DraftTracker
Round | Team | Pos. | School | Name
Brady Poppinga
LB (6-3, 259, 4.59)
Brigham Young
Grade: 50
Comments
Is a durable, consistent and aggressive player. Has been extremely productive and reliable as a college player. Has very good instincts and is tough. Shows good initial quickness and is relentless as a pass rusher. Has decent COD skills when using double moves as a pass rusher. Also has good recognition skills, will get his hands up and will knock down some passes. He is at his best in space versus the run. Uses his hands well to stay off of blocks. Has a very powerful upper body. Has a great motor in the running game and never gives up on a play. Is a solid and reliable open field tackler that will break down and wrap up. Is a 'tweener DE/OLB. Has decent but not great height and lacks ideal bulk at DE position. Needs to be on the move to be effective. Does not have great lower body strength or the base to consistently hold his ground versus the run. Lacks ideal top-end speed as a pass rusher. Also lacks a good array of moves as a pass rusher and gets engulfed too often after getting reached. Has very limited experience dropping into coverage. Poppinga played in 10 games on special teams and as a reserve defensive end his true freshman season in 2001. He won a starting job at right defensive end in 2002 and has been a starter since. He finished with 55 total tackles, 13 for loss and five sacks as a junior in 2003 and 79 tackles, 12 TFL and six sacks as a senior in 2004. Poppinga is an active, disruptive, instinctive and tough defensive end prospect that has been extremely durable, consistent and productive throughout his collegiate career. He is the type of overachieving, intelligent, disciplined and sound player that could contribute as a "wave" DE or even as a rush linebacker type in a 3-4 scheme. However, his lack of ideal height, lower body strength and top-end speed will always limit his potential in the NFL and will cause him to slip to the mid-to-late rounds of the 2005 draft.
* Player biographies are provided by Scouts Inc.