PFF scouting report: Tarell Basham, Edge, Ohio

Name: Tarell Basham

School: Ohio

Position fit: 4-3 defensive end

Stats to know: 71 total pressures were fifth-most in the country last season.

What he does best:

• Ideal build for the position with surprising straight line explosiveness.
• Rare college edge with bull rush as go-to move. Does well to explode on contact.
• High motor and ferocious. Relishes every single interaction with offensive tackles and wants to overpower them.
• Naturally coordinated. Will mix in spins and other moves as a pass rusher seemingly out of thin air.
• Improved his production as a pass-rusher each year of his career.
• Strong showing during the week of practice at the Senior Bowl.

Biggest concern:

• Awkward getting out of stance. His flexibility is very suspect so it may not be changeable.
• Ducks his head into contact almost every single play. NFL tackles will easily get him off balance if he continues that.
• Not a bend the edge rusher by any means. Almost never even won to the outside of offensive tackles without countering it off the bull-rush.
• Can be very stiff through contact. His bull-rush may never translate to the NFL because he can’t get low enough to overpower grown men.
• Walks the fine line between “high motor” and “out of control.” When asked to play in space, it leans more toward the latter.
• Missed eight tackles on only 40 attempts in 2016 and missed 13 on 98 attempts over the last three years.

Player comparison: Ryan Kerrigan, Washington Redskins

Basham is a poor man’s Kerrigan in the fact that he doesn’t quite possess the strength throughout his frame that Kerrigan had coming out of Purdue. Kerrigan also owned a tad more than a bull-rush, but both are defined by the move and work other moves off of it.

Bottom line: Basham’s motor makes him easy to root for. He plays at 100 miles an hour snap after snap with no regard for his body. That said, he’s not a natural on the edge by any means and is more of a bull in a china shop at this point. Basham is definitely one of the more intriguing mid-round pass-rushers at this point.