A Look At 2018 Draft Prospect Deadrin Senat As A Potential Selection By The Detroit Lions

Deadrin Senat is one of the more intriguing defensive line prospects I have seen of the day three group so far. His size (6’0″, 314 lbs) could limit him a bit. With smaller arms to boot (31.5″), offensive linemen with bigger frames were able to control him if he did not win the initial point of contact.

Senat combats these issues with a consistently great pad level. I do not think I ever saw him come out of his stance high and get blown back. This ability, combined with his stout frame and solid balance make it very hard to move him off his gap in the running game. Does a great job anchoring the middle of the defensive line. He has a good feel for what opposing lineman are trying to do to him. When he does feel them gaining the edge, he does a good job taking them to the ground to create a pile that cannot be run through.

Senat Struggles As A Pass Rusher

Senat is a much better run defender at this point in his career than he is as a pass rusher. While you typically like it when defensive linemen keep their feet active, he does not drive them in pass protection. He usually has two plans of attack to his pass rush game. One is to try to cross the offensive lineman’s face and rip through their initial point of contact. But he typically gets ridden too deep into the pocket, opening up room for the quarterback to step up into or scramble.

This then leads to his second plan of attack: stack and then immediately watch the quarterback to see if he can knock down the pass or contain his running lane. The problem is when he does this he completely removes any chance to generate pressure or cause a sack. He waits for the play to come to him, instead of attacking downhill as a pass rusher. This mentality needs to change for Senat or he may end up being limited to a two-down player.

Ultimately, I think there will end up being better options available where Senat will be selected. While the Lions do need depth at the interior defensive tackle position, his length issues and unwillingness to attack as a pass rusher may limit his value to a late day three player, without much athletic upside.

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