LeSean McCoy, RB, Pittsburgh

Name: LeSean McCoy
Position: RB
School: Pittsburgh
Height: 5105 E
Weight: 204 V
40 Time: 4.44 V

Athleticism: 6.5
McCoy is a very good athlete who hides his athleticism well. In particular, he doesn’t always show his quickness when running the football, but when he gets into the open field or when he has to outrun a defender to a spot, he can turn up the speed. McCoy has excellent balance that allows him to escape would-be tackles and turn 3 yard gains into longer runs. He has excellent change of direction ability that allows him to make great cuts and he runs with good pad level.
Quickness: 6.5
Balance: 6.5
Fluidity: 7.0

Physical Talents: 6.0
McCoy has decent physical talents because of his very good acceleration, but his lack of size and only adequate strength are legitimate problems. He has been an excellent inside runner for Pittsburgh, but his ability to break arm tackles might not translate to the NFL. For a back his size, he has good functional strength but in order to maximize his talent as an inside runner he will need to improve in this area.
Body Type: 5.5
Strength: 5.5
Explosion: 6.5

Polish: 6.0
McCoy has a decent understanding of the playbook (though he did have a couple of miscues, it was in a pro-style offense that showed a lot of looks) and has a firm grasp of running technique (pad level, body lean, turning the corner). He does have a tendency to make one or two ill-advised bounces outside a game, but normally shows excellent instincts waiting for and locating the hole. He has improved on his tendency to bounce runs outside and his ball-security issues but needs to continue to improve here.
Understands Playbook: 6.0
Proper Technique: 6.0
Instincts: 7.0

Competitiveness: 6.5
McCoy is a competitive player who does a few things that you really like. His freshman year, McCoy had problems consistently running for 5 yards (tried to hit a homerun all the time) but was much improved as a sophomore here and was more consistent than his offensive line. He shows the leg drive to fight for the first down and displays good effort while running (poor effort as a blocker lowers his grade from 7.0 to 6.5). In the clutch McCoy is a guy who you want to give the ball to, as he seems to play well with pressure on the line (WVU game, 3^rd/4^th and short).
Toughness: 6.5
Consistency: 6.5
Clutch Play: 7.0
Effort: 6.5

Football Character: 6.5 In general gets high marks – still learning to be a complete back but has a good reputation.
Personal Character: 6.0 I just don’t expect to see any problems from McCoy. He went from one of the top recruits in the nation his junior year to almost losing his career after a nasty ankle injury and academic issues, spent a year in prep school, then burst onto the scene again at Pitt. He still has some growing up to do, but when all is said an done I don’t think he will be much of a problem.
Durability: 6.0 Ankle injury in high school is several years old, but with his frame you would be a little concerned about his durability. Overall, not a guy you expect to have problems.

Run Instincts: 7.0 Has a good feel for rushing lanes and who will be open.
Tackle-Breaking: 5.5 He did this well enough in college, but will need to add weight to do this in the pros.
Cutback Ability: 6.5 McCoy is deadly making cuts, sometimes tries to go against the grain when he shouldn’t, but also gets some nice gains when he does so.
Inside Running: 6.5 Best on runs between the tackles or just outside the tackles. Vision, patience, and cutback ability allow him to shine here despite a mediocre OL. If he adds weight, he could be even better.
Outside Running: 6.0 McCoy has the speed needed to run outside a lot, but seems to do his best work inside.
Receiving Skills: 6.0 McCoy is a reliable receiver, though rarely runs more than 5 yards past the LOS in his routes. About what you’d expect from a good starting back.
Run After Catch: 6.0 McCoy could be even better if he ran more decisively after the catch, but has the raw physical tools needed to be deadly in space. I’d love to see him on screen passes.
Open-Field: 6.5 McCoy has the loose hips, plus speed, toughness, and a spin move to make him tough to bring down in the open field.
Pass Blocker: 5.0 Terrible. An okay cut-blocker but unenthused when asked to pick up the blitz. Needs a lot of improvement here.
Fumble/Errors: 5.5 McCoy is improving here, but still has work to do. Doesn’t make a ton of mental errors, but more than you’d love to see. When it comes to ball security, he exposes the ball too much and doesn’t always transfer it between arms well. I think he can improve this.

Summary: Due to a certain Youtube video, some people are under the impression that McCoy doesn’t run inside much. That is simply not true, as McCoy runs inside more often than outside by a significant margin. He’s actually pretty good running inside because of his burst, vision, and leg drive. McCoy definitely has some areas for improvement, however, as he needs to work on his blocking, continue to improve ball security, cut down on mental errors, and add weight. The potential to be a very good ball carrier is there, but McCoy probably needs a year before he is ready for a starting role and even then I question his ability to be a 3 down back. Some offenses release their backs on routes more, while others have them block. Under Holmgren, Seattle sent their back out on routes frequently, but it is unlikely Knapp will retain that philosophy so McCoy’s blocking problems could be amplified. I probably wouldn’t take McCoy 37^th for Seattle, but I think some team would be justified doing so and I think McCoy would be worth a pick around 50-60 for Seattle.

