Clelin Ferrell out of Clemson. Ferrell has the physical profile of a prototypical DE, but his lack of bend and poor run defense is likely to push him outside of the top 10 and more in to the 10-20 range. Let’s dive into his game and my takeaways!

Name: Clelin Ferrell

Position: Defensive End

School: Clemson University (ACC)

Height: 6’5

Weight: 260 lbs

Courtesy of Sports-Reference

Strengths:

Controls the edge- Ferrell shows good discipline by doing his job and controlling the edge to make sure he pushes everything inside to the help.

Quick first step- Ferrell often shows a quick first step which allows him gain a step on the lineman= beat the lineman.

Good upper body strength- Ferrell has good upper body strength which allows him to control the offensive lineman attack and drive them back.

Great motor/effort- Ferrell is relentless on the attack and often times you can find him playing the backside of a play and waiting for the cutback lane.

Pass rush ability– Ferrell excels in passing situations, sometimes it almost seems as if he wills himself into pressures. He likes using his quick first step, than going to his rip technique to get by the offensive lineman and to the QB.

Weakness:

Bad habit of trying to spin and turns his back to the offensive lineman when he gets stoned at the line. Problem is, it’s just not fast enough to work. Not a smart thing to do when you get to the league, simple fix I’d think.

Not a fan of Ferrell in a 2-point stance. Doesn’t come off as fast or aggressive as he does in a 3-point, just isn’t as effective; unlikely to see him standing up wherever he ends up.

Stiff. Has little to no bend on the edge, sometimes he’ll show a tiny bit of bend but for the most part it just isn’t there and that’s something you’d usually want/see in an elite EDGE.

Run Defense is a weakness that often pops up while watching Ferrell on tape. Turns into a non-factor for the most part; Missed tackles, doesn’t disengage his blocker fast enough, doesn’t take full advantage of his opportunities and not athletic enough to chase the play.

My take:

I think Ferrell is going to a good pass rushing edge in the NFL. If Ferrell continues to improve and refine his pass rush techniques he could be scary on passing downs, but where he really needs work is in the run game. Ferrell often times can’t disengage with the offensive lineman and the RB runs right by him whereas sometimes he just straight up misses the tackle.

I noticed while watching film there’s a few times where Ferrell gets stoned at the LOS and turns his back on the lineman trying to pull off a spin move, you may ask “What’s wrong with that?” the issue is, you don’t want to turn your back to the lineman, your essentially taking yourself out of the play and it’s far too slow so he covers no ground. Ultimately, Ferrell has great size for an EDGE in the NFL, Contains the edge, can get after the QB and has good potential to go with it, I’d like to see him clean a few things up and improve in the run, but I think Ferrell will be a good get for a team in need of pass rush help in the mid 1st round.