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Scouting Report-There may not be a player who's hotter than Price. He and Dan Williams seem to be the tackles who are on everyone's mind. And for Price rightfully so. Short and squatty, with lots of beef. The strength of his game so to speak is his quickness. He's a smart player and does a nice job diagnosing run plays, but it's that quick step off the ball, where he's able to split defenders and when he gets to the ballcarrier does a nice job with technique on his tackles. Very light on his feet for a man so big, and does a good job with a variety of interior pass rush moves. He looks to be the kind of guy who could flourish in a 4-3 with a big NT next to him. Reason being, his weakeness is well, his weakness. If he can get to your side, he can overpower you, but head up, he struggles. And double teams swallow him up altogether. What I see going wrong is, when he can't get off his man right away, he loses his leverage. Gets too high, and once he's up, he backs off.
Draft Status-It's going to be hard keeping Price out of the first round at this point. He's chosen a nice time to declare because even though it's a crowded first round, he's coming off a season where he had 22TFLs, which is staggering for an interior defensive lineman. Guys like Dan Williams and Terrance Cody are more nose tackle prospects, whereas Price is more like Gerald McCoy, as a 4-3 UT. This means his draft staus compared to Williams and Cody will depend largely on the defensive scheme of the teams picking. But regardless of the system, Price is almost certainly a top 25 pick.
Final Analysis-Price isn't going to wow everyone with his pass rush skills, and he certainly needs to get in the weight room if he wants to deal with the size of NFL offensive lineman, but as a disruptor and run stopper, Price is the real deal. He's an excellent gap player who will instantly improve the defense he's drafted to. Some have said Price could bulk up and play NT, and others have said he'd be well to play DE in the 3-4, but I'm on board with neither. Not strong enough to play NT, and not tall enough or fast enough to play end. He's a poor man's Gerald McCoy in this draft and that's a positive thing.
Reminds me of: Broderick Bunkley, DT Philadelphia Eagles-Both squatty guys, more quick than powerful, and great at making plays in the backfield. It took Bunkley awhile to acclimate himself to the NFL, but Price may be more NFL ready and have a bit more upside.
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Scouting Report written by Curt Popejoy |
