STRENGTHS
P J is an undersized, bowling ball type of defensive lineman that once he gets going it is hard to stop his unique quickness and strength. There is a ton of talent in this kid’s body and he might have the quickest Hands and feet combination in this draft. He moves very well on the outside and in space and when playing on the inside his quickness off the ball is difficult to handle but there is no doubt that playing in space is when P J can do the most damage to an offense and is an impact player. Most people will look at him on film and think Aaron Darnold because of his size and quickness and ability to dominate games on the inside but when I see him play I think of Dontari Poe, one of the most athletic defensive lineman, who was the darling of his combine. Although Dontari is a lot taller than P J the athletic talent is similar and although Dontari has been with three teams so far in his career, because of his athletic talent he has impacted when healthy.

CONCERNS
P J concerns me the same way Dontari concerned me when he came out. They both seem to play to the competition level and can disappear and reappear at times when the lights get turned on. The big question is can PJ handle the difference in competition level? Sam Houston State is not the SEC and I have seen film on PJ when you don’t even know he is on the field much less being the impact player his talents suggest he should be.

BOTTOM LINE
There is plenty of talent but I don’t think playing him on the inside is smart because P J hasn’t seen the blocking offensive lineman and blocking schemes at his level of competition that he will see at the NFL level. Put on the North Dakota State film and you will see how frustrated and confused P J seemed at times in spite of the fact his athleticism allowed him to make some plays. PJ is 6’0” 300 lbs and although his effort is good on every snap using him inside in a 2 gap system doesn’t allow him to impact. He is a pure 1 gap type of Defensive lineman and getting into the back field to disrupt plays is definitely how he should be the most effective and impacting. I do see the comparison to Aaron Darnold but I hesitate to suggest that P J will be as consistent as Aaron is because he does seem to play to the competition. If he does that at the next level most defensive coordinators will put a foot up his ass and who knows how he will react to that type of hard coaching. There is no doubt about his talent but like I always say…it takes more than talent to play in the NFL. PJ is a specialty player without a pure position, in only one style of defensive system, until he proves otherwise.

Drew Boylhart   APR.2018