Dallas Cowboys Draft: 10 Edge Rushers for the Cowboys
Austin Bryant, Clemson
What’s Good: Arm Length, Position Flexibility
What Ain’t Good: Burst, Balance, Physical Flexibility, Pad level
Clemson’s defensive line is the definition of strength in numbers. Also it’s unreal how much of an issue Christian Wilkins was to opposing offenses. The reason I say this is because Austin Bryant’s production might be a byproduct of him garnering less attention than others on the line when offenses played Clemson.
Bryant’s size is a big pro. He stands at 6’4″ and 271 pounds so if a team doesn’t like him as an edge rusher, he does possess enough size to play inside. (He might have to gain some weight but the height is nice) To put it in perspective, Tyrone Crawford is around 6’4″ and 280 pounds, which is around as much as the Clemson product. Crawford has played 3 technique along with his regular snaps at edge for the Cowboys.
However, the issue with Bryant he’s lacking in crucial aspects that make an edge rusher successful. He has solid arm length at 34 5/8″ arms according to NFL and he clearly has strength at his size. However, even with his size he lacks some serious burst, balance, and flexibility.
He stands tall and plays tall. He doesn’t get low against tackles nor does he get off the line of scrimmage on time. It’s one thing for a edge to not have an explosive first step, but if the rusher doesn’t use his leverage to either drive the tackle back or run around them it really limits rusher.
He looks slow and his balance isn’t particularly good either. He has extremely stiff hips and anytime he’s forced to turn around he looks uncomfortable. He doesn’t fall like Walker, but he can’t get in an uncomfortable position fairly easily.
Bryant’s film was largely underwhelming. For someone his size, if he was more athletic he’d be extremely dominant. He has the frame to be successful in the pros but his athleticism really puts a ceiling on his potential.
Where does he fit?:
If the Cowboys selected him in the draft, hopefully not early, I’d hope they move him inside. He has the size to play inside, and for what it’s worth he had 11.5 tackles for loss last year according to Sports Reference. He can definitely use his lengths and size against smaller guards and centers causing some serious mismatches.
I’m sure there is a place for Bryant to play outside as an edge rusher but he doesn’t look explosive or fast even if he is big. It might take a creative defensive coach to get the most out of Bryant, but is it possible he’s going to find a better situation than the one he had in Clemson?