This should be no surprise to those who’ve followed my coverage of last season’s playoffs. Adrian was one of the most improved players I watched throughout the season. Early in the season, he reacted to what the offense gave him. He was a solid player but did not attack and anticipate. Late in the season, a switch seemed to flip for him and most of the defense. Adrian was flying around with anticipation and hit like a truck. Adrian especially excelled when blitzing the Quarterback; he has the explosiveness and speed to get into the backfield fast. He was also good in sideline-to-sideline situations and defended the pass adequately.

The more I watched Adrain Rankin, the more he rose through the rankings.rnWith the majority of off-ball linebackers, I’m usually able to find one or two pretty major weaknesses. The most common weaknesses are a lack of athleticism, lack of pass coverage experience, and indecisiveness. Although Adrian is not perfect, I don’t see any major weaknesses in his game. Especially as the season went on, he was flying to the football no matter where it was. A big moment for me was when I watched him play against Mona Shores in last year’s playoffs. Adrian made multiple TFLs where his reaction time was stellar, and his athleticism allowed him to make a tackle before the offense knew what hit them. When stopping the run, he takes great angles to the football and he wastes no time letting himself into the opposing teams backfield. When blitzing, his timing is on-point. I’m not too sure how he fares as a pass defender, but I imagine he could more than hold his own covering most RBs on short routes.