2023 NFL Draft: Calijah Kancey - Pittsburgh Defensive Tackle
Calijah Kancey - Pittsburgh
Strengths:
1. First Step - His first step at his size is incredible. His timing, quickness, and speed to power make his first step among the best in the game.
2. Quick Hands - Despite having shorter arms, his hands are tremendously effective. They are lightning fast, and he consistently uses quick clubs, rips, chops, and swipes to get around his opponent. He gets his hands on the opponents pads where they need to be for push-pulls and bulls consistently even when his opponent has a reach advantage.
3. Positional Versatility - He has shown to be effective everywhere from nose tackle to the edge. His diverse pass rush moves along with his incredible first step make him a threat from anywhere across the line, as well as someone who can be an asset in any defensive formation.
Weaknesses:
1. Run Defense - He gets displaced too easily in the run game, and lacks the discipline to not always chase big plays.
2. Translatable Strength - His bull rush was often effective due to violent hands and motor, but the raw strength and arm length of NFL interior offensive linemen is far superior to that of most college linemen. His power is not overwhelming on his bull rush to the point of consistent dominance unless he generates good lean, which he may struggle to do against longer-armed opponents. While he seems to manhandle his competition in college, he may be relegated to a rotational interior pass rusher at the next level. He has a variety of effective pass rush moves to complement his bull rush as it stands, but this is an area to monitor given his size and particularly height heading into the NFL.
3. Length - At 6' even, Kancey clearly has a length disadvantage at the college level that will only be exploited more in the NFL.
Grade: Early Second
Pro Comparison: Aaron Donald
No, Kancey is not Aaron Donald, but Donald is still an appropriate comp regarding size, pass rush tendencies, and overall weaknesses in the run game coming out. Donald is significantly stronger than Kancey, and can win in more ways from the line.
Alignment:
A-Gap - He lines up as a nose tackle a decent amount. On passing downs, he is relatively good at penetrating directly up the middle using quickness. In the run game, he does not get the push whatsoever. He can occasionally line up in the A-gap for a creative defensive coordinator, but will certainly not live there.
B-Gap - Kancey was mostly a 3-tech at Pitt. Despite being technically undersized, he will likely remain at 3-tech in even fronts. He is an excellent penetrator, and should be effective as an interior rusher in the NFL.
4/5-Tech - He may be best suited to play 3-4 defensive end. He has the quickness and pass rush arsenal to play both inside and outside, but his build is more conducive to playing 3-4 end than it is as a nose tackle or even 3-tech. He could even play as a 4-3 end if asked, but there would be a steep learning curve if he was asked to play out wide full time.
Edge - Although he has surprisingly good burst from a two point stance, he is better suited to play with his hand in the dirt.
Attributes (Grade/10):
Attributes | Bend | 4.5 |
Burst | 9.5 | |
Motor | 9.5 |
Bend: Bend is actually decent at times around the outside for his size, but it does not begin to touch that of true edge rushers.
Burst: Usually the first off the line. For a defensive tackle, his burst is nearly as good as it gets.
Motor: Never stops moving on pass rush plays. He will either attempt a second or even third move, or drive his legs through his power move until the play is over. This is only not a 10/10 because his drive in the run game is off at times. His effort on every play is undeniable, but he seems to slow down a bit on inside run plays.
Skillset | Pass Rush | 9.5 |
Run Defense | 4 | |
Coverage | NA |
Pass Rush: A 22.7% pass rush win rate for a player who spent 92.7% of snaps lined up on the inside is absurd, and it shows up on tape.
Run Defense: He needs to work on pulling off blocks up the middle. His closing speed is good for a tackle, but he gets displaced too easily and does not often penetrate slant blocks as he should given his skillset.
Coverage: Did not drop back in coverage on reps observed.
Hands | Placement | 8.5 |
Effectiveness | 9 | |
Quickness | 10 |
Placement: He typically gets his hands where he wants them, but his arms are not long enough to do this consistently. His violent hands make up for a lack of placement at times, but he at least understands where he should put his hands on most plays.
