2016 NFL Draft Watch: Part 3
By Kent Platte
Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Scooby Wright III, Linebacker, Arizona
6′, 230 lbs.
This is one I’m likely to catch some flak for, but I don’t watch the games just so I can agree with the consensus. An easy favorite for the first year of CFF at ProFootballFocus, Wright was graded very well by the popular analytics site.
Scooby Wright III notched an absurd 84 defensive stops last year. Jaylen Smith was 51. Kuechly led NFL LBs with 81.
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) July 10, 2015
Not to say that I disagree with PFF. I’ve only watched two games of Wright and I’m still very early in this process. I just find it very hard to believe I’m going to reconcile that the guy they see is the same guy I’m seeing on tape. Bad angles and missed tackles have been the name of the game for me with Scooby Wright III so far and they happen early and often.
Wright is at his best when he is able to find ways to knife through the offensive line without contact, and finds ways into the backfield that sometimes don’t even seem to make sense in real-time. When blockers get their hands on him, however, it’s pretty much all over. Wright doesn’t do a good job of shedding tacklers and often tries to run around them rather than engage which might be part of what’s leading to the bad angles I was seeing. Maybe with more games I’ll see the dominant defender that Pro Football Focus sees, but until then I barely see a draftable prospect.
Next: Jonathan Bullard, DE, Florida