Saturday, July 5, 2014

Rookie free agent profile: Ethan Westbrooks, DE, West Texas A&M

Ethan Westbrooks 6'4” 267
DE, West Texas A&M

Rankings:
NFLDraftScout: 13th-ranked defensive end, #150 player overall, 4th-5th round grade.
Nawrocki: 11th-ranked DE, not ranked in top 150 prospects. Grade: 5.23, should make a roster and contribute on special teams.
Scouts Inc: 25th-ranked DE, #272 player overall. Grade: 36, borderline draft prospect.
DraftCountdown.com: 20th ranked DE, #213 player overall. Late round-free agent grade.

Biography/Honors:
2013: Second team “Little all-America” (Division II, III, NAIA). First team all-Lone Star conference. Played in 14 games, starting 10. 43 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, 10 QB hurries, 5 batted passes and a forced fumble. Defensive MVP of the East-West Shrine Game with two sacks.
2012: Transferred to West Texas A&M. Division II National Defensive Player of the Year. Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Played in 15 games, starting 14. 60 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 19.5 sacks (1 off Division II record), two batted passes, three forced fumbles. Led the nation in sacks.
2011: Transferred to Sacramento City College. MVP of the Mid-Empire Conference with 10.5 sacks. Complete statistics not readily available online.
2010: Transferred to Cosumnes River (Calif.) J.C. Did not play football.
2009: Played in 11 games for San Joaquin Delta (Calif.) J.C., starting nine. 36 tackles, 12.5 sacks, 12.5 tackles for loss, 9 QB hurries.

Off-field:
Academics: Majored in nursing, with a minor in business.
Twitter handle: @EastyBeasty90

Injuries:
None reported

NFL Combine Stats: (averages for defensive ends in parentheses)

4.83 40 (4.83)
29” vertical jump (33” - Westbrooks was one of the low five DEs)
9'2” broad jump (9'8” - also in the low five)
7.30 3-cone drill (7.33)
4.67 20-yard shuttle
19 bench press (22)

Scouting report:
Positives: Intriguing size and athleticism. Well-built with good size and “length”. Plays bigger than his size. Has frame to add at least 10 pounds without losing quickness. Explodes off the snap and explodes into blockers. Has surprising burst. Very physical and aggressive. Explosive upper body, can rock a blocker on his heels. Above average overall strength. Quick, heavy hands. Good first step and good bend around the edge. Excellent flexibility, balance and body control. Natural pass rusher who hunts down QBs. Breaks down well chasing mobile QBs. Disruptive penetrator with a good spin move and a very effective inside move. Plays with tenacity and covers a lot of ground when he plays motivated. Quick closing burst. Shows some nastiness. Versatile – played nose tackle and 3-technique as well as traditional 4-3 DE. Dominated lesser (Division II) competition but had his best games against his best opponents. No significant injuries.

Negatives: Very raw, unpolished, unrefined in technique. Level of competition let him get by just on his athletic skills. Freelanced all the time in college and will have to learn to play a structured game. Much more interested in rushing the passer than playing the run and gets fooled by play-action and draw plays. Does not maintain his rushing lane, gets out of position and loses track of the ball. Effort is a significant concern. Disappears for long stretches. Motor doesn't always run hot. Doesn't pursue hard once the play's past him. Needs to improve his hand work and work on keeping his pads low. Struggles with the mental game. Doesn't show a good understanding of blocking schemes. Respectful but a bit of an oddball. Coaches will have to stay on his case to get the most out of him. Takes stupid penalties and committed THIRTY PENALTIES IN TWO YEARS at West Texas A&M, INCLUDING 15 OFFSIDES PENALTIES. And, believe it or not, some teams consider his tattoos (he is heavily tattooed and has one on his face) as character red flags.

Compares to: Eugene Sims

Fun Facts: Famous people with face tattoos: Mike Tyson, Lil Wayne and Dallas Mavericks forward Deshawn Stevenson, who is the face tattoo champion for his inexplicable backwards Pittsburgh Pirates logo. Although there is the rapper with the giant ice cream cone on his face. Good grief.

RamView: The Rams should carry 10 or 11 defensive linemen on their 53-man roster, which sounds like a lot, but nine of those spots are probably already decided. Michael Sam's the ninth unless he has a terrible camp. I've got Westbrooks, Sammy Brown, Matt Conrath and Deantre Harlan fighting for the last scraps, and I think Westbrooks, who got the biggest signing bonus among Rams UDFAs, is a pretty good favorite to win out. After Mike Waufle turned Gerald Rivers into a legit NFL pass rusher last summer, a player of Westbrooks' versatility and pass-rushing skills is clearly in the right camp, as long as he keeps his head on straight. But knowing Jeff Fisher's strict discipline against committing penalties, Westbrooks could be in for an uphill... oh, never mind. Your locker's over there. Next to Ray Ray Armstrong.

Chance of making team: 55%.

Sources: NFL Draft 2014 Preview (Nolan Nawrocki), NFLDraftScout.com, CBSSports.com, West Texas A&M athletics, Stockton (Calif.) Record, Amarillo (Tex.) Globe-News, Scout.com, Sacramento City College Express, MTV

Photo: NFL.com

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