Chicago Bears Draft Scout: Harold Landry

After a strong junior year was followed up an injury riddle senior year, is Harold Landy in play for the Chicago Bears?

Harold Landry finished top five nationally in sacks, tackles for loss and forced fumbles last season. However, he dropped in sacks by 11.5, tackles for loss by 13.5 and forced fumbles and by seven. Landry dealt with an ankle injury and missed four games. Could that mean that he is in consideration for the Chicago Bears in the second round?

Measurables:

Age: 22

School: Boston College

Strengths

Landry wins with speed and burst. He is able to get off of the ball quick, and explode into the backfield, making him a feared pass rusher. Landry also has the appearance of a stand out athlete, and one who can bend and get around the edge in a very quick manner. Watch how low he is able to get as he bends the corner on the play below to get to the quarterback.

Landry also appears to have adequate arm length, and he knows how to use them. The play below illustrates two ways in which Landry can use his arm length to get to the passer. First, he is the first to make contact with the offensive tackle, not the other way around. Landry is reaching out, and pushing the lineman back, setting up his next move. He is able to use his speed and the leverage gained on the tackle to break inside towards to the quarterback.From there, he has his eyes on the quarterbacks arm. He is again using his length to reach out and hit the shoulder of the quarterback as he is releasing the pass. This resulted in a pop fly interception for Boston College.

Landry also has some experience playing off of the ball, and looks fluid in space playing in coverage. This adds to his versatility.

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Weakness

Aside from the two moves shown above, there is not much that Landry brings in terms of a counter. If he is not blowing past a lineman or getting in the first punch, he is usually very quickly out of options. Gaining a more experienced repertoire with counters will be needed.

He also is not the strongest of defensive lineman, and may be better in a LEO or 3-4 outside linebacker role. His ability to consistently  defend the run and set the edge on the line of scrimmage is not where i needs to be. You can see on the play below that the right tackle is able to stand him up and move him to the side quite easily, freeing up a running lane for the quarterback.