Last year it was edge rusher Ola Adeniyi who made a strong case to make the final roster for the Steelers during the preseason. This year Tuzar Skipper is making a similar push to make the roster with overpowering strength and refined edge-rush moves to get after the quarterback.
Through two preseason games, Skipper has five tackles, two sacks and five quarterback hits despite playing only with the second and third teams on defense. Each of his most impressive plays came from executing strong fundamentals, suggesting he could have the same success against higher quality linemen. Let's take a closer look:
Skipper didn't perform at the NFL Scouting Combine but did have a mixed bag of results in his Toledo Pro Day. His 4.89 40-yard dash time would've been the second worst time of edge rushers at the combine, but his 30 reps on the bench press would've been second best of the same group. Both his 3-cone and vertical jumps would've graded as the middle of the pack.
But Skipper has worked from being undrafted in 2019 to being one of the more intriguing candidates to make the final 53-man roster for the Steelers. He's had a strong camp to push past the competition of draft pick Sutton Smith and fellow MAC player J.T. Jones to be with the Steelers' third group of pass rushers.
Due to Adeniyi's injury, Skipper will get to see even more time with the second team moving forward and could land himself a job for the season if he continues to impress.
What jumps off the screen with Skipper is his raw strength at the point of attack, and that he's very hard to stop once he's built momentum. Watch his first sack of the preseason as he abuses Buccaneers left tackle William Poehls. Notice Skipper comes from the edge but uses his inside arm to punch Poehls right in the chest. The punch was so powerful it staggered Poehls, allowing Skipper to cross his face and have an easy path to the quarterback:
Brute force is a great way to win on the line. But that won't always work in a league with huge offensive tackles who can anchor themselves against even the strongest of bull rushes. But that hasn't been an insurmountable obstacle for Skipper in training camp or the preseason.
When I watched him in edge rush drills at Saint Vincent College, I took note of how he was winning with different moves that forced offensive tackles to guess while they're dropping back into position. His most effective moves are all built on power rushes rather than finesse techniques, like spin or swim moves, but they still translate for success.
Take his second sack of the preseason as an example of another power move. This time he beats Chiefs rookie right tackle Dino Boyd, but instead of punching to get to an inside gap, he uses a rip move to win the edge and finishes by cutting right to Chase Litton for the sack:
Skipper probably won't be much of a coverage threat in Keith Butler's schemes, but his value on the edge makes him an interesting prospect to keep around. Adeniyi's absence for a few weeks means that Skipper will not only get a closer look from the Steelers' staff, but he'll have a real shot at a roster spot if it's decided both he and Adeniyi are too valuable to go to the practice squad.
That's why they kept Adeniyi on injured reserve last season instead of putting him on the practice squad or cutting him outright while he dealt with an injury. But the linebacker room for the Steelers is more competitive than ever with Mark Barron, Devin Bush, Vince Williams, Tyler Matakevich, Bud Dupree, T.J. Watt and Anthony Chickillo all looking to have secure spots.
That's seven linebackers already on the roster, and with Ulysees Gilbert III and Adeniyi also both having strong training camps, it's hard to see the Steelers keeping too many more. They went into last season with seven linebackers while Adeniyi recovered from his injuries and ended the season with eight.
It's foreseeable that the Steelers would go with eight linebackers, and maybe even nine this season. Adeniyi is a player they've liked and Gilbert is a draft pick who has mixed splash plays with strong contributions on special teams. Skipper has to compete with both to make the roster, so it's important for him to make an impact every play he has an opportunity.
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