STRENGTHS
Ronnie has a linebacker’s mentality stuck in a defensive backs body. He is aggressive, looking to intimidate with aggressive tackling. He is quick to come up and support the run. He is not out of place playing close to the line of scrimmage and is intimidating when coming off slot coverage and blitzing the quarterback. He has those long arms that help him to knock down passes and understands his job in the context of the game plan. Ronnie has good speed and can run and chase down players from behind if he wants to. He has a lot of repetitions in a big college program and has been relatively injury free.

CONCERNS
Ronnie is a penalty machine waiting to happen for the next level. He’s a sloppy tackler looking for the big intimidating hit and not looking to make a secure tackle. He can cover but would rather keep his hands all over his opponent instead of using solid cover skills. He struggles to change direction because he will play out of control to make a head first tackle and when in coverage looks into the back field instead of reading his receiver. He has talent but I’m not sure with the new rules at the NFL level if Ronnie’s mind set to intimate rather than play good smart football, is in vogue for the next level.

BOTTOM LINE
Ronnie is a bit if a tweener and unless he decides that he needs to improve his cover skills more than he needs to make intimating tackles I’m not sure where he fits in the NFL defenses. He could be a linebacker if he puts on more bulk and improves those cover skills and becomes more of a secure tackler. I don’t want him to stop being aggressive. That’s the best part of his game. I want him to be smarter and to use his talent better than he does now. I want him to play smarter so that he can minimize his weaknesses and lack of change of direction skills. He could be a dam good impacting defensive player but he has to find a position to play. In this new NFL defense, he fits the hybrid linebacker/ safety scheme but he has to play smarter to start and tackle better. I suppose the macho teams will rate him high but once he gets on the field and the penalties start to mount up I suspect he will be pulled off the field quickly.

Drew Boylhart   APR.2018