Scout- Cody Manning
College: Alabama
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 310 lbs
40-Time: 4.95
Bench Press: 27
Arm Length: 33"
Athleticism: 7.30
Q.A.B./C.O.D. 7.00 For his size, he is light on his feet and moves his body around easily around the field. Flexibility 7.00 He does a nice job keeping his knees bent so lineman struggle to get any push versus him Explosiveness 8.00 He has a fast initial burst out of his stance which allows him to fill his assignment. Playing Speed 7.00 He isn’t going to outrun anyone but for his size he can move fast around the field. Coordination 7.50 He is very coordinated for his size and can stay on his feet when runners try to juke him.
Pass Rush Ability 7.30
Initial Quickness 8.00 He has a fast quick step at the ball which allows him to get in position to win the battle Use of Hands 7.50 He does at nice job at using his hands to battle with the lineman to move them around Leverage 7.50 He will use his massive frame to his advantage and will rarely get shoved around. Pass Rush Moves 6.50 He has a great swim move but is limited with his moves, will sit back if 1st one fails. Finish Ability 7.00 He does find a way to get pressure but sometimes will outrun the QB with a bad angle.
Competes: 8.17
Toughness 8.50 Very tough player who will take on double teams, and even triple teams at times. Consistency/Motor 8.50 Even when they were up 40 points on Vanderbilt, he was still bringing all of his effort. Production 7.50 While he may not get all the stats, he constantly demands attention from the offensive line
Against The Run: 8.08
Play with Leverage 8.50 He wins this battle majority of the time and lineman rarely have their way with him Stack and Shed 8.00 He does a nice job of getting rid of the lineman to tackle the runner if they run in his gap Gap Shooting Ability 8.00 His initial burst allows him to fill his gap which forces the runner to find a different lane. Run at Him 8.50 He dominates the runs at him by stuffing the run play or forcing it to bounce outside. Run Away 7.50 He may not be able to run down runners but will make a conscious effort if he think he can Tackling/Hitting 8.00 His large arms allow him to wrap up the runner and bring them down with ease.
Intelligence: 8.17
Instincts 8.50 He is very instinctive at reading plays, can recognize screens, reads QB if he sits back. Learn/Retain 8.00 Based on his tape, it shows that he watches film, seems to know what other team is doing Teamwork 8.00 He shows that he is a team player by communicating with other teammates.
STRENGTHS
Payne is a run stuffer. He uses his large frame to his advantage to fill gaps. His presence alone demanded double teams, if not triple teams at times. This allowed other defenders on the defense to make a play on the quarterback or runner. He is also an intelligent player who does a great job at recognizing plays and reacting to them.
WEAKNESSES
While he does have some pass rush moves that he can go to, if he does not succeed at first, he will typically hang back and react to the quarterback. He wouldn’t be depended to get pressure on the quarterback if it is needed. Overall, he needs to develop more moves to be effective on third downs.
BIG PICTURE
Payne has the size and strength that a team would want from their defensive lineman. He will rarely lose a battle to a lineman because he knows how to use his body to his advantage. With his leverage he will fill gaps so he can stuff the run or bounce the runner to the outside lanes. Because of how dominant he can be, he can demand double teams which will allow backers free to make a play on the runner. At this point he will need to develop more pass rush moves to be effective on third down plays. Teams may want to use him just to demand an extra blocker on third downs to open up for a blitzer. He showed on his tape that he is a very smart player and can recognize how plays are being developed pretty quickly. Right now, I think he would be comparable to Brandon Williams.