2011 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Travis Lewis

Strengths:

Nice triangle numbers (height, weight, speed)

Deceptively strong

Highly instinctive

Love his hand use

Knows how to stack and shed blockers

Good job working through trash to get to ballcarrier

Very athletic and coordinated

Tough

Beast against the run

Intense playing style

Consistent

Sure tackler

Great agility and change-of-direction

Monster production going back to freshman season

Excellent closing speed

Good pass rusher

Versatile (4-3 SAM, 4-3 WILL, 3-4 ILB)

Good leader

Work ethic isn’t a problem

Active football player; doesn’t disappear

Love his overall skill set and talent

Good (not great) in pass coverage

Covers a lot of ground

True playmaker

Weaknesses:

Might lack some awareness in zone

Sometimes gets out of control

Could be a little more patient in gap discipline

Gets a little high in pass coverage

Needs to do a better job of protecting legs

Bites on play action a little too much

Summary: Travis Lewis is getting a lot of flack for something he shouldn’t be getting flack for, and that’s his play against the run. He’s superb. He isn’t 245 pounds, but you don’t have to be to have terrific playing strength. I’ve seen him manhandle offensive linemen and make it look easy on tape. He’s a sound tackler and as close to a sure thing as you are going to get for a 4-3 outside linebacker. He won’t fit the 3-4 as an outside linebacker because he lacks the size and pure pass rushing talent for the position.

Lewis enters the year with a first-round grade on my board at No. 12 overall and could still move up. I love that he can play both the weakside and strongside in the 4-3 at a very high level, which makes him a very rare prospect.

Player Comparison: Lance Briggs. Briggs is the 4-3 linebacker everyone in the NFL wishes they had if they run that front. Lewis has a similar skill set and talent level.

RELATED LINKS:

2011 NFL Mock Draft: Matt’s | Walt’s

2011 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings

2011 NFL Draft Scouting Reports

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