kearly
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Blair is an interesting case. He posted a 5.15 forty time with a 1.75 ten yard split at 303 pounds. Both numbers are pretty average. On tape his speed and explosiveness both seem dead average. He doesn't anticipate the snap especially well. Simply put, he is not an explosive athlete. Yet at the same time, only three DTs invited to the combine scored a higher pSPARQ score than Blair did. This really surprised me, given that the only individual test that Blair rated as a "top performer" in was the bench press (32 reps).
Maybe this speaks to the flaws of SPARQ rating, but I decided to go back and take another look.
Nope, Blair is still not that explosive. I guess my first instinct was right after all.
Now with that said, I find myself warming on the player. He has excellent upper body strength, he uses his long (34") arms very well, and he's surprisingly stout against the run. He's also roughly the same pass rusher at DE as he is at DT. He not only sheds blocks well, but creates a lot of pressures.
I'll admit I had some bias against this guy due to the lack of explosiveness and his small school pedigree. But watching him again, I am noticing that he generates a very high number of pressures, especially when playing inside. I also noticed that Blair is hyper-efficient with his movements. He gets everywhere he wants with the minimum number of steps and moves required and does so fluidly. He may not be explosive, but the fluidity adds an extra notch to his functional athleticism. He also brings a lot of consistency- this is not a player you want to hold the ball five seconds against.
This is a weird comparison, but watching him feels like watching a DT version of Chris Clemons. Clemons didn't blow by guys, he used outstanding technique and upper body strength to tie blockers in knots. Clemons could also bull rush pretty well when he sensed it there for the taking.
Surprisingly, Blair is only ranked as a 6th round pick on the consensus big board, while most other sites have him marked down as a mid-round player. Seattle loves length and upper body strength on their D-lineman, but they also like guys that are quick twitch and explosive. Blair satisfies the first condition but not the second, so it's hard to know how high he'd be on Seattle's draft board.
One other strike against Blair is that he has very little untapped potential, he's already very advanced in his technique and abilities and it seems like Seattle tends to shy away from players with high floors.
I like Blair, especially at the cost of a 4th round pick, but I am not quite sure Seattle feels the same. Then again, in a draft with a lack of perfect options, almost every prospect requires making a compromise somewhere, and Blair stands out as one of the best pass rusher values in the draft.
Blair is an interesting case. He posted a 5.15 forty time with a 1.75 ten yard split at 303 pounds. Both numbers are pretty average. On tape his speed and explosiveness both seem dead average. He doesn't anticipate the snap especially well. Simply put, he is not an explosive athlete. Yet at the same time, only three DTs invited to the combine scored a higher pSPARQ score than Blair did. This really surprised me, given that the only individual test that Blair rated as a "top performer" in was the bench press (32 reps).
Maybe this speaks to the flaws of SPARQ rating, but I decided to go back and take another look.
Nope, Blair is still not that explosive. I guess my first instinct was right after all.
Now with that said, I find myself warming on the player. He has excellent upper body strength, he uses his long (34") arms very well, and he's surprisingly stout against the run. He's also roughly the same pass rusher at DE as he is at DT. He not only sheds blocks well, but creates a lot of pressures.
I'll admit I had some bias against this guy due to the lack of explosiveness and his small school pedigree. But watching him again, I am noticing that he generates a very high number of pressures, especially when playing inside. I also noticed that Blair is hyper-efficient with his movements. He gets everywhere he wants with the minimum number of steps and moves required and does so fluidly. He may not be explosive, but the fluidity adds an extra notch to his functional athleticism. He also brings a lot of consistency- this is not a player you want to hold the ball five seconds against.
This is a weird comparison, but watching him feels like watching a DT version of Chris Clemons. Clemons didn't blow by guys, he used outstanding technique and upper body strength to tie blockers in knots. Clemons could also bull rush pretty well when he sensed it there for the taking.
Surprisingly, Blair is only ranked as a 6th round pick on the consensus big board, while most other sites have him marked down as a mid-round player. Seattle loves length and upper body strength on their D-lineman, but they also like guys that are quick twitch and explosive. Blair satisfies the first condition but not the second, so it's hard to know how high he'd be on Seattle's draft board.
One other strike against Blair is that he has very little untapped potential, he's already very advanced in his technique and abilities and it seems like Seattle tends to shy away from players with high floors.
I like Blair, especially at the cost of a 4th round pick, but I am not quite sure Seattle feels the same. Then again, in a draft with a lack of perfect options, almost every prospect requires making a compromise somewhere, and Blair stands out as one of the best pass rusher values in the draft.
