Vikings Agree to Terms with 19 Undrafted Free Agents

[JustInTime]

[JustInTime]

[JustInTime]

Elijah Williams, DT, Morgan State
Williams came into the week highly touted and left showing he was worthy of the hype. He was the best player in attendance all week long, in my humble opinion. He even backed it up with a sack in the game on Saturday, but his spot was solidified before we ever kicked off. If you like production, Williams had plenty of it at Morgan State, posting 30-plus sacks and 50-plus tackles for loss in his four seasons. The knock on him will be size (6-2, 294, 32 1/4-inch arms, 8 7/8-inch hands). I get it, but I've heard my colleagues Bucky Brooks and Daniel Jeremiah, of the Move the Sticks Podcast, say many times over the years that sack production has a good chance of translating to the NFL. This guy has it. Williams would not be the first defensive lineman to face those types of questions and answer them resoundingly when given an opportunity at the next level. I'll be interested to see what impact he can make if he gets a chance to go to work every day in an NFL camp.

[Bunsen82]

Elijah Williams, DT, Morgan State
Williams came into the week highly touted and left showing he was worthy of the hype. He was the best player in attendance all week long, in my humble opinion. He even backed it up with a sack in the game on Saturday, but his spot was solidified before we ever kicked off. If you like production, Williams had plenty of it at Morgan State, posting 30-plus sacks and 50-plus tackles for loss in his four seasons. The knock on him will be size (6-2, 294, 32 1/4-inch arms, 8 7/8-inch hands). I get it, but I've heard my colleagues Bucky Brooks and Daniel Jeremiah, of the Move the Sticks Podcast, say many times over the years that sack production has a good chance of translating to the NFL. This guy has it. Williams would not be the first defensive lineman to face those types of questions and answer them resoundingly when given an opportunity at the next level. I'll be interested to see what impact he can make if he gets a chance to go to work every day in an NFL camp.

Looks like just got a mini camp invitation.  We talk about longshots, and then real long shots.  You do have Adam Theilen to look at as an example.  1st hurdle is to do well at the rookie mini camp and hope you can make enough of an impression there.

[StickierBuns]

Aaron Wilson
@AaronWilson_NFL
·
3h
#Vikings deal for @BYUfootball defensive end Tyler Batty (6-6, 271, 4.78 speed, 34 vertical, 224 career tackles, 33.5 for losses, 16.5 sacks, two interceptions) $259,000 guaranteed, $25,000 signing bonus, $234,000 of salary guaranteed for All-Big 12 selection

[JustInTime]

Little on the small side but you can’t hit what you can’t catch.

[JustInTime]

After graduating with high honors from Payson High School in Utah, Tyler Batty earned a three-star recruiting ranking. He was named first-team all-region, all-valley, and all-state honorable mention before committing to BYU for the 2020 season. After the COVID-19-shortened four-game freshman season, Batty played out the rest of his collegiate career at BYU and compiled 224 tackles (122 solo), 34 tackles for loss, 16.5 sacks, two interceptions, two passes defensed, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. After his redshirt senior season, he declared for the NFL draft and will play his rookie season at age 25.

Batty played in multiple fronts for BYU’s defense and aligned at EDGE in a four-down defensive front and a 3-4 defensive end. He’s a thick-built defensive end with good length and power in his upper half to extend and deliver powerful strikes at the point of attack. He pops up out of his stance too frequently and can get overwhelmed by powerful tackles who get inside his chest or throw him around. The longer the block goes on, the more likely Batty ends up on the bad end; adding more sand in the pants can help his base stand up to the NFL power he’ll see. The poor pad level inhibits his anchor, and double teams regularly drive him out of gaps.

When he’s playing closer to five-tech and sets an edge with proper extension, he shows strength in his length and holds up better. He plays with a good motor, and in pursuit and on the backside of plays, he works to find the football and get to the ball carrier. Taking on pullers, he’s aggressive and delivers punishing blows getting down the line.

As a pass rusher, Batty doesn’t blow you away with quick wins and sack numbers, but he uses speed to power and power in his strikes to collapse pockets, driving linemen into the backfield. He needs to improve his hand speed to disengage with blockers to get to other moves and win rush reps more efficiently. He rushes like a smaller, leaner defender with too many euro step and spin attempts that aren’t effective at his size. When he does win around the edge, he doesn’t have the ankle flexion to corner and get down the line, which limits the different ways he can threaten blockers. He’ll have to improve his first-step explosion to go speed-to-power more frequently to be the best rusher he can be at the next level.

Batty projects best as an early-down run defender in a 4-3 defense. He needs to improve his double-team anchor to have inside versatility. His pass-rush profile limits his upside at the next level.

Interesting prospect to throw serious UDFA dollars at. Definitely has a good shot to earn a PS spot along with Logan Brown.

[JustInTime]

[hogjowlsjohnny]

Nebraska defense played a lot of zone last year. Didn't really notice a man coverage corner. The defensive front didn't get a lot of pressure which made it tough on the db's.
Nebraska wasn't a great team but they did beat Sanders and the Buffs pretty easily.
Hill played well. Not sure he is good enough to make the team. Maybe the practice squad.

[Canthony]

Nebraska defense played a lot of zone last year. Didn't really notice a man coverage corner. The defensive front didn't get a lot of pressure which made it tough on the db's.
Nebraska wasn't a great team but they did beat Sanders and the Buffs pretty easily.
Hill played well. Not sure he is good enough to make the team. Maybe the practice squad.

I think Hill could make the team for sure. Him being undrafted was a shock to me. I have read a lot that he could make the move to S. Could be a versatile player that could benefit us in the end.