Run Defense
While Matt Rhule went out of his way to praise his pass rush ability after drafting Gross-Matos, he’ll almost certainly be on the field for some run plays as well. And while Gross-Matos certainly has the all the tools needed to be a good run defender in terms of strength, long arms and flashes of nice hand usage, it is probably fair to say that he is not currently a particularly good run defender.
A lot of this is due to the pad level inconsistencies that show up as a pass rusher being far more pronounced when he looks to play against the run:
And this is not helped by the inconsistencies in arm extension that showed up at times as a pass rusher, also being more of a consistent issue, which makes it hard for him to keep his frame clean and allows blockers to crowd him out somewhat:
The poor pad level also has some implications in terms of his ability to hold his ground at the point of attack, as when he doesn’t get the pad level right, it makes it very hard for him to direct his power and allows him to get driven backwards, especially when he played inside:
However, while it will be really important for him to make significant development in these regards, there are some flashes of nice things as a run defender that are a cause for optimism. First, while he did struggle with his pad level, when asked to set the edge, he showed the ability to use his long arms to keep outside contain:
And as in the passing game, he flashes the hand usage to work free around the edge to push the edges of the defense, and to work free of blocks:
And also flashed some nice ability to use his hands to work into gaps on the interior as a penetrator against the run:
There is unquestionably quite a lot of work for him to become a good run defender, but he does have the core tools to be effective in this regard, he just needs to show that he can turn those core tools into consistent technical effectiveness.
Overall, Gross-Matos is definitely something of a developmental project, and is not somebody who has been drafted for the impact he will make in 2020. That being said, he does flashes some really nice things of quite high level technique, especially in terms of his hand usage as pass rusher especially, that make him more than just an athlete.
The big question now is about how much he is able to improve and how quickly.
Best-Case NFL Comparison: Ziggy Ansah
(Top Photo Via Roy K. Miller / Getty Images)
