Monday, December 23, 2013

Is Anthony Barr worth a top 10 pick

There's been a ton of discussion of late on just how good Anthony Barr is. Is he worth a top 10 pick, or is he too much of a project and not worth such a high pick. As of late, I've seen Barr's name disrespected to some lowly levels. For example, "Anthony Barr is really fast Jarvis Jones", "I prefer Aaron Lynch over Barr."

So I decided to put on the tape and see if the recent talk of Barr is fair, or blown out of proportion.

Strengths 


  • Explosive 1st step
  • Closing Speed/Short Area Burst
  • Athleticism/Relentless Motor
  • Setting the Edge/Understanding run responsibilities 
  • Comfortable in underneath coverage
One area where Barr has been critiqued at recently is his flexibility, ability to bend the edge, and change of direction skills. I didn't see that as an issue. If you see Barr deflect the pitch of Taylor Martinez vs. Nebraska, his COD skills are on full display. And his ability to avoid being cut blocked in multiple games, really show his flexibility as well.


As far as bending the edge, which is when you want your player off the edge coming as tight as possible and getting to the QB, this is a strength of Barr's from the games I watched(7).


 The example above is textbook "bending the edge."


 He doesn't get home in the above example, but as you can see, he stays as tight as possible.

When he sees that he has a chance to get home, that's when Barr shows off his incredible closing speed. You can see the short area burst. What I like most is, when he gets there, he's looking to force a fumble. These are game changing plays, as evidenced by his 6 forced fumbles.







Barr has shown ability as a coverage linebacker. He looks very comfortable in space and shows off how fluid an athlete he is backpedaling away from the line of scrimmage, or changing directions guarding underneath patterns.

But the most underrated part of Barr's game is against the run. He is great at setting the edge, or not letting defenders get outside of him. As a strong-side linebacker, this is a must, and this is why I think he'll be an every down player in the NFL.

This next GIF is an example of him doing a great job of setting the edge



There's nothing "sexy" about these plays, but it can't be overlooked.

He's also very disrputive, and his relentless motor is a tribute to him having 20 TFL's this season.





Weaknesses 


  • Disengaging/Hand Usage
  • Consistent Pass rush moves
  • Awareness
  • Breaking down in space/Playing under control
  • Leverage

A lot of Barr's weaknesses are displayed all in one play. Barr will come off the snap high, the OT will get their hands on Barr, Barr won't use his length to his advantage by disengaging, and will refuse to counter. Then you have a run play where he'll either over run the play, or have a chance to break down in space and make the tackle, and he'll look silly because he isn't playing under control.

The pro style, run first teams really exposed Barr as far as his ability to shed blocks consistently. Barr is actually quite strong with his initial punch, and that's usually where he wins. But tackles lock on to him and completely neutralize him if not.

Like most players, the difference when Barr plays with good leverage, and when he doesn't, is incredible. If he's firing off low, his athleticism takes over, he can get under the OT, and get to the QB or blow up the run in the backfield. He gets himself in trouble by firing off the ball high, and that's when the downward spiral starts.

While Barr's explosive step is incredible, you can't win with speed every time. The few times he does counter, whether with a hard inside step, or another counter move, it's beautfiul.





Problem is, I can count on one hand the amount of times he's tried these. His lack of counter moves really hurts him. Barr tries a spin move, but it really has no effect, he sort of just spins in the same spot. It pales in comparison to the "Freeney Spin."

Grade

As always, grade can be fully explained





Multiple Pro Bowl Player, Top 10
  8.5 – 9.0
Highly Productive Starter, 1st Round
  8.0 – 8.4
Very Good Starter, Early 2nd Round
  7.8 – 7.9
Reliable Starter, 2nd Round
  7.5 – 7.7
Potential Starter in Year 2, 3rd Round
  7.0 – 7.4
Backup/Spot Starter, 4th Round
  6.5 – 6.9
Productive Backup, 5th Round
  6.0 – 6.4
Very Good Backup/STs, 6th Round
  5.5 – 5.9
Quality Backup/Good STs, 7th Round
  5.0 – 5.4
Backup/STs/Project Player, 7th Round
  4.5 – 4.9
Priority Free Agent w/ Limitations
  4.0 – 4.4
Non-Draftable
    < 4.0

TraitWeightGrade
Vs. The Run43.7
Pass Rush Ability44
Read & React33
First Step22
Pass Rush Moves21.4
Tackling 21.6
Coverage21.9
Motor22
Stack & Shed/Strength at POA21.7
Feet/COD22

Barr grades out as an 8.4 for me. For not having a plethora of pass rushing moves, it speaks volume to the player Barr is for how productive he's been. Many people view Barr as a 3-4 hybrid/pass rushing OLB, and I don't think that's fair to Barr. He's much more than that as a player, not to mention he's currently a 4-3 SAM LB. He's very good at the run in setting the edge, as well dropping back in coverage. The hybrid tag doesn't do Barr justice for all of his traits. Barr is an outside linebacker, who just happens to be able to rush the passer. He's far from a one trick pony.

By no means is Barr a polished pass rusher, but you can see flashes, and his athletic ability with his A+ 1st step should allow him to give NFL OL fits right away. Barr is a special player who is just scratching the surface. He's certainly worth a top 10 pick based on the tapes I've watched.










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