STRENGTHS
Vince is a clone of former Patriots linebacker Teddy Bruschi. He can play inside linebacker or outside linebacker on the line or off the line and be used in multiple styles of defenses. He has mature pass rushing moves and can explode off the line of scrimmage at the snap of the ball. He shows on film excellent instincts and leadership skills along with excellent quickness and burst to the ball. He is a head up, wrap up, squeeze and drive tackler and you all know how much I like that by now. Vince has solid cover skills but his ability to cover is based more on his football intelligence and anticipation of down and distance than his pure athletic skills. Vince thinks like a coach on the field and can run your defense because he understands the spacing of offensive lineman and how that spacing will dictate the play at the snap of the ball. His pre snap read of the offense is very much like a pre snap read a quarterback does on a defense looking for the match up and weakness of the play that is about to happen. Vince is the type of player every team needs on the field to gain the edge and to reach playoff status.

CONCERNS
Vince is not as athletic as Clay Mathews but he could be used the same way. He is tight in the hips and struggles to turn the corner on a pass rush and needs to take more of a direct line or the correct angel to make the sack. Nevertheless he’s disruptive and never gives up until he hears the whistle. Vince did miss some time with an injury and that will have to be addressed but he didn’t seem to have any problems at all that I saw in Senior Bowl practices in fact he was one of the stand out players in practices.

BOTTOM LINE
Teams that do not make the playoffs for 17 years do not rate players like Vince very high because Vince may not have the pure speed and athleticism they think are the key ingredients that makes an NFL player. This is why those teams HAVEN’T REACHED THE PLAYOFFS IN 17 YEARS. Those teams don’t understand that it takes more than talent to play in the NFL. Don’t get me wrong I’m not trying to down play Vince’s athletic talents. He has plenty but his impact at the next level has to do with more than just… his athletic talent. I will be shocked if Vince is selected in the first round of this draft as I have graded him. The only team I see looking at Vince as a possible first round talent would be the Patriots because of their draft intelligence and draft management skills. They want players who can play in multiple styles of defenses and offenses with “coach like” football intelligence who play the game with the ability to take what they learn in practice on to the field without hesitating, allowing their athletic talent to perform in adverse situations. Also…a big ego is considered a detriment to team play. Players with Vince’s athletic skill set historically get selected in the second or third rounds and my guess would be that Vince would be selected in one of those rounds. Of course some smart team might surprise me…you never know.

Drew Boylhart  FEB.2017