Final Grade: 6.1

Note: There is a possibility that I will watch more Pitt games in the future, and for that reason I reserve the right to change this grade up until the 2009 NFL Draft.

Games Scouted: USF, WVU, ND, OSU

Aaron Curry, OLB, Wake Forest

Name: Aaron Curry
Position: Outside Linebacker
School: Wake Forest
Height: 6020
Weight: 249
40 Time: 4.50
Athleticism: 7.0
Curry has incredible athleticism for his size, and very good athleticism period. COD is good, he keeps his feet underneath him, and he backpedals extremely well. He will be among the more athletic 4-3 OLBs in the league when he gets to the NFL.
Quickness: 7.0
Balance: 6.5
Fluidity: 7.0

Physical Talents: 7.0
Curry has an almost-perfect LB body type, being just a tad shorter than is “ideal”, but certainly nothing to complain about. He has superb strength in his body and above-average explosion when asked to blitz. The only real problem is a tendency to sometimes out-think himself.
Body Type: 7.0
Strength: 7.0
Explosion: 6.5

Polish: 6.0
For all you hear about how safe he is, his polish needs some work. He’s not a project by any means, but he doesn’t always make the best reads against the run (can get too aggressive) and really has some problems anticipating the pass in zone coverage. Makes the tackle, but would be better off stopping the play before the catch.
Understands Playbook: 6.5
Proper Technique: 6.0
Instincts: 6.0

Competitiveness: 7.0
Curry seems to have a great head on his shoulders, shows great toughness (was hurt in one game I watched, but overall track record is great) and effort, even playing special teams at a high level. He sometimes bites on play action or doesn’t read the run well, but it isn’t an effort or competitive drive problem.
Toughness: 7.0
Consistency: 6.0
Clutch Play: 66.5
Effort: 7.0

Football Character: 7.0 Supposedly an extremely hard worker, and has a great NFL-ready body that shows dedication in the weight room.
Personal Character: 7.0 Should be a star in the community.
Durability: 6.5 Seems to have a good record, did get knocked up a bit in one game but was back for the rest of the season.

Linebacker Specific Skills
Read & React: 6.5 Generally reads very well, but does make some errors. Does a great job against the option, though, which is important with the spread of the “Wildcat” offense.
Initial Quicks: 7.0 First 2 steps are great, though not always maximized due to somewhat slow reaction to the play.
Hit Power: 6.0 He was asked to do so much for WF that he didn’t get to make the riskier tackles. Very safe tackler, but not a real hard hitter on a consistent basis. Certainly not a weakness.
Block Shedding: 7.5 TEs and even OL are going to have trouble blocking him at the NFL level on running plays, not as strong on passing plays.
Tackling: 7.0 Makes a lot of tackles and usually does a good job – only problem comes when he takes poor angles, but is generally secure.
Range: 7.0 Can cover vast areas of the field quickly, actually this is most prevalent in coverage as he spent a lot of time attacking the LOS against the run, opening things up for his teammates.
Man Coverage: 6.5 Athletically he has the ability to match up with anyone in the league at TE to RB. He jams TEs well but gives them a little too much room to prevent the big play.
Zone Coverage: 6.0 Again, the athleticism is there. But he seems to get picked on a bit by QBs (BC game in particular) in this area. Instincts don’t look great in this area, as he’s a little sluggish to pick up guys entering his zone.
Pass-Rush: 6.5 He’s big and strong and fast, with good explosion. He looks a little tight when asked to change directions, and is more of a “pressure” edge rusher than a guy who seals the deal.
Errors: 6.5 He doesn’t always read the run right, and he seems to have trouble with the passing game. Puzzling because he supposedly gets high marks for his smarts off the field, just not seeing any kind of genius on the field.

Summary: Curry is a very good player, and possibly the best defender in this draft. However, he is not a guy who is perfect as is, despite what some in the media say. He has great athleticism and strength, is a good person, and works hard. Mentally, his game still needs refining. My only real issue with Curry is that I don’t think, in a 4-3, he’ll have the kind of production to justify what a top-10 pick will earn. I’d rather put him in a 3-4 and let him do a mix of blitzing, short coverage, and playing gaps in the running game. He deserves a top-10 grade because he will be a great player, but like Alex Mack, I’m not sure I’d take him that high.
Final Grade: 6.7

Games Scouted: Baylor, Boston College, Navy, Vanderbilt