From now until the 2024 NFL Draft takes place, we hope to 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, a scouting report on North Carolina LB Cedric Gray.
#33 Cedric Gray, ILB, North Carolina (SR) — 6014, 234 pounds
Senior Bowl Invitee
Combine
Measurements
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| Cedric Gray | 6014/234 | 9″ | 32 1/2″ | 78 3/8″ |
| 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Dash | Short Shuttle | 3-Cone | |
| 4.64 | 1.59 | N/A | N/A | |
| Broad Jump | Vertical | Bench Press | ||
| 10’0″ | 35 | 17 |
The Good
— Good size and athleticism
— Has sideline-to-sideline range
— Good tackler at line of scrimmage and in space
— Active pre-snap communicator
— Willing to fill gaps and take on pullers to close gaps
— Solid scrape and good burst to close on the ball
— Can handle RBs, TEs and some WRs in man coverage
— Good agility, awareness in zone coverage
— Good burst to quarterback when blitzing
The Bad
— Mental processing in the run game
— Inconsistent with when to attack, when to be patient
— Overcommits to gaps, leaving cut-back lanes
— Loses site of the ball at the mesh point
— Marginal ability to get off blocks before the ball gets to him
— Will get held up in traffic
Bio
— Career: 369 tackles, 199 solo, 30 TFL, 8.5 sacks, 5 INT, 18 PBU, 6 FF, 5 FR
— 2023: 121 tackles, 64 solo, 11 TFL, 5 sacks, 1 INT, 5 PBU, 2 FF, 2 FR
— 51 games, 37 starts
— First-team All-ACC (2022, 2023)
— 2022 second-team All-American (Sporting News, Pro Football Focus)
— Team captain
— Also played basketball in high school
— Senior Bowl invitee
— Born Oct. 30 2002
Tape Breakdown
A three-year starter for North Carolina, Gray has good size, and his athletic ability is evident. He is a three-down linebacker who was used in coverage and to blitz. He aligned primarily on the strong side of the formation.
Against the pass, he was used in man and zone coverages. Often tasked with covering the running back out of the backfield, he handled the role with ease. With good agility and speed, his is able to stick with his man. When covering tight ends, the result was the same: tight coverage keeping passing windows tight. Occasionally, he was put over the slot on wide receivers. That is something Steelers fans do not like to see but he was solid. He was stride for stride with a wide receiver on a crossing route.
At Pittsburgh, lined up over the Panthers’ slot receiver he plays perfectly to knock away the throw.
Against Clemson, he shows great effort to get his pass breakup.
When playing zone, he gets good depth in his drop, keeps his head on a swivel and moves with the quarterback’s eyes. He has good change of direction, can close on the ball quickly and get his hands in passing lanes. His hands are good, Gray making five interceptions in his career. The athleticism is there for handling the Tampa 2 role to race to the deep middle of the field in coverage. He is solid reading screens and can accelerate quickly to beat attempted blocks of offensive linemen. The athleticism is there to spy the quarterback as well.
He reads the quarterback’s eyes and extends to make a nice leaping interception.
When coming on the blitz, Gray was often used as the penetrator on cross-dog blitzes to open up a lane for teammates. He has good acceleration to burst through gaps and close on the quarterback quickly. He aggressively takes on blocks, especially those by running backs, trying to run through them to the ball.
Some samples of Gray coming on the blitz.
Against the run, he is an active communicator, working hard to make sure teammates are in the correct position. He displays good aggressiveness to attack and fill gaps or take on a pulling lineman on the edge to constrict running lanes. While scraping down the line of scrimmage, he displays a good burst when the seam opens up to the ball. He has good range and speed to chase to the sidelines. When tackling, he displays good pop to take down runners with limited yards after contact and is a strong tackler in space.
Gray scrapes nicely to his right, gets in front of a would-be blocker and makes the stop.
Here you can see his range to the sidelines.
When he is kept clean, he can make plays and make them quickly.
In zone coverage, there were plays where he was flat-footed and didn’t get a lot of depth. That may have been by design, but I wanted to note it. His mental processing against the run was marginal. The decision making of when to be patient and when to attack was inconsistent. He overcommits to the gap allowing easy cut-back lanes for the runner. On plays such as read option, he loses sight of the ball, prone to chasing the fake. He may be keying the runner when there are two linebackers but when he is the lone middle linebacker, he must read the play better. When taking on blocks, he is slow to disengage and needs to use his hands better. He was adequate working through traffic.
Against the run, here are some samples of slow processing, choosing the wrong gap and losing sight of the ball.
Conclusion
Overall, Gray has good size, speed, and athleticism. He can be used in man or zone coverage effectively with the ability to cover running backs, tight ends, and some wide receivers as well. Will get his hands in throwing lanes and can hold onto interceptions. As a blitzer, he has good acceleration and can close in on the quarterback quickly. He is a strong tackler with the ability to run sideline to sideline and willingness to fill gaps to tighten running lanes.
Areas to improve include his mental processing versus the run. When to be patient, when to be aggressive. Keeping his eye on the ball rather than just running to a gap. The ability to get off blocks more efficiently before the ball gets to him as well as sifting through traffic to get to the ball.
Gray is a player who fills up the stat sheet. He not only is involved in a lot of tackles but also has his hand in creating and converting turnovers as well. His ability to blitz improved as well, Gray registering five sacks. Coverage skills were better than anticipated, so that was good to see. His role was more of a BUCK linebacker, but I feel he would be better as a MACK or even a WILL linebacker to allow him to use his athleticism to chase and tackle. If you keep him clean, keep blockers off of him, he will make a lot of plays for you.
He has the potential to be a three-down linebacker but right now the mental processing is not at the level you really need from an inside linebacker. However, the NFL loves athleticism, and he has that. Scheme and ability to improve will spell out his future.
For a comparison, I will give you Germaine Pratt of the Bengals. Coming out of college, Pratt had an athletic profile with good cover skills who was inconsistent in the run game. If Gray puts it together, Pratt is a good comparison. If he doesn’t, he could be more along the lines of Malik Jefferson, who has played on five teams in five years.
Projection: Late Day Two
Depot Draft Grade: 7.8 Potential Starter/Good Backup (3rd Round)
Games Watched: 2023 – Vs South Carolina, At Pittsburgh, Vs Miami, At Clemson, At North Carolina State
