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NFL Draft

TDN Scouting: Players Who Benefit From Perfect Scheme Fits

  • The Draft Network
  • August 25, 2020
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It seems like the 2020 NFL Draft just happened, but we move fast here at The Draft Network.

Currently going through summer evaluations for the 2021 NFL Draft class, our scouting team of Kyle Crabbs, Joe Marino, Jordan Reid, and Drae Harris are meeting up every day to discuss prospects, traits, and concepts. New to TDN is a daily scouting roundtable where we go through and identify the most important points of conversation from that day’s meeting.

On Tuesday, we discussed some NFL players that are in the perfect schemes for their specific skill sets.

Perfect Spots

An NFL player can be the strongest, fastest, and most talented player out there, but if he isn’t surrounded by the right scheme and players he won’t reach his full potential. Outside of quarterback, our staff discussed some of the players around the league who have benefited most from their current position.

“I’d say whoever is playing running back in San Francisco,” Reid stated to begin the conversation. “That’s such a scheme-friendly system for any running back and it goes back to Kyle (Shanahan’s) old days with his dad. He’s had so many examples of getting any guy to excel in that system, so I just think whenever you get your turn to play in that system, you’re going to have a big year.”

Crabbs would follow this up by discussing Baltimore edge defender Matthew Judon and his misleading sack numbers. According to him, a lot of that simply comes down to the scheme and personnel Judon plays around him.

“Matt Judon off of the edge in Baltimore—that’s a really favorable role for him. Like, if Judon hits free agency and somebody signs him to a $17 million per year deal to just be a feature pass-rusher off of the edge, I think you’re probably setting him up for failure,” Crabbs stated. “He’s a really good run defender, but as a pass-rusher, his production is a bit slanted. The Baltimore system sets him up for a ton of success with how aggressive they’ve been and it forces teams to allow free runners off of the edge, (with Judon) being one of them. He got a lot of finishes that way.”

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Crabbs also shared his thoughts on current Miami Dolphins (and former Lions/Patriots) linebacker Kyle Van Noy, mentioning how much more success he had in a New England system that catered toward his skill set.

“I think about how bad Kyle Van Noy was in Detroit versus how good he was in New England,” Crabbs stated. “He played like 30 games in Detroit and had less than 400 total defensive snaps before being traded in Year 3. They just had no idea how to use him (in Detroit) and just wanted to play him at MIKE and let him flow. Well, he’s not the most consistent tackler and doesn’t have ideal sideline-to-sideline range, so (he obviously) didn't have success there. 

“New England got him and put him on the playside and asked him to scrape exchange, play outside in, rush the passer, and play those shallow zones. They cut the field in half (in terms) of what he had to worry about and now all of a sudden he was really comfortable because (New England) closed down how much he was responsible for out on the field.”

Finally, Marino would end the interesting conversation by mentioning an entire position group—not unlike what Reid did with the San Francisco running back room.

“Those Minnesota offensive linemen—Brian O’Neill, Garret Bradbury, and Ezra Cleveland—if they’re going to work, it’s going to be with the Vikings in that wide zone rushing attack where it’s all about angles and mobility,” Marino stated. “Those guys can’t play in Baltimore, you know. So to me, those are three good examples that fit this (perfect scheme fit) discussion.”

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