This is who I’d like to see us get to help generate some inside pressure, 10.5 sacks in 2019 from the DT position. He’s not Aaron Donald but he does get to work with him in the off-season.
2 Likes
I am all about him. I would love to see him in Detroit in the 2nd round.
3 Likes
He looks quick and uses his hands really well, doesn’t seem to have much power at the POA, but that’s going off of a sack highlight reel. I’ll definitely check him out more in the offseason.
1 Like
2021 NFL Draft prospect Jaylen Twyman can be the next great Pitt pass rusher.
As yet another collegiate football player makes the decision to opt-out of the 2020 college football season, we can begin to take a closer look at the talent entering the 2021 NFL Draft pool.
Pittsburgh 4-3 defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman only played 21 games before opting out for the draft and brings with him an impressive collection of game tape as well as a stat sheet which shows 41 total tackles and 10.5 sacks, which is comparable to another Pitt product who has made one of the biggest impacts in the NFL to date.
Fellow Pittsburgh Panther and current LA Ram Aaron Donald posted similar numbers in his sophomore season, with 47 tackles and 11 sacks. The two players are both undersized and play with quickness and polished technique. Donald managed to change the NFL’s view on defensive tackles, creating a new trend of sack production by beating bigger, slower interior linemen with a blend of power, quickness, and technique.
Training together when Donald would return to Pitt in the offseason, a Jaylen Twyman feature by Pitt LiveWire shows the two training together and practicing their hand-technique.
Throughout the video, the immediate and strongest impression I gained was that Twyman is a strong character who is willing to put in the work to elevate his game. A specific segment showed Twyman stating why he enjoyed the defensive system at Pitt, saying he could go “one-on-one” and “help us make more plays.” This ‘NBA mentality’ is something that has become more popular in the world of sports and can define the good from the great.
Similar to Donald, Twyman is another product of this Pittsburgh program that is looking to become a known producer of modern NFL interior lineman who ‘pierce’ rather than ‘push’ through the line of scrimmage. This applies to both pass-rush and run-defending situations in which Twyman uses his quick and well-paired hands and feet to work past blockers. Some moves in his arsenal include swims, swipes, push-pulls, and other techniques to move laterally to the blocker.
He can also apply this same skillset to run defending, shedding blockers with shucks and moving aside.
Active hands are one of Twyman’s greatest strengths in his draft report, bringing back reminders of MMA fighters rather than NFL linemen. Once outside the hip of a blocker, Twyman displays a unique level of hip-bend for a player at his position, able to chase down escaping quarterbacks with his short-area quickness. Seeing this kind of play makes me think with growth that Twyman could become a star who can slide along the entire defensive line in a 4-3 front.
Working back to the previously mentioned size of Twyman, at under 300 pounds there is only so much that can be done in run defense. Twyman may not even be able to operate as a defensive end within a 3-4 front, but his specific skill set is designed to thrive in a complementary defensive front with players around him who can help spotlight his proficient pass-rushing. Against power-run plays with the offense moving downhill, Twyman is able to hold his own against an individual blocker but will be on the field to open tackling lanes for linebackers ad other, more effective run defenders.
Before moving into the player comparison, the final note to be placed on this scouting report is Twyman’s high floor coming into the 2021 NFL Draft.
Similar to the Bosa brothers of past drafts, Twyman has a well-polished technique that stands out at the collegiate level and will suffice in the NFL and continue to improve with coaching. As quoted in a previous piece “NFL Week 1 Rookie Highlights,” the ‘Bosa theorem’ states: “If a Bosa pass rushes a tackle with equal or better technique than them, they will most likely be locked down by superior athleticism. But if an opposing tackle has inferior technique, the Bosa will succeed.”
Similar to the Bosas, Twyman will rely on superior technique unless there is a significant improvement in physical profile (size & strength). Thankfully, there is a college-football-season sized gap in his schedule to provide the chance for significant physical improvement in the leadup to the 2021 NFL draft.
