Carter's Classroom draft profile: Haason Reddick, outside linebacker

We continue our study of the 2017 crop of edge rushers leading up to the NFL draft with college tape of the standout edge rusher from Temple, Haason Reddick.



Reddick is an interesting prospect because he came to the NCAA looking to be a defensive back and developed into being a pure edge rusher for Temple.

Reddick has the physical tools to play linebacker, with a 6-1, 237-pound frame and an excellent combine, raising eyebrows of scouts across the NFL. He ran a 4.52 in the 40 yard dash and ranked among the best in edge rushers with both his vertical and broad jumps.

Because of his transition, Reddick did not exhibit a lot of the natural skills you would expect from an edge rusher. Temple used his speed and size as more of a linebacker that would chase after running backs and tried to keep him clean so that he could worry more about covering ground than beating offensive tackles.

That being said, his college tape does show plenty of examples of his athleticism beating tackles around the edge and causing problems for quarterbacks. That's where we'll start:

EDGE RUSH SKILLS

Reddick is quick out of his stance and uses his momentum to push past the outside shoulder of his opponent. Watch how he does just that here against Wake Forest:



Notice how much the tackle respects Reddick's speed as he gets five yards behind the line of scrimmage. He knows that Reddick is coming and still cannot stop his rush. Reddick uses a solid shoulder dip to rip through and get the sack.

When Reddick is called upon to bring heat off the edge, he explodes with the single goal of pushing through that outside shoulder with his inside arm and being too powerful to be stopped.

That's what he did here, using his inside arm as an anchor point to work around the tackle's pivot:



That's solid work, and a player with Reddick's explosiveness can use this move to get over pretty well in the NCAA and occasionally in the NFL.

But it takes more than just one technique to be a good edge rusher in the NFL. You'll have to find ways to overpower offensive lines with outside moves, inside moves and good hand techniques to win battles when good offensive linemen are using solid fundamentals and won't get beat with a simple good burst.

Reddick's hands need work, which is a very coachable problem that can be solved, but that might take time and it's a risk to jump at a player like that when you still need to see how they would incorporate those skills.

GOOD IN SPACE 

What comes more naturally to Reddick is when he is asked to drop back into pass coverage. He's a regular that has a clean backpedal and can use his speed to get in position quickly in a zone coverage assignment.

Watch how smooth he looks when he gets an interception against Navy:



Plays like this are what make Reddick a possible candidate at multiple linebacker positions. He played primarily as a defensive end/outside linebacker for Temple, but at the Senior Bowl was moved to be a pure outside linebacker.

Whatever team selects Reddick will have a player that can jump between playing inside linebacker that covers lots of ground and drops back into coverage but also rushes the passer from the outside. Putting him at inside linebacker might negate his lack of natural pass rush skills and allow his athleticism to be put to use in more natural ways.

HUSTLES DOWN THE LINE

Reddick also isn't a player that lets up just because the play went a different way. He's put together a good reputation of not giving up on plays and the play below exemplifies that:



As soon as he sees the play going away from him, he squares his shoulders with the ball carrier and runs him down in the backfield. That's important for outside and inside linebackers.

QUESTIONS AS AN EDGE SETTER

However, the questions about Reddick's hand techniques still hold water, especially if a team is looking for him to be a player to rely on at outside linebacker.

Often Reddick will fail to use his long arms to keep offensive linemen from getting inside on his frame. That leads to problems and allows him to get controlled more often than a defense might be able to afford from their outside linebacker.

Temple would call upon Reddick to set the edge but only on occasion as it was not something he was great at. Reddick looks to try and shed around his man but can get put on skates backward like he does on the play below:



He would do well to invest more work into his hand and upper body techniques. That would go a long way to helping him become a true NFL-caliber outside linebacker.

It could also make a difference when he's defending the run if he's at inside linebacker and trying to take on guards, centers and fullbacks in key gaps at the point of attack.

STEELERS STOCK

Reddick's skill set and athleticism make for an interesting evaluation of how he might fit in the Steelers' scheme. Kevin Colbert will most likely be looking for both inside and outside linebackers in the early rounds as they are two of the biggest needs for the team.

Reddick's athleticism makes for a prospect at either position, so the question is whether his liabilities would be too much of a problem at either position at the NFL level.

That on top of the fact that Reddick's combine could make him a hot commodity among NFL teams. While Reddick was looked at as a player to consider in the middle rounds before the combine, both Todd McShay and Mel Kiper have him going at eleventh overall to the Saints in their most recent mock drafts.

If Reddick is graded that high by teams, the Steelers will never get the chance to even think about it. Teams could use a player with his speed at either linebacker spot, and his burst may allow for other pure edge rush candidates to move down the board.

If Reddick is skipped over, it allows for the Steelers to consider a guy that they could look to fill either need. So it makes for a reasonable question if the Steelers would consider him.

The answer here is no. It's not because his athleticism wouldn't be welcomed, but because there will probably be more natural players at each position that display athleticism only marginally less impressive than Reddick.

Especially when considering the outside linebacker position, the Steelers need a player that can set the edge and overpower offensive tackles with a good repertoire of moves. That repertoire takes time to build, and some players never are able to mix them with their natural talents.

When you add on the fact that the Steelers still need a stronger outside linebacker to set the edge, Reddick does not fit the bill there. His lack of proper hand techniques make him susceptible to professional linemen that have possess solid fundamental and enough strength to take control of linebackers that don't know how to keep linemen from getting inside leverage.

That same problem could present issues at inside linebacker, a position which the Steelers need to fill the "buck" style of the position rather than the "mack," which Shazier already occupies.

The inside linebacker they would look for would preferably be one who could take on blockers in the hole and be more physical with opponents rather than a guy that would be faster in space like Reddick.

If Reddick is there at 30, the Steelers might consider taking a chance on him. But there also might be more appropriate prospects that fit the bill of their needs.