Craig Nelson
About Craig
Expert Analysis
Cole Laing | Prep Redzone Scout
Good height and frame. Good athletic ability displaying very good foot quickness and lateral movement, good acceleration, explosiveness, balance, bend/flexibility, and hand quickness, with solid foot speed, change of direction, and hip fluidity. Good up-field burst, gaining depth on his initial steps, with discipline to keep gap integrity on both run defense and pass rush. Good versus the run, showing good use of hands to engage offensive linemen, with good arm strength to keep offensive linemen out of his chest and good leg strength to anchor himself and hold ground. Very good lateral movement allows him to defend the run down the line of scrimmage. Good pass rush, showing good power and speed-to-power rushes, and displaying spin and rip moves in his pass rush plan. Plays in a 30 front defensive end position that I feel suits his skillset well, and he has the strength and potential size to play a weak side edge at the next level.
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Read EvaluationCole Laing | Prep Redzone Scout
Craig is playing with very good quickness and leverage this season. He has a strong first step to gain depth and leverage on offensive linemen and very good use of hands to engage and rip past offensive linemen. He continues to show good lateral movement down the line of scrimmage giving him good range from his defense end position. He has a good pass rush with both power and speed rush ability that puts pressure on the QB. I like what I am seeing from Craig this season.
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Read EvaluationCole Laing | Prep Redzone Scout
Craig is a Defensive End with good height and frame. He displays very good strength which shows throughout his play. He comes off the ball with solid upfield burst and displays strong hands to engage offensive linemen to keep them off his chest and keeps a very strong base to hold his ground. He is good against the run, shedding his block and making a tackle in his gap, and has good lateral agility on the backside to chase down ball carriers. Displays a good pass rush using a rip move to get past the offensive tackle, and displays good closing speed on the QB to disrupt the pass.
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