Effectiveness: His hands are nearly always effective. Even when he gets improper placement, he keeps them active to help on any further pass rush move.
Quickness: Lightning hands. Quickest hands on any defensive tackle and he knows how to use them effectively.
Line Control | Strength | 6 |
Balance | 8.5 |
Strength: Very little line strength in the run game, but has solid pass rush power moves. His raw strength is excellent at his size, but his brute force at the line in the run game compared to larger and longer opposing athletes will always be an issue.
Balance: Kancey has great balance with a low center of gravity. He gets knocked over on occasion, but also has impressive reps where he maintains balance and stays effective through a hold or double team.
Pass-Rush Decisions | Versatility | 9 |
Technique | 9 | |
Execution | 9 |
Versatility: Complete arsenal of pass rush moves incorporating both quickness and power. He has some of the most unique and impressive high-end reps, performing multiple pass rush moves on different players throughout a single play. He can line up anywhere across the defensive line and still be effective.
Technique: His technique is extremely impressive on certain moves, but he attempts other moves that just cannot be named. He will jump around or almost high step before driving or attempting a lateral burst, and occasionally looks foolish in doing so. That said, he occasionally also looks ingenious. His technique is excellent on most reps with proper lean, hand placement, and timing, but he still needs to refine his repertoire.
Execution: 7.5 sacks and 14.5 TFLs playing mostly from the interior is solid production. His execution on most reps is effective from a combination of technique, burst, and a relentless motor.
Traits | Agility | 8 |
Athleticism | 9 | |
Length | 2.5 |
Agility: Not many interior defenders share his lateral quickness.
Athleticism: Bruce Feldman's 2022 Freaks list with a 4.69 40, 31.5" vertical, and 425lbs bench press. His burst at his size is insane, and he has tremendous closing speed inside the pocket. He somehow manages to hold his weight well at 6' 280lbs, which just indicates how much muscle mass he really has. Height is the only real limiting factor.
Full Report:
Kancey is a rare specimen along the defensive interior at 6'1" 281lbs. He somehow holds his weight well, and his pure muscle mass and overall athleticism appear on tape play after play. His timing and initial burst resemble that of a speed rusher from the edge, constantly giving him an advantage at the line. His hands are lightning quick and very violent, allowing him to utilize them to his advantage despite his shorter arm length. His technique refined tremendously throughout the 2022 season with regard to his pass rush moves, and his arsenal expanded to contain a complete set of effective moves from anywhere on the line. Whether he aligns outside or all the way in at nose tackle, he has a pass rush plan that he can modify and adapt on the go instantly if the original move is unsuccessful. His natural feel for playing the interior suggests that he will remain there despite his weight resembling more of a defensive end than a 3-tech. Along with his aggression, technique, and incredibly effective pass rush skill set up the middle comes a lack of discipline in the run game. He performs typical pass rush moves on most plays at the expense of the run, and often will shoot by the ball carrier in an attempt to penetrate the backfield. This tendency led to 14.5 tackles for loss, but also allowed some bigger chunks of yardage to be given up the middle. His 7.4% run stop rate is still decent, but he clearly needs to work on his discipline in the run game as well as pulling off of blocks if he wants to become an every down player. 6'1" defensive tackles weighing under 300lbs do not typically make it in the NFL. People will look at Aaron Donald's success at 6'1 284lbs and want to say that Calijah Kancey can do the same. While no college prospect should be compared to a future Hall of Famer with regards to expected production, Kancey is a unique athlete at his size. He certainly has a place in the NFL, and teams may take a chance on him as early as the first round. Coaching and development will determine if he spends his career as a rotational pass rusher, or actually can become an every down player.
NFL Projection:
Kancey will get drafted in the first round, and end up as a productive rotational interior pass rusher. If he can gain some discipline in the run game and go to a team that understands how to use him, then he could become a solid every down defensive lineman with positional versatility and elite pass rush upside.
Comments
Post a Comment