From now until the 2021 NFL Draft takes place, we hope to showcase as many prospects as possible and examine both their strengths and weaknesses. Most of these profiles will feature individuals that the Pittsburgh Steelers are likely to have an interest in, while a few others will be top-ranked players. If there is a player you would like us to analyze, let us know in the comments below.
#21 Chazz Surratt / LB North Carolina – 6014 227
The Good
- Overall athleticism – feel like he could play multiple positions on both sides for the ball
- Sideline to sideline speed
- Good tackler and stout head to head vs runners
- Traits to be successful in Man or Zone coverage
- Good timing and speed as a blitzer
- Improvement in diagnosing run plays
The Bad
- Mental processing in the run game not quite there yet
- Loses sight of the ball in the backfield
- Poor getting off of blocks
- Angles to the outside are shallow
- Depth and awareness in Zone needs to improve
- Didn’t beat blocks one on one when blitzing
Bio
- Career – 207 tackles, 116 solo, 22.5 TFL, 12.5 sacks, 2 INT, 5 PBU, 2 FF, 2 FR
- 2020 – 91 tackles, 49 solo, 7.5 TFL, 6 sacks, 1 INT, 3 PBU, 1 FF, 1 FR
- 2019, 2020 First team All-ACC
- 24 games at LB with 22 starts
- Began UNC career at a QB starting 7 of 9 games throwing for 1,342 yards and 8 TD’s, 210 yards rushing, 5 TD’s
- Owned high school records in North Carolina for total yards and TD’s – 16,593 and 229
- 3x All-State basketball player
- Brother Sage played WR at Wake Forest
- Graduated with a degree in sports administration
Tape Breakdown
These days I would imagine when teams ask a quarterback to switch positions they decline and choose the transfer portal. That was not the case for Chazz Surratt. After two years at QB he switched to linebacker and thrived. He is still learning the position but the outlook is good.
Against the pass, he was used in Zone and Man coverages. In his Zone drops to the middle of the field or the curl/flat area he displays good mobility and reads the eyes of the QB well. He flowed well with the quarterback and showed good closing speed to receiver in his area and very good speed to the sidelines to chase down passes to the outside. He was used often on green dog and other blitzes and shows very good acceleration into gaps and can be used to spy on the QB as well. In Man coverage he has the speed and athleticism to run with all running backs and tight ends and most wide receivers in trail coverage. He uses he speed well to chase down receivers or recover in coverage.
Vs Wake Forest he is going to blitz from the middle of the field and get to the QB in a hurry for the game clinching sack.
At Miami, he starts out mugging the A gap and will drop to the middle of the field. He reads the eyes of the QB and lays out to get his hand on the ball and break up the pass.
Against the run, he is solid at diagnosing running schemes and got better as the year progressed. He showed a willingness to take on blocks and did well tightening gaps on the edge. He was better reacting to outside runs using his athleticism from sideline to sideline. He is a strong tackler and show good play strength in head on tackles versus running backs.
At Virginia he shows his speed and sideline to sideline range to chase down this toss sweep to the opposite side of the field.
Vs Notre Dame, he’ll take a false hop to the left before using his speed to beat the block to the right to steam through the hole for a tackle.
At Miami, on a fourth down he sees the hole open and gets downfield quickly to stop the runner in his tracks and prevent the first down.
In Zone coverage, his depth was inconsistent in the middle of the field. His awareness of receivers in his area was adequate but showed improvement. He mental processing is a step late on passing plays limiting his opportunities to break up passes. His Man coverage was limited to pretty much trail coverage. When blitzing he was marginal at avoiding or disengaging from OL blocks.
His mental processing is a work in progress and he will lose the ball in the backfield. On run plays to the middle he was marginal at attacking gaps and waited for offensive lineman to come to him. He was poor at getting off of blocks and will get caught in traffic. When chasing to the outside his angles are too shallow allowing runners to beat him to the turn up field. He should add play strength for taking on blocks.
At Virginia, it’s a swing pass to the short side of the field and he takes a shallow angle and can’t get to the ball.
Against Notre Dame, here is an example of him allowing the OL to come out to him and takes him out of the play. He must improve getting off blocks.
Overall, Surratt has a lot of positives. He has very good athleticism and speed. The stuff you can’t teach. He can run with just about anyone in coverage and is a good tackler. He needs to improve on his diagnosing of plays, angles to the outside and getting off blocks.
The ability is all there and if improvement progresses he should be pretty good by year two. His best fit would be as a WILL linebacker where he can use his athleticism and speed to chase down plays. He can be a sub package linebacker to be used in coverage, to spy and to blitz. And with his quarterback background I am definitely using him as a punt protector for the threat of the fake at all times.
Projection: 3rd Round
Games Watched: 2020 – Vs N.C. State, At Virginia, Vs Wake Forest, Vs Notre Dame, At Miami
