’t mind-blowing (six sacks, 11.5 tackles for loss) but the traits he shows on film make me hope that he’s available when the 58th pick comes due.
Trait #1 – Pad level and understanding + usage of leverage. Collier is the right defensive end (standing up) on this play.
That is how you make yourself tough to block. The pass set from this Texas left tackle is obviously not a good one, but Collier is going to be the low man and give the blocker very little target area to try and get his hands on. We’ll see how Collier measures at the combine this week, but regardless of height or arm length, he shows the ability to maximize his size by using that inside arm and a proper pad level to give himself a long reach and get in to the blocker’s chest. You can also see an example here for a scouting term you’re sure to hear during the combine this week, ‘converting speed to power.’
Trait #2 – Bend. Collier is the right defensive end on this play.
The majority of these videos show multiple things worth pointing out, but the term ‘bend’ is a huge one for pass rushers. Essentially what we’re looking for is the ability to beat an offensive tackle to the outside and then flatten out that route to get to the quarterback as fast as possible without getting too deep. I wouldn’t say Collier has elite bend but it’s at least passable when combined with the other things he brings to the table. Keep an eye on his time in the 3-cone drill, as it shows NFL teams these rushers’ ability to change direction and bend. His flexibility on this play is solid, especially when you consider he’s lined up directly over the offensive tackle to start the snap.
As a bonus, you can see Collier’s ability to quickly set up a blocker here. His first little move is going to be inside, an attempt to get the tackle off balance. He will then burst to the outside shoulder before tightening the corner to get a hit on Kyler Murray.
Trait #3 – Burst.
That’s our guy with the pink arrow over his head, checking the action in the backfield to see who is going to end up with the ball. He then closes to tackle the running back. Collier can move.
Collier is the right defensive end standing up on this play. He’ll make sure Murray doesn’t keep the ball and then show a really nice burst, closing down the line and hitting Oklahoma’s running back.
Trait #4 – Power.
This is another example of Collier’s ability to set up a blocker with some foot fire. He has a little shimmy to him that makes the tackle wonder if he’s going inside or outside, and while he’s trying to guess which one it is, he gets the answer coming right through his chest. It helps Collier that once again, he’s got his pad level appropriately low and is going to get underneath the blocker. Collier packs a lot of power and can play low even if he starts a play from a standing position.
Trait #5 – Effort.
If you’re a good pass rusher, plays like this will occasionally happen. Collier gets in to the left tackle’s chest and pulls himself through to get towards the quarterback before the pesky left guard offers some assistance to his beaten teammate. Collier gets ping-ponged back to where the tackle has a chance to grab him and make life difficult, but he gets his sack. Collier will scrap to finish his pass rush.
Trait #6 – Timing with hands. Collier is the left defensive end on this play.
This is an underrated but very important trait for pass rushers. They can’t always run around or through blockers, but can give themselves a chance to win by timing up their hands and the offensive lineman’s. The Texas tackle is going to lose because Collier gets the swipe with his hands right on time with the moment when the blocker wants to extend to block him. He has enough shock in his hands and a good sense of timing to make plays like these.
Trait #7 – TJCTER (The Jeff Cavanaugh Tight End Rule). The rule reads as such: ‘Thou shalt not be blocked by tight ends if you are a defensive end.’ L.J. Collier passes this test.
Too many teams line up tight ends to block good defensive ends. It’s one of my pet peeves. West Virginia tried that and the result of the play isn’t what I cared about; I only wanted to see how long the tight end was able to sustain a block on Collier. The answer was zero seconds. He did exactly what every defensive end should do to every tight end in every football game ever; show some pop with his hands and execute a perfect push-pull move to discard the pesky non-offensive lineman.
Summary: L.J. Collier is a really solid pass-rush prospect who has a lot of the traits you’re looking for at the position. He has experience with both his hand on the ground and from a standing position as well as from a three-man and four-man front. He does have room to grow when it comes to consistently staying in fits in the run game and he’ll never be the bendy, blur-around-the-corner sort of rusher. But I could see him spending many years as a good end who is the second-best pass-rusher on an NFL team. I have him graded as an early second-rounder. The Cowboys would be fortunate if he made it to the 58th selection, in which case they should very strongly consider bringing the Fort Worth pass-rusher east to Arlington.
