Hercules Mata'afa declared for the draft

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Regulars on the draft portion of the forum probably know how much I enjoy watching the guy, so here is a thread for him after he declared he will skip his senior season and will declare for the 2018 NFL draft. He probably got good grades from the committee because WSU was preparing to give him full time EDGE role for his senior season which IMO would have cemented him as a top EDGE in the draft. 

 

He netted a total 22.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks and 2 forced fumbles in 12 games as an interior defensive lineman this year for Washington state. His burst off the snap is amazing and he penetrates into the backfield with ease by getting skinny and fast moves around the interior O-linemen. My worry with him is his transition into an EDGE role in the league and some lack of discipline when pursuing penetration. 

 

Anyways. Here are some videos of him. First the highlights:

 

 

 

And here are a couple of full games film cutouts:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So what do you guys think? Do you like him and if you do how high would you be willing to take him? 

[Gigc]

HOLY snikey!!!! those are the best tapes of anyone I've watched this year. that dude is a freakin monster  it was like he was in on every dang play. he's only 225 pounds, but he's playing DL and shooting gaps before anyone can lay a HAND on him. 

geeeez

[NewColtsFan]

 

Feels like a Day 2 guy....

 

Just not sure if he's an OLB or an ILB?

 

But he's a talented guy and a playmaker, so I like him!

 

[our_dbs_rock]

He seems to have some nice speed/burst and a relentless motor, although he seems a bit undersized and get washed away by the offensive line a lot.  I watched five of the clips and they only showed him dropping back in coverage rarely, and never really showed him defending any passes so I'm not sure how he will do as a linebacker.  I think he is a little hard to evaluate, because they used lots of line shifts and he was able to use his quickness to sneak between the offensive lineman due to their slight confusion from the shift.  He does seem to run himself out of the play frequently (ala Dwight Freeney).  He didn't really seem to have a lot of pass rush moves and relied solely on his quickness to shoot the gaps, which will not work as often at the next level.  If his quickness didn't get the offensive lineman off-balanced, they seemed to get their hands on him and he was done.  I didn't really notice any other moves, such as bull rush, swim move, spin, or any real hand fighting to help beat his man and get to the quarterback. Minute 5:06 of the USC game film is certainly not going to end up on his highlight reel.

 

He might be able to add a little weight and be a rush linebacker, but I get more a 'Cato June' undersized Tampa 2 linebacker with the situational blitz vibe from him.  I'm really curious how his coverage skills are, I think that would really determine his draft ranking.  I think he might be a bit of a project due to the position change, but he does seem to have the athletic ability to cause chaos at the next level.

 

I think he'll be a late round 3 or early round 4, due to the fact that so much of his tape is him playing interior line and he'll have a big transition ahead. 

[OhioColt]

I would be happy to target him in round 3. Seen he had a 87.7% grade and loved what I read and the limited tape have seen on him.

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I don't think he will be there in round 3. 

[UKColt13]

6 hours ago, Gigc said:

HOLY snikey!!!! those are the best tapes of anyone I've watched this year. that dude is a freakin monster  it was like he was in on every dang play. he's only 225 pounds, but he's playing DL and shooting gaps before anyone can lay a HAND on him. 

geeeez

 

Umm he's 252 according to the video not 225. He's good though. I can see him as a Haason Reddick type guy.

[Dark Superman]

Never heard of him, but he seems to give it 110% on every play, as he plays with a ton of energy. Who wouldn't want Hercules on their squad!?

[RealityIsLuck]

Would look like a nice third round pick..

[stitches]

I doubt he would have come out if the committee gave him a 3d round grade. IMO he's going round 1 or 2. If he drops to the 3d, he's a no brainer upside pick IMO. You don't get athletes like this in the third usually. 

[DaColts85]

13 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

Feels like a Day 2 guy....

 

Just not sure if he's an OLB or an ILB?

 

But he's a talented guy and a playmaker, so I like him!

 

My exact question.  Could look good at the OLB drills but yet might be a better ILB with good blitz capability.