STRENGTHS
Charles is a big, tall, long legged, long arm defensive lineman. He has natural strength and solid foot speed to get into the backfield playing any one of the defensive line positions in any style of defensive front depending on the down and distance. He is stout against the run using his long arms to keep opponents away from his body to free himself up to shed and make tackles. Charles is unique in that he can rush the passer with speed and burst off the line on the outside and has the strength and quickness if used on the inside, in one gap attack defense to disrupt also. Charles has big time upside to his game and if he works hard he could be the best defensive lineman from a very talented group of defensive linemen in this draft.
CONCERNS
I’m not sure how serious Charles has been to improve his overall play. He does an excellent job keeping players off of him but is very slow to shed blocks and make tackles. He can rush the passer with strength and speed but doesn’t always use his natural talents to his advantage when it calls for it. I’m not sure if these issues are because of poor understanding of situational football or if it’s because Charles plays more than one position and just hasn’t been able to settle in with the correct techniques. All I can tell you is that Charles has the natural talent to be better than any other defensive lineman in this draft and if the team that selects him can get him to realize that than I pity the teams that passed on selecting him in this draft, in the future.
TALENT BOARD ROUND 2.08
I Believe it comes down to work ethic and maturity. I’m not sure if Charles realizes how much talent he has. He is a pure Defensive End in a 4/3 because of his burst, power, length and strength off the line. He’s what I call a natural power pass rusher like Julius Peppers or Michael Strahan. When you move him inside or over the center like he was used in college at times, his burst off the line gets nullified because of his height and lack of techniques. Keep him out in space and his height, long arms and legs and natural strength gives him an advantage off the snap of the ball. So, if Charles gains the maturity and work ethic and the team that selects him keeps him at one position, so that he can learn the correct techniques, there is no doubt in my mind that Charles can be the best defensive end out of this very talent defensive linemen draft class. I saw how he improved every day at the Senior Bowl practices and how he dominated in the game. Charles has tremendous upside and I wouldn’t be surprised if he sneaks into the first round but, if he does remember that it might take a little time for him to develop but I believe, it will be worth the wait.
