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| Clemson University |
OT, Clemson
Rankings
Rankings for Battle are all over the place. NFLDraftScout.com ranked him the #5 tackle in the 2016 draft as of June 16. (The fifth tackle drafted this year, D.J. Humphries, went #24 overall.) Yahoo Sports reported two NFL sources calling Battle a 3rd-round prospect now, but that he could have been a top-5 tackle if he'd gotten to play his senior year. Gil Brandt ranked him a 3rd-4th round prospect. An NFL scout interviewed by ESPN.com at Battle's pro day ranked him as a 4th-7th round prospect.
Biography/Honors
2014: Started 11 of 12 games. Played 823 snaps (most on the team) and made 18 knockdown blocks.
2013: Appeared in 10 games, starting 4. Played 359 snaps with 13 knockdown blocks.
2012: Appeared in 5 games. Played 153 snaps with one knockdown block.
Kicked off the team for a marijuana possession citation June 11th which was his third drug-related strike, suggesting he'd previously failed two drug tests. Was suspended twice, for one game in 2013 for punching a North Carolina State player and once by Clemson in 2014 for disciplinary reasons.
Academics: Majored in parks, recreation & tourism management. Left school before senior season to enter NFL supplemental draft.
Twitter: no Twitter ID found
Medical
No injuries reported
Pro Day Stats
(NFL Combine averages for tackles in parentheses)
40-yard dash: 5.21 (5.27)
Vertical: 24.5" (29")
Broad: 8'5" (8'7")
3-cone: not reported or did not run
Shuttle: not reported or did not run
Bench: 12 - did not finish due to arm cramps (25 was the average for tackles. What is it with the Rams and poor-benching tackles this year? 12 would have been dead last at the Combine, 4 behind, yes, Rob Havenstein, and doesn't even beat the mark claimed a couple of years ago by the then-66-year-old owner of the Rams)
Scouting Report
Pluses: Prototypical NFL tackle build; ideal height and weight and long arms. Good agility and burst. Moves well on the pull and gets downfield well on screens. Gets to the second level quickly and adjusts well to moving targets in space. Excellent kick-slide and footwork in pass protection. Combined with his wingspan, that makes him hard to get around. Technique is good off the snap; he shows good bend and balance and quick hands. Would fit best in a quick-passing scheme that uses a lot of 3-step drops. Has played left and right tackle. Had significant interest from the Falcons and Bills. Left tackles with his size and fluid movement are not easy to find.
Minuses: Gifted but very raw. Attitude and effort have been questioned. Has average strength at best and questionable work ethic in the weight room. Needs to fill out frame. Skinny-legged. Some scouts say he's lazy on the field and gets sloppy in his technique. Bends at the waist too often, will be vulnerable to bull rushes and inside moves. Anchors poorly because he has poor lower body strength and technique. Doesn't play with dominating force. Plays a little high, which costs him some power as a run blocker. Doesn't mirror well. Gets stuck in place when opponent attacks his outside shoulder, leading to poor positioning. Needs to improve hand use. Does not have violent hands. Multiple character red flags.
Compares to: Mike Adams
Fun Facts
Isaiah is the first player the Rams have ever selected in the supplemental draft, which began in 1977, and the first selected in the NFL since Josh Gordon in 2012. He's not the first supplemental pick to have played for the Rams; Steve Walsh was drafted by the Cowboys in 1989, Milford Brown by the Texans in 2002.
RamView
Something I meant to comment on during the 2015 draft was that, refreshingly, the Rams' whole draft class was clean off the field. Apparently going through withdrawal, then, today Snead and Fisher spent the team's 5th-rounder next year on a player who's apparently had trouble staying clean to the point of getting kicked off his college team. There is little I like about this pick, which has memories of Claude Wroten all over it. Snead says that Battle will only be a practice player until 2016, which would be fine if he were just tying up a practice squad slot, but I don't believe the Rams can pull that off without having Battle tie up a main roster spot all of 2015. Talk about the upside, Battle's first-round potential, all you want; draft assessments before the coming college season, 11 months before the next draft, make a mockery of even mock drafts in their inaccuracy. Does Battle have the physical tools to succeed in the NFL? It looks like it for the most part. The Rams are really going to have to stay on top of him, though. The price is probably right here, but nothing about this maneuver helps the Rams win in St. Louis in 2015, and I have little use for it. Thanks for the urgency to win here, guys. Thumbs down hard.
Sources: Clemson athletics, Sporting News, Wikipedia, Yahoo Sports, Pro Football Talk, NFL.com, ESPN.com, SBNation.com, The Clemson Insider
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