Here, Clemson runs a stretch play to the left. Daniels reads the play quickly and works to the outside shoulder of the left guard. The guard is late to work up to the second level, allowing Daniels to get to the line of scrimmage and take the position he wants. As the guard comes across to pick him up, Daniels works his hands inside, on to the chest of the guard, and stands him up. The back attempts to burst through the hole, but Daniels withstands the block of the guard and disengages enough to pick up the back and make the tackle for no gain.

Daniels made essentially the same play against Notre Dame later in the year.

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Notre Dame runs a similar outside-zone play to one Clemson ran. Like before, Daniels interprets the play quickly and works to the outside. This time, however, the left guard does a better job working up to block Daniels. Daniels isn’t fazed by this, taking on the guard head on and winning leverage by getting his hands inside. Daniels then drags the guard to the outside, trying to take away the edge for the back. As the runner approaches the line of scrimmage, Daniels manages to drop his hands and dip, forcing the guard to open his hips towards the sideline. That allows Daniels to work past him and make the tackle on the back for a loss.

One criticism of Daniels is that he lacks athleticism. While he’s not the the fastest or most agile linebacker (he only ran a 4.81 40-yard dash at the combine), his instincts make up for that. His ability to read and decipher the play quickly allows him to get in position quickly.

Lining up in the middle of the field, Daniels faces a battle to get to the edge on this stretch play by Florida State. The center is tasked with working to the second level to try and seal him off inside. But Daniels is quick enough to outrun the center to the edge. Daniels gets some help, with edge defenders forcing the running back to cut back up the field earlier than he would have liked. The back cuts straight into Daniels, who makes another tackle for loss.

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Those instincts allow him not only to make up for his lack of speed, but they also enable him to decipher plays with misdirection built in.

Here, Clemson runs a bit of a gadget play. The Tigers start by sprinting the quarterback and the running back to the left. But the back quickly stops and takes a hand off from the quarterback before working back to the right. While other players are fooled by the play, Daniels reads it extremely well. He makes sure he works to the right of the offensive line to cover his gap, but then reads the running back cutting back early. The left tackle works up to the second level to block Daniels, but Daniels explodes into the tackle and knocks him back. The power of the punch from Daniels allows him to disengage quickly and reposition himself to make a form tackle on the running back for a minimal gain.

In the three games I watched of Daniels, he dominated the run game. He popped up everywhere, making numerous tackles or eating up blockers to clear the path for others to make the play. He played far better than I would expect of a seventh-round pick. That leads to the question of ‘why did he fall?’ As I mentioned previously, he tested poorly at the combine, and there are legitimate questions about his ability to hold up in coverage and stay on the field on third down. He doesn’t have long speed, and I would be hesitant to trust him to carry an athletic receiving tight end down the seam.

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On this play, Daniels lines up over the slot receiver. He’s not in man coverage, but he plays with his hips opened to the sideline, suggesting his job is to wall off the slot receiver and not allow him inside. The receiver runs a deep out. Daniels stays with him 10 yards down the field and then drops off him into the middle of the field as the receiver breaks to the sideline. The receiver makes a catch and then breaks a tackle on his way to bursting down the sideline. Daniels attempts to get over and prevent the touchdown, but he simply doesn’t have enough speed to catch up.

It should be said that it is tough to expect a linebacker to catch up to a receiver who should be faster than him, but the play shows an example of the slight stiffness in turning and running over distance. The effort from Daniels is admirable, never giving up on the play. That effort is undoubtedly part of the reason Washington general manager Scot McCloughan drafted him. But the speed down the field is a concern. He’s not a guy I’d want to play man coverage and have to turn and run with athletic tight ends and running backs.

However, in Washington, he’s unlikely to have to do that. They drafted Su’a Cravens in the second round to fill that role. Daniels’s coverage responsibilities will likely be limited to underneath zones in the Redskins cover-three base scheme. He shows a good feel for zone coverage and can play the hook-to-curl zones that an inside linebacker is responsible for in cover-three.

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Boston College show a heavy blitz look on third and seven. Daniels lines up shaded over the right shoulder of the center. But instead of blitzing, Daniels drops out into coverage off the snap. As he works to his landmark, Daniels gets his eyes on the inside receiver to diagnose the route. He spots the in-breaking route and finds his landmark, closing the throwing window for the quarterback. Daniels then turns his head back to the quarterback and finds him scrambling to his left. He shows a surprising burst down hill to make a tackle on the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage.

Daniels actually held up pretty well in zone coverage in the three games I watched him. I would like to see more of him in coverage, but if Washington can limit him to those underneath zone jobs and allow him to keep the play in front of him, he should be fine. If he has to turn and run with guys who are more athletic than him, then he could have more troubles.

If Washington can trust him in coverage, that would keep him on the field against the pass, where Daniels is an effective blitzer. He jumped out a couple of times as a pass rusher, pushing the pocket and hurrying the quarterback.

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On third and 10, Daniels lines up in the middle but sneaks down to the line of scrimmage shaded over the left guard just before the snap. The guard appears to be surprised by the rush and lunges at Daniels, who simply knocks away the hands of the guard and slips past. Daniels attempts to close on the quarterback, but doesn’t quite have enough burst to get there before the throw. However, the quarterback panics and forces a terrible ball that gets intercepted.

Daniels displayed solid hand usage as a pass rusher, but he also has a nice bull rush.

This time, Daniels works against the center. His size means he’ll naturally play lower than most offensive linemen, which he uses to his advantage here. With a lower pad level, Daniels is able to get under the center and drive him back into the quarterback. Unfortunately, the quarterback threw a speed out to the slot, so Daniels couldn’t quite get there in time. But the pressure is the important thing, and it was definitely felt by the quarterback.

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Overall, I can see Daniels having an impact early in his career. He is an excellent run defender with great instincts and plays with plenty of physicality to hold up at the NFL level. The question is whether Washington trust him enough in coverage to allow him playing time. I personally believe he can hold up in zone coverage, but the athleticism could get exposed if he gets matched up against in man coverage. At worst, Daniels should be able to earn time on special teams, but I think he’ll push for some playing time before long.

Mark Bullock is The Insider’s Outsider, sharing his Redskins impressions without the benefit of access to the team. For more, click here.