2015 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Clemson OLB/DE Vic Beasley

VIC BEASLEY- 6’3, 235- RS SR.

One of the players who has the most disparity of opinions surrounding him in the 2015 NFL Draft class is Clemson pass rusher Vic Beasley, who is listed as a defensive end but does much of his work out of a stand-up two-point stance.

Beasley has been very productive in his time as a Tiger, accumulating 33 sacks over his past three seasons. However, there’s one major issue which will hold him back in his bid to become an NFL player, just as it has for so many others: his size. Beasley is listed at 235 pounds by Clemson, although he reportedly weighed in at just 220 pounds during spring practice this year, meaning that somewhere in the 230s may be his absolute ceiling. Beasley is severely undersized to play defensive end or even a 3-4 outside linebacker as a pro; he is at least 15 pounds lighter than every one of the Top 40 NFL leaders in sacks, and will probably need to convert to a 4-3 outside linebacker as a pro.

While Beasley could end up contributing as a pass rusher behind the line of scrimmage, like lighter players like Anthony Barr and Von Miller have done recently, or like the Detroit Lions drafted Kyle Van Noy to do this year, he will need to diversify his skill set in order to succeed at a linebacker position. He had just 33 tackles this season, which was 12 less than any other player among the NCAA’s Top 10 sack leaders and significantly fewer than the vast majority of them had this year.

There are visible weaknesses in Beasley’s game as a run defender, and he is not very disciplined in that area overall. If he’s going to play a legitimate 4-3 linebacker spot, he’s going to need to tackle people in addition to rushing the passer and dropping back in coverage, so his run defense skills should be the ones that he seeks to develop the most in advance of his rookie season.

There’s a pretty widespread consensus among the well-known experts that Beasley will be a first-rounder this year. However, with a significant position change looming for him, that may not be the smartest decision for a team looking for a player who can contribute quickly.

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POSITIVES: Exceptional quickness and burst off the edge, gets a great jump off the line of scrimmage…has experience working out of both two-point and three-point stances…skilled with his hands; nice diverse set of pass rush moves, occasionally uses spin, rip, and swim…should be able to make a natural transition to linebacker; is athletic enough to be viable in coverage…if he can put on 15 pounds or so, could work as an end in a scheme that utilizes “Wide 9” ends…three years of exceptional college production as a pass rusher.

NEGATIVES: Very light for a pass rusher, probably needs to convert to strongside linebacker as a pro…easily taken out of the play, doesn’t have a whole lot of strength to recover and make a second effort…thrown to the ground much more frequently than your typical edge rusher…doesn’t settle his feet when approaching the quarterback, which leaves him susceptible to falling out of position…doesn’t use his leverage to his advantage, does not lower hips properly when rounding the edge, instead just taking advantage of his initial burst to fire in towards the quarterback…needs to be more disciplined as a run defender, has a tendency to get baited inside and give up his contain, which ends up causing him to give up big plays…for a player as athletic as he is, doesn’t do a very good job of disengaging from linemen to defend the run…gets caught too frequently playing with too high of a pad level…plays almost exclusively from the right side…may be physically maxed out and is probably close to his ceiling, as he’ll be 23 years old by the time training camp starts.

2014 Summary: Beasley had 12 sacks, which tied him for seventh in the FBS in the category. While that total didn’t match up to the 13 sacks he collected in 2013, he was still named a First Team AP All-American. On the flip side, he only had 33 tackles, which was significantly less than any of the nation’s other sack leaders. Beasley did perform well in the Tigers’ win over Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl, collecting a sack and matching his season-high with five tackles.

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Talent Grade: Third Round

Rams Role: Beasley wouldn’t really seem to be a logical fit in the Rams’ defense, though with the way that defensive coordinator Gregg Williams attempted to use Alec Ogletree as a pass rusher at the line of scrimmage during 2014 (with little to no success), it’s possible that he might be interested in a linebacker with legitimate pass-rushing ability. With that said, the Rams used safety Mark Barron in that role a lot down the stretch, and he figures to do so again next year with starting safeties T.J. McDonald and Rodney McLeod expected to return in their current roles.

The Rams have more prominent needs than linebacker (namely quarterback and offensive line), so it would be surprising to see them invest an early pick in a player like Beasley.

Film Watched: vs. NC State (2014), vs. Florida State (2014), vs. Georgia (2014), vs. Ohio State (2013), vs. South Carolina (2013), vs. Virginia (2013), vs. Wake Forest (2013), vs. Georgia (2013)

Next: 2015 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Pittsburgh OT T.J. Clemmings

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