Athleticism: 6.47

Q.A.B. / C.O.D.: 6.50

Displays very tight hips and a slow reaction time. Possesses good footwork and shows solid lateral movement when scraping at the line of scrimmage to find the ball carrier. High pass routinely gives leverage to blockers. Can move sideline-to-sideline with good speed. He's not the most athletic prospect on the field.

Flexibility: 5.40

Consistently enters contact with high pads and gives away leverage. He possesses tight hips and undesirable movement ability for his size. Very stiff runner who runs straight up when in pursuit.

Explosiveness: 6.30

Has a solid first step when his sole requirement is to attack rather than process the play. Not very explosive in playing ability. Can provide a powerful pop in contact when engaging the ball carrier.

Playing Speed: 6.80

Not the fastest athlete, and the move from safety to linebacker wasn't a surprise. He can move sideline-to-sideline, but he struggles to consistently make it to the boundary and ultimately ends up in pursuit to often. Hesitation is an issue, as he is slow to diagnose plays. Can chase down runners in the open field and on special teams.

Coordination: 6.50

His footwork and size help him stay balanced when attacking the ball. Can get thrown from his intended route to easily once engaged in a block. Won't get tripped up by fallen bodies.

Position Versatility: 7.30

He has experience at safety and has shown promise as a developmental edge rusher as an outside backer coming out of a two point stance. If he can improve his play recognition and timing, Pratt could morph into a swiss-army knife type of player. His tight hips, hesitation and lack of play strength complicate his overall ability.

Pass Rush Ability: 5.20

Initial Quickness: 5.70

He has a solid first step when he can freely attack the ball, but struggles and hesitates prior to bursting out of his stance while processing the play. Has a nice initial burst of acceleration when driving down-hill or attacking as a predetermined blitzer. His mental processing severely limits his ability.

Rush with Leverage: 5.20

He utilizes high pads and consistently gets bullied in contact losing leverage immediately. He struggles to maintain his base and can get glued to blockers very easily. Will get pushed from his intended line and out of the play.

Pass Rush Moves: 5.00

He attempts to use his speed-to-power rush and doesn't have a plan of attack when rushing. In delayed rushing scenarios, he demonstrates good burst, but struggles with timing and will often run into contact.

Pressure Consistency: 4.90

Shows marginal ability as a pass rusher and won't cause pressure very often. Needs to be utilized as a delayed blitzer with a straight path to the quarterback.

Coverage: 5.98

Pass Drops: 6.30

Familiar in pass drops from his experience at safety. Displays very tight hips, and labors in his backpedal often compromising his technique.

Coverage Awareness: 6.00

Can get lost in a crowd and takes time to decipher a play. Will often be late to cover his zone.

M/M Coverage: 5.60

Extremely tight hips limit his mobility. Has the speed and size to cover backs out of the backfield and tight ends across the middle. Needs to trust his eyes more and learn to mirror movement from targets.

Zone Coverage: 6.00

He hesitates while processing the play and can be late to cover the receiver who crosses into his zone. Has shown the capability to read the QBs eyes, but doesn't do it consistently. Feel for route development is shaky. He doesn't offer a lot of anticipation.

Against The Run: 7.06

Play with Leverage: 5.70

He runs into contact with an upright posture giving away leverage immediately. Struggles to disengage once locked and glued to an opponent.

Stack and Shed: 6.50

Shows solid ability to scrape along the line and make plays on the ball carrier. Can struggle to find the ball and can get locked to blockers. Rarely uses his arm length to avoid lineman punching his chest.

Run at Him: 7.40

Strong at the point of attack capable of exploding through ball carriers with power behind his pads. Will occupy a hole and take it over. Can be slow to the hole and midread snaps. Will overextend and lose leverage allowing a cutback lane to surface. Will find a way into the play and attack the ball carrier.

Runs Away: 6.90

Shows good ability to chase down ball carriers in pursuit. Can play fast when given the opportunity to immediately attack the ball at the snap.

Tackling/Hitting: 8.80

Strong and powerful tackler who can explode through his pads. Uses fundamental technique to wrap and roll runners to the turf.

Competitiveness: 7.23

Toughness: 7.60

Big strong body with excellent size. Functional play strength is an issue, and he frequently fails to effectively attack gaps due to high pads and a lack of lower body power.

Production: 7.30

Very good production for a player who switched positions midway through his college career. Versatile athlete who could provide a backup role as a run-down backer.

Consistency/Motor: 6.80

Effort is admirable. He consistently presses with urgency away from the ball to find a way into the play.

Intelligence: 6.37

Instincts: 5.50

Hesitates and fails to trust his eyes. Takes a second to diagnose plays from the inside and won't always find the ball in traffic.

Learn/Retain: 6.60

Is still learning how to play the linebacker roll and has a lot of room for growth. Smart athlete with a high football IQ. Needs to trust his instincts.

Concentration: 7.00

He's a team leader and knows how to press the line in order to break into a play. He needs to learn how to find the ball quicker and attack with more aggression.

STRENGTHS:

Pratt is a strong and big linebacker who can play downhill fast. When tasked with stopping he run, he can charge head first with excellent speed and deliver a nasty blow with power behind his pads to the runner. He uses excellent technique to tackle ball carries and possesses outstanding length to catch runners away from his frame and drag them to the turf. He is a violent player with the ability to stop the run and the speed to chase down runners from behind. He is always around the ball and can fill holes within a defense in different packeged looks.

WEAKNESSES:

He is a converted safety, so he is still learning the linebacker position and will need to develop further in the NFL. He is a straight line defender with extremely tight hips and little lateral mobility to change direction. Pratt hesitates at the start of plays in an attempt to diagnose and find the ball. He rarely trusts his eyes and can get lost in a crowd. His speed is often not enough to make up for the lost time in a play giving space in his zone in coverage or allowing the back to break the corner. He lacks the mental processing to be a instinctive sideline-sideline player and will make his impact when tasked with attacking the line of scrimmage playing the run. His hips are too tight in coverage and he struggles to read the safety eyes in zone.

BIG PICTURE:

Germaine Pratt is a big and physical linebacker with excellent size and speed to plug up gaps in the line of scrimmage. He lacks the instinctive nature to trust his eyes and attack, instead hesitating in an attempt to diagnose the play. If he can't learn to trust his eyes, he will struggle at linebacker in the next level. He is an excellent downhill linebacker, but his lateral mobility will severely limit his ability as a sideline-to-sideline defender and as a coverage backer. He will make a living early in his career as a special teams player with the ability to utilize his speed on a play-by-play basis. He will take time to develop at the next level and won't be a 3-down impact linebacker throughout his career.

Germaine Pratt

Position: Linebacker

College: N.C. State

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 245 lbs

SCOUTING GRADE

6.34

Injury History: 2016: Shoulder Surgery (Redshirted Junior Season)

Games Evaluated: 2018: Georgia State, Syracuse, Clemson, 2017: Notre Dame

Scout: Jason Feiner

Scouting Report