Player Comparison: Geno Atkins, CIN
I understand that I have made comparisons to Aaron Donald throughout this article. Same college coaching staff, nearly identical builds and playstyles (“3-tech Penetrator”), polished techniques, Twyman can be the next Aaron Donald. But to compare Twyman to a player who is currently revolutionizing the way front offices think about their spending on defense is a very big leap.
Geno Atkins has been one of the most notable interior pass-rushers of the last decade and has been a staple of the Bengals defense. Atkins shares many of the same traits listed above and attended Georgia university, a prestigious and elite program offering the perfect development opportunities. Atkins averaged 9.75 sacks from 2015 to 2018 and has retained value late into his career thanks to technical proficiency.
Twyman has a high floor and can achieve more filling a unique and desired role in the modern NFL defensive landscape. A single season of college football is not necessarily enough to fully understand a player (ex: Mitchell Trubisky).
NEXT: 2021 NFL mock draft update (2 rounds)
Watching progression from year to year is also valuable in predicting potential upon entering the NFL. As long as Twyman can market himself well leading into the draft, and shows improvement in his size and strength, he has the potential to be drafted over Florida State nose tackle Marvin Wilson, who is currently the favored interior defensive lineman in the 2021 NFL draft.
1 Like
I have him rd 2 my Lion Mock
3 Likes
A little early for the 2029 draft profiles, Snags. Jaylen is 12 years old.
Nice try brother! Nice try! You almost had me…
Nixon, Barmore and McNeill are, IMO, better choices.
Every NFL player they named has tremendous power and can punch well above their weight class in that department. They literally point out that power is this kids weakness. The other guys technique works so well because they establish their power in a game and then work off that when the lineman sets for power. Without the power the kid simply becomes a version of Caraun Reid.
2 Likes
He opted out of their bowl game, but plenty of tape to look at.
Good read, thank you!
looks like a hustle player. I don’t see great explosion for a guy who is already undersized. Not sure how well all of that will translate to the NFL. I think best case scenario of GradyJarrett, which is pretty good. Jarrett has at least 15 lbs on Twyman though, which is a concern. I think we could find better prospects in the 2nd. Interested to see his combine numbers.
1 Like
I like his teammate Patrick Jones as a 2nd round option.
PFF might just know what they were talking about.
1 Like
McNeil played 87% of his total snaps at heads-up nose tackle this year, making his production nothing short of incredible. Only one player since 2014 has produced a higher PFF grade at 0-technique than McNeil’s 90.5 this season (former Mississippi State Bulldog and current Tennessee Titan Jeffery Simmons in 2017).
McNeil won 10% of his pass-rush snaps at nose tackle, an impressive figure in its own right, but the reason for his success is all due to his run defense. He was a constant disruptor and fully deserved the 92.1 run-defense grade on the year.
10% feels low. I admit I don’t know what they mean when they say “won”. Does that mean sack? Sack, pressure, and/or hurry? I dunno.
I have high hopes for him. I know he’s not Suh, but I’m pumped to see what this cat can do.
1 Like
Give me 1989 Jerry Ball.
5 Likes
That’s what was in my head, as I typed. I really do love watching a big ol’ fat dude just smash other humans on the football field. People keep talking about him at FB in short yardage. I wold love that.
I’m most excited to see our trenches maul human beings. I wanna see Trey Flowers get the respect I feel he deserves too, and Onwu and McNeil will help him. Last year it was too easy to scheme around our DL, no matter who was on it. This year, we have an adult at DC.
I was really surprised to see both him and Nixon still available when we picked in the 3rd. Nixon would have been a redundant pick after we took Levi. Alim and Levi with a hopefully healthy Flowers and the addition of Brockers, Romeo and hopefully a healthy Hand…this DL could be damn good sooner than expected.
2 Likes
Fingers crossed. IMO, it all depends on the rooks. I have no faith in Hand’s health.
2 Likes
I was thinking we might pick Nixon, too. Didn’t realize that he fell all the way to the fifth round. Carolina thinks they got a steal, but this write-up suggests he’s having some impact, but still a long way to go.
He really took a big step forward last season, too bad he didn’t get to play against Michigan or Missouri. Not sure I would call a guy that was in the top 10 of Mel Kipers first mock draft a “Hidden Gem”, but there you go.