From now until the 2023 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, we’ll be profiling Texas Tech EDGE Tyree Wilson.
#19 TYREE WILSON/EDGE TEXAS TECH – 6055, 271 (R-SENIOR)
NFL Combine (Limited Participant)
Senior Bowl Invite
MEASURABLES
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| Tyree Wilson | 6055/271 | 9 5/8″ | 35 5/8″ | 84 1/2″ |
| 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Dash | Short Shuttle | 3-Cone | |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Broad Jump | Vertical | Bench Press | ||
| N/A | N/A | 23 |
THE GOOD
— ‘Planet theory’ body type, with ideal length and frame to be an edge defender
— Deceptively good play speed, powerful strider
— Great play strength, able to create a ton of displacement with his punch and leg drive
— Good closing speed, can burst into the backfield if he finds a free path
— Has the strength and length to effectively hold the edge against the run
— Great reach, occupies a lot of space because of his wingspan
— Solid pass rush arsenal to counter off his long arm and speed to power
THE BAD
— Stands too tall out of his stance, limits his initial quickness
— Lunges and plays with his center of gravity too far out in front of him
— Ends up on the ground too much due to the center of gravity and pad level issues
— Comes into the backfield out of control, doesn’t break down his feet and whiffs on tackles
— Doesn’t disrupt enough in the pass game with his long arms, very few batted down passes in college
BIO
— From Henderson, Texas and played at West Rusk High School
— All-State high school player in Texas
— Three-star prospect, committed to Texas A&M
— Redshirted his freshman year in 2018
— Played in 12 career games as an Aggie with very limited production his redshirt freshman season
— Finished college career with 44 games played and 28 starts
— Totaled 121 total tackles with 18.5 sacks, 30.5 TFL, and 1 FF in his college career
— First-team All-American in 2022 by PWAA
— Was used all across the defensive front at Texas Tech (DT, DE, EDGE)
— Underwent season-ending foot surgery on 11/21/22; second surgery 03/21/23 to remove the hardware
— Working on his Masters degree in interdisciplinary studies
— Holding private workout for teams in mid-to-late April before the draft
— Team captain
TAPE BREAKDOWN
For a guy his size, Wilson can close in on a ball carrier in a hurry once he finds an open lane. In all three plays of this clip, he is able to put his foot in the ground and get up field for a quick tackle for loss. The one passing play, he forced an incompletion as the quarterback throws the ball away, but the pressure was there early and it’s still a positive play for the defense.
While the burst and closing speed he possesses are an asset to Wilson as a pass rusher, he can lose control and struggles to change direction or break down his feet to finish the play. He is prone to whiffing in the backfield, as shown in the two plays below.
Related to the issue of losing control coming into the backfield, a lot of that can be attributed to his pad level. He plays too high, and his body weight and momentum get too far outside his frame at times. College offensive linemen were already taking advantage of this and using his momentum against him with arm traps. They just steered him and let his momentum do the rest. Too often he ended up on the ground in the games I watched. Also, on the first play of this clip, you can see his bend and ankle flexion aren’t good enough to turn the corner.
Wilson can set the edge well as a run defender using his length to win the half man relationship with an offensive tackle. He can keep his outside arm free and use that wingspan to funnel everything back inside.
He has some pass rush moves to work with. He has the tools to add more moves to his arsenal, but he is able to use the long arm to convert speed to power. He also has the strength to win with the bull rush, and he has some moves to counter off it, like the rip, swim or swipe-rip.
In the last two plays of the clip below, Wilson does 99% of the hard work penetrating the pocket with a massive amount of displacement on the lineman but fails to finish. He has those long arms that could easily start turning plays like these into strip sacks, or at least a sack.
CONCLUSION
Tyree Wilson, on traits alone, is one of the highest-ceiling players in this draft. The arm length and rocked up body frame are ideal to be an edge defender in the NFL. The arm length alone is in the top percentile of all players at the position.
He has enough strength to hold the edge and his wingspan threatens anyone trying to break contain which makes him pretty effective at funneling everything back inside. He has a nice bull rush and has some moves to counter off it, though his raw traits suggest there is plenty of meat left on the bone in terms of his pass rush arsenal. My pro comparison for him is Chandler Jones.
The Steelers are in need of a third rotational pass rusher. It’s not at the top of the list of needs, and the team hasn’t shown any obvious interest in Wilson to this point. If he is sitting there at 32, it would be tough to pass up his rare traits at the position.
Projection: Mid-Late Day One
Depot Draft Grade: 8.6 – Year 1 Quality Starter (1st Round)
Games Watched: vs Houston (2022), vs Baylor (2022), at TCU (2022)
