NFL Draft Prospects 2019: Edge Rusher - Rashan Gary, Michigan
Expectations for Rashan Gary could not have been higher, as he came to Ann Arbor as the nation’s number one overall recruit. He was a significant part in Michigan’s D-line rotation as a freshman but turned into a monster for the Wolverines as a full-time starter in his second season and he began to live up to the hype towards the end of the season, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors. He repeated that feat last season, even though his numbers dipped a little, to some degree due to a banged up shoulder. Overall Gary recorded 18 tackles for loss and nine sacks over these 22 games as a starter.
Standing at 6’5”, 285 pounds Gary in an athletic wonder with incredible burst, power and balance. Gary treats tight-ends like little kids in the run game and seems to have the upper hand physically against even guards. He does an excellent job stringing out runs and pushing blockers from the side to force the running back to stop his feet in the backfield.
Gary might not set the edge with perfect technique every single time to keep the outside arm free, but he usually brings a strong punch and has the range to cover the space towards the sideline. You see some ridiculous turn of the hips on some occasions when he is going straight upfield and then opens up by 90 degrees better than most defensive backs. That comes in handy against cutbacks or when the quarterback pulls the ball, as he shows tremendous burst to run guys down towards the sideline.
Gary’s start-stop quickness as an unblocked defender makes him a dangerous chase player and a tough guy to read on option plays. Plus he arrives at ball-carriers with some thump. He is such a passionate player, who hates to lose and gets his teammates pumped up.
You can’t just take Gary’s production and compare it apples-to-apples with some of the other guys on this list. He played a lot of games as a strongside defensive end and freed up his teammates on stunts and blitzes in the passing game. Gary is a little slow off the snap but explosive in his get-off. He displays violent hands and a good pull to complement it. His power is his go-to move as a pass rusher, so once offensive linemen start leaning into him too much, he will exploit that.
When tackles get high in their kick-slides against him, Gary can just take them off their feet completely at times. He displays a nice rip move to get under the blocker’s pads and utilizes the long arm very well to keep his frame clean. When Gary does get a good jump off the snap, he shows the ability to turn the corner on guys and win pretty much as a speed rusher as well.
The former number one overall recruit lined up inside quite a bit and ran several T-E-stunts. While the production was not nearly where you’d expect it to be from a likely top-ten pick, I can not even count the amount of times I thought Gary had a good rush and either the ball just came out, he was chipped by the running back at the last second or the play turned into a QB draw.
Probably the biggest boom-or-bust prospect in this entire draft, Gary’s athletic upside and tools are out of this world, but he still has so much to learn. He tries to peek inside of his blocker at times and allows the running back to cut behind those two, putting his linebackers in bad situations.
Gary does not yet understand the principle of rushing half a man. He doesn’t seem to have much of a plan or recognition of pass sets at this point and doesn’t really string moves together over the course of drives. You see him attempt different pass rush moves, but the timing and placement of his hands is a little off for the most part, leading to only 24 total pressures in 2018. His overall production took a big dip last season even when you compare it in regards to playing time, as he benefitted from playing along the D-line with Maurice Hurst as a sophomore, who drew a lot of the attention on the inside.
Gary is far from fulfilling his potential, as he heavily relies on his physical gifts rather than technique, but that promises improvement. Teams should be very intrigued by the freakish testing numbers at the combine and some of the stuff they see on tape, but that is not nearly enough to make him a high first-round pick.
It will be instrumental for Gary to get together with a defensive line coach that can teach him about pass sets, proper technique and the overall art of pass rushing, but if that happens, he could be a beast at the next level. If you don’t see him being able to process information quickly and simply look for a disruptor, he should be a problem at 3-tech as well.
Grade: Early first