STRENGTHS
Clelin has the size, length, strength, quickness and change of direction skills to be one of the best complete defensive linemen to play this game. He can be as disruptive as you want him to be depending on your defensive scheme and calls. He has the athletic talent to be used as a spy against those athletic quarterbacks and the power to obliviate any size player who is trying to block him. Clelin can power rush or use a little finesse and speed to get into the backfield and disrupt or sack the quarterback. He has excellent techniques and strength to defend against the run also. He is what I call a shut down Defensive End because you can’t run around his side with any kind of success, you just run at him to keep him honest. Clelin shows good effort on every play, works well with his line mates and looks to have a solid football IQ to go along with his natural strength and athletic talent. Clelin has the potential to be the type of player who becomes the standard for his position in the very near future.
CONCERNS
There are times in a game when Clelin’s footwork is a little clumsy and there are times when his hand usage is slow and he is slow to use his hands to his benefit. He might have the slowest spin move I have ever seen, that being said, these “concerns” just might mean that Clelin is still growing into his body and that is a scary thought for offensive coordinators to have to think about. I guess that could be considered a “concern” also… that is for offensive coordinators.
TALENT BOARD ROUND 1.33
Clelin’s overall size and athletic talents reminds me a lot of Bengals Carlos Dunlap and if he has a career equals to Carlos’s he will be worthy of being selected very early in this draft. That being said, I think Clelin could be even more impacting and dominating than Carlos has been and that is saying a lot. I’ve seen Clelin move off the line of scrimmage at times and that is the curse of an athletic defensive lineman these days. Defensive coordinators will use athletes like Clelin in coverage situations instead of attacking the line of scrimmage and, I see on film that because of Clelin’s athletic talent he was used (at times) outside to defend screens and sweeps lined up in the slot. My guess in this case because of the talent on the line scrimmage it was a smart move to do what this DC did on those downs. Nevertheless, it limited Clelin’s impact as a pass rusher and that might be the reason there is some clumsiness to his pass rush footwork and hand usage at times. At least that’s what I think and that’s what I see. So, if you want to down grade a player with this type of potential because at times he seems clumsy…go right a head but I wouldn’t do it. Nope, not me because, this kid could be the standard for the defensive end position in the future and I’m not passing on that just to nit-pick myself out of selecting a player with this type of potential. I call him Clelin (The Works) Ferrell because he has all “the works” or the full range of possibilities, to become the standard for his position in the near future.–
