There’s an outside chance that UCLA outside linebacker Anthony Barr falls to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Recently, a reader asked if I had a chance to look at his sacks from last year and I finally got around to pulling them.
Here is a quick and dirty break down of Barr’s 10 sacks from last season.
While the quarterback drops the snap on this play, Barr easily beats the left tackle around the edge. He turns the corner quickly and delivers a chop at the end to force a fumble.
This sack against Utah was a bit of a gift. It looks like a designed quarterback draw gone bad. The left tackle tries to push Barr up the field, but UCLA’s stunt up the middle is just too strong and the quarterback is a sitting duck for Barr at that point.
Barr easily beats the left tackle to the edge on this sack with his speed. He shows a nice bend at the end and trips up the quarterback.
Here, Barr is lined up wide on the edge and with the left tackle having a poor first step, the UCLA linebacker blows past him. A 2.6 second sack?
Barr is double-teamed here against Oregon, but continues to fight through it and is rewarded with a coverage sack for his efforts.
Another win for Barr off the edge and another strip sack.
A nice move inside here by Barr allows him to beat the tackle once the gate is opened.
This is similar to a sack above. Barr is once again doubled but continues to work and is rewarded with another coverage sack. He does a good job of mirroring the quarterback and prevents him from getting outside.
USC left tackle pays for his first step being to the inside and Barr once again gets the edge quick and registers a strip sack.
Barr sets the left tackle up for a spin move inside and once he crosses face the lineman is forced to trip him. Barr still manages to grab the leg of the quarterback when he’s on the ground.
Barr, in my opinion, can get better at the next level. He won’t be able to rely as much on his speed around the edge against NFL tackles, but it certainly won’t hurt him. He could stand to get stronger and learn to use his arms and small hands better as well. You probably noticed that none of these sacks were a result of him putting a tackle on skates with a bull-rush.
