Dating back to 2013, at least one edge rusher has been taken in the top 5 picks of every NFL draft, and for good reason. Having an elite edge rusher can transform a defense and dismantle an offense’s game plan. The early favorite to be the top edge rusher taken in the 2021 NFL draft is Miami’s defensive end, Gregory Rousseau. Statistically, Rousseau had one of the best seasons of any defensive player in college football, finishing only behind Chase Young with 15.5 sacks and gathering 19.5 tackles for loss. However, stats don’t tell the entire story. While Rousseau shows flashes of dominance on tape, he needs heavy refinement with his hand usage in order to become an elite edge rushing prospect.
Background:
Gregory Rousseau came into the University of Miami as a three-star recruit who played defensive end, safety, and wide receiver in high school. During the second game of the Hurricane’s season in 2018, Rousseau fractured his ankle, leading to him redshirting his first season. After the 2019 season, Rousseau was named the ACC Defensive rookie of the year and First-team All-ACC.
Pros:
Rousseau is an incredible athlete. He displays great quickness when he’s moved inside on third downs, but he’s also very strong and uses his length well to get off of blocks in the run game.
Here is one of many examples of Rousseau using his length and leverage to not get pushed off the ball, and he’s able to use his speed to chase down the runner. Rousseau also displays good hand usage when moved inside, and his quickness makes it hard for interior linemen to block him.
Rousseau’s overall athleticism also makes him very effective in stunts, as he can cover a lot of ground very quickly, making it hard for offensive linemen to react in time. Rousseau is also relentless in his pursuit of the quarterback, leading to him getting a lot of hustle sacks.
Cons:
Rousseau lacks a pass rush plan and counters when he’s working off the edge. He almost always tries to convert speed to power in order to bull rush, but with such little variety in how he attacks offensive tackles, it becomes easy to prepare for.
Rousseau is not awful in coverage, but he’s somewhat of a liability and should only be used sparingly in coverage, if at all.
Overview:
Gregory Rousseau’s phenomenal athleticism leaves him with an enormous ceiling, but his development in the 2020 season will be crucial to determining whether Rousseau remains a high-risk high reward player, or develops into a blue-chip prospect. If Rousseau does not show development in his pass rush moves, his transition to the NFL may be murky since he wouldn’t possess the ideal size to rush from the interior, and he would not have shown much ability in terms of rushing off the edge. However, due to his limited amount of time specializing as a defensive end, it is entirely possible that all he needs to develop the pass rush moves and counters necessary to succeed in the NFL is experience. If that’s the case, considering how he dominated college football last year without great pass rush technique, he could become a nightmare for opposing offensive lines as well as the next elite edge prospect.
