STRENGTHS
Denzel is a quick twitch athlete with speed to burn. He has those quick feet and can flip his hips faster than a penguin can flip up on to the ice during mating season. He is smart and in single coverage knows how to read receivers and understands routes and this helps him to anticipate knocking down passes and turn to look for the ball. He has decent hands to make the intercepting and with his speed quickness should be a candidate to be use as a returner on special teams. Denzel is quick to come up and support the run and is athletic enough to be used in the slot covering those quick fast receivers.

CONCERNS
What I see on film is a corner back that plays smaller than the size (5’ 10”) he is being listed at. He struggles tackling consistently and covering bigger receivers because he lacks the strong hands and upper body strength at this point of his career. He is on his heels at the snap of the ball because he has confidence to recover because of his quickness and speed but for the next level if he continues this poor technique he will get beat like a drum in a marching band. Denzel has his hands all over the receiver all the time and because of his lack of strength in his hands is not able to redirect receivers or bump them off their routes. He lacks awareness in zone coverage and because he is not a strong tackler will struggle in that type of scheme.

BOTTOM LINE
Because of Denzel’s athletic talents most will over look his lack of strength and ability to play in any style of defense. Because of Denzel’s athletic talents most will over look his lack of ability to play bigger than his size but not me, I don’t see a great cover corner for the next level. What I see is an athlete who does a good job covering college receivers but right now does not have the physical ability to handle the receivers at the next level and has relied too much on his athletic talents and not enough on the techniques of his position. Everyone is enamored with Denzel’s athletic talent but like I always say it takes more than talent to play in the NFL. For Denzel to play smaller than his size is a big red flag to me. He has to get a lot stronger and break some very poor habits and learn the techniques that will benefit his size instead of using poor techniques that magnify his lack of size and strength. There is no reason why he can’t improve but it will take time and most of the time players with this type of talent struggle to improve because of their reliance on their athletic talents. Nevertheless Denzel could become a standout returner on the special teams because of his athletic talents and using Denzel in special coverage situations on the outside against those speed receivers in nickel/dime situations seems like a perfect way to use his talents. But right now with the information I have and see on film, the more Denzel is on the field the easier it will be for teams to take advantage of his lack of techniques and size.

Drew Boylhart   FEB.2018