Prospect Profile: Adisa Isaac, EDGE, Penn State

Context

Plays exclusively outside at mostly 7 or 9 technique but has rushed further inside too.

Pass Rush

He doesn’t get off the ball well but curiously is an explosive player. His second and third steps are impressive, but his first step off the ball is routinely slow when in a three-point stance and on neutral downs. It gets marginally better when there is an obvious passing situation, but the improvement isn’t drastic until he is in a two-point stance and a little further out in terms of alignment. He doesn’t process the game at a high level, and it affects his play speed and technique throughout most reps. He is a relentless pass-rusher with an excellent motor and active hands. He uses mostly a two-handed chop as well as a speed rip and bull rush. None of these are deployed as part of an effective plan and if his first move doesn’t work you get the impression he’s throwing counters simply to see what sticks rather than having a plan for what he is doing. The biggest issue outside of the lack of a plan with his pass rush is his hand usage; he struggles to land blows that allow him to complete. His timing with his hands is often late, sometimes a feature of getting off late. Sometimes as he barrels into the blocker without any technique to speak of.

He also has poor hand placement, something that plagues his run defense more but shows up in his pass rush too. He doesn’t often marry his hands well with his feet but when he rushes from a two-point stance, he more consistently uses his feet to get the OL off-balance and compromise the OL’s half-man relationship with him. Now that he’s on the move already, he can deploy his explosion to roll through the half-man and get to the QB. His lateral explosion to cross the Offensive Lineman’s face is impressive. This is often on inside moves when he’s simply too twitched up for the Offensive Lineman to get a power step in. When he goes for straight power in his pass rush and he hasn’t effectively set it up, which is rare, he will lose against Offensive Tackles with good play strength. He doesn’t bend the edge very effectively, but when he does corner, it’s his hands that help him to win and get to the Quarterback where he can finish on most types of QB, even mobile ones because of his burst.

Vs Run

He doesn’t read run/pass well and struggles to diagnose blocking schemes, except when on the back-side of a Zone run. His main challenge as a run defender is again, his hand usage. His timing is off, as with his pass rush, and it allows the Offensive Lineman a far easier path to fit and finish the block on all types of block both Gap and Zone. He also has poor hand placement, liable to have his hands slip off the top of the OL’s pads as soon as they engage. This is a particular problem against Gap blocks. He is effective as a penetrator and makes plays in the backfield using his explosion when he lucks into upfield burst against a run and he is a danger to take out any cut-backs in the Zone running game because of he is relentless and explosive. He rarely plays with leverage and his high-pad level means he wasn’t asked to set a hard edge too often, more likely to be pointed inside to spill runs for Linebackers to clean up behind.

SUMMARY
Twitchy and explosive, likely converts to the NFL as a stand-up rush OLB only. He has technical deficiencies with his hand usage as both a pass rusher and a run defender.

PRODUCTION
SR:9 Sacks, 4 QB hits, 36 Total Tackles, 1 FF
JR: 4 Sacks, 8 QB hits, 24 total tackles
INJURY: Torn ACL (2021)

RAVENS FIT
Athleticism 4
Intelligence 2
Versatility 2
Grit 4
Scheme 4