SMU DL Elijah Roberts Scouting Report

• Position: Defensive Line
• Height: 6’3
• Weight: 285
• Class: Graduate Student

Player Profile:

Overall Grade: 95

Strengths:

• Upper body strength
• Active Hands
• Diverse pass rush portfolio, blend of power and finesse
• Positional versatility
• Burst/closing speed

Weaknesses:

• Tight hips limiting bend
• Inconsistent pad level

Scouting Report:

Overview: Tweener and outlying edge prospect with overwhelming power and twitchy hands to consistently shed blocks and get up field as a pass rusher. Roberts is a tight yet explosive athlete. he has straight line speed and short area twitch but lacks hip fluidity to get wide or from gap to gap, forcing him to operate in short areas. Roberts lined up all over the field as a pass rusher, standing up or putting his hand in the dirt as a 3-9 technique. he is able to win any rep with either overwhelming power or quick, active and accurate hands to keep his pads clean, deny punches and close with a burst to the quarterback. Due to his tight hips Roberts struggles to fully bend around the edge but has enough explosion to finish reps. Roberts will have games where he dominates, consistently coming with a plan of attack, fully engaging his lower half, getting good pad level and exploding into lineman’s chest as a power rusher while using his hands to shed inside or outside. there will also be moments where Roberts stands up too tall in his rush, limiting his knockback. Roberts still has a high pass rush win rate due to his blend of power and finesse, consistently using his hands, keeping them free to use and deny lineman’s first hands. Roberts has the desired diverse pass rush portfolio and positional versatility with his best moves being a bull rush, club and chop. as a run defender Roberts takes on blocks with force. he possesses the desired contact balance, pad level and pop at the point of attack. Roberts won’t be able to reach across face as run defender but he consistently holds ground, anchoring up and destroys blocks with his upper body strength. Roberts will get TFL’s with his ability to initially create knockback and shed with that same proper hand placement and timing seen in his pass rushes to rip off of a lineman’s grip. Roberts may seem limited at times with his pad level and hip tightness, but he does a great job of building a game of power and finesse regardless of his athletic limitations making him a versatile chest piece best suited as a 5-7 technique on rushing downs while moving around on passing downs with a primary home as a 7 technique.

Scout: Andrew Bohovich