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By Charlie Campbell
Weaknesses:
Summary: During the Bob Stoops era, the Oklahoma Sooners produced a lot of defensive line prospects who were athletic, fast and dangerous pass rushers. There was a lull under Lincoln Riley, Winfrey could reestablish that tradition in 2021. After starting out in the junior college ranks, Winfrey flashed during the shortened 2020 season, recording 17 tackles, .5 sacks and three passes batted. He had a big game against Texas and was playing better in the back half of the season as he gained experience.
In 2021, Winfrey needed to become more consistent than he was. He recorded only 23 tackles, although he did have 5.5 sacks. There were times when he looked like he could be a real force as an interior pass rusher and caused havoc behind the line of scrimmage. He also went through a lot of quiet stretches and games in which he didn’t make plays. It doesn’t make sense to see him held in check by offensive linemen who had no business getting the better of him athletically.
As a pass rusher, Winfrey is quick off the ball and capable to fire his gap to get upfield. With his bulk and size, Winfrey is able to work off blocks and continue to collapse the pocket. When he gets free, Winfrey has a real burst to close, and that can be seen in both phases. He shows a swim move to go along with some speed and power, but he needs to develop more pass-rushing moves for the NFL.
As a run defender, Winfrey is at his best working upfield and causing disruption in the backfield. He shows good pursuit skills, and he will hustle to the flat to get in on tackles. For the NFL, it would help him to improve the strength of his base. Defending runs coming straight at him and holding his ground versus double teams could be areas for Winfrey to improve.
For the NFL, Winfrey has a painful lack of instincts and awareness. That really neutralizes his good skill set. Winfrey would definitely first best as a three-technique tackle in a 4-3 defense. In January of 2022, multiple area scouts said they were projecting Winfrey to the third round or early-rounds of Day 3 of the 2022 NFL Draft. Here is what one area scout said of Winfrey in January:
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“We have him lower but I’m not surprised some scouts have him in the third. People gamble on traits all the time; he’s just not freaky enough for me to take risk on. Good defensive lines have backups with his skill set and didn’t have to spend high capital to acquire. Size is just average for a 3 tech, got some initial quicks but stiff, weight room strong but neutralized too often even vs slug Big 12 guards and low production because he has no instincts and low recognition skill to consistently play fast and that was vs those Big 12 college schemes. He had one dominant snap all season – putting Jurgens on skates – and that was it. Got his a** kicked vs Texas, who doesn’t have any dudes on their offensive line, and damn near quit. Too many red flags for me. I’ll try on Day 3, see how he handles this process and the grease board stuff, see how big a learning curve it’s going to take. Still see too much juco stuff on tape.”
Player Comparison: Maurice Hurst. Winfrey reminds me of a taller version of Hurst. Hurst has some quickness, but he has never developed into being more than a backup-caliber player. Winfrey could be similar in the NFL.
RELATED LINKS:
2022 NFL Mock Draft: Charlie’s | Walt’s
2022 NFL Draft Prospect Rankings
2022 NFL Draft Scouting Reports
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