Scouting Report: EDGE Tyree Wilson
There's been some buzz from a few insiders that Wilson could be viewed as highly as Will Anderson. We dive into the film and see if it warrants the hype.
Background
Texas Tech edge rusher Tyree Wilson was once a three-star recruit out of West Ruck High School, about two hours east of Dallas. He committed out of high school, however, to the Texas A&M Aggies, only to end up transferring to the in-state Big 12 program out in Lubbock after two seasons. A rotational player at A&M, Wilson became an immediate starter at Texas Tech in 2020, splitting time as a defensive end and defensive tackle.
By his second season in Lubbock, 2021, Wilson had turned into an All-Big 12 honorable mention caliber player, tallying 7 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss over the 13 game season. Then, in his final season, he once again landed 7 sacks and 14 tackles for loss, albeit this time in just 10 games rather than 13, a more efficient season altogether. He received a variety of All-American awards and honors from several different publications, and then declared for the NFL Draft after that.
Rising Buzz?
Adding to this is recent buzz that Wilson could be a very highly desired prospect, and the Lions as a potential suitor. While I would tend to agree that EDGE does not need to be a high priority, top ten picks should be spent with almost no regard at all for team need, especially when you hold two first-round picks as Detroit does. So where is the buzz here coming from? Let’s start off with MLive writer Kyle Meinke:
Three is their magic number. If three quarterbacks go in the top five, the Lions will have a shot at one of the three best defensive playmakers in this draft, Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson, Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter or Texas Tech edge rusher Tyree Wilson. And for a team that says it wants to go heavy on the defense in this year’s draft, and wants to build through the trenches more than anything else, I believe this is their desired outcome on draft night.
Yes, the Lions already have young risers like Aidan Hutchinson and James Houston on the edge. Yes, they have more immediate needs at cornerback. And hey, they could take a top cornerback like Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon or Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez. Those guys are on the shortlist of candidates for the sixth pick.
But I still believe the Lions would prefer one of the top three defensive linemen. This regime has prioritized that position from Day 1, using two of their first three picks there in 2021, then again in 2022. Now they just need one team to take Levis or Richardson ahead of them, and Anderson, Carter or Wilson will land in their lap, three very rare guys who could turn an up-and-coming position group into a veritable strength.
And beyond him, nationally, some have even implied that Wilson could even go higher than Alabama EDGE Will Anderson, with Daniel Jeremiah mocking him ahead of Anderson in a recent mock draft, saying:
First edge rusher off the board? Over Will Anderson Jr.?!? There’s a lot of love for Wilson around the league. His combination of size, length and production has teams very intrigued.
Wilson’s Strengths
First off, we need to start off by discussing Tyree Wilson’s elite frame. He did not partake in the Combine drills, but did measure in at an impressive 6’6, 271 pounds. He’s built to dominate with his size and freaky arm length.
And despite the height and long arm, Wilson demonstrates excellent leverage with his pad level and hands. Consistently gets his hand into the chest of offensive lineman and uses it to press out and stay detached from the block. Very hard to reach him off the edge, allowing him to consistently set the edge. And as you can see in the clip above, he’s quite proficient using his hands to shed blocks and generate pressure when rushing.
As mentioned, he did not test at the Combine, but I think he would’ve put together a very good 40-yard dash, as he consistently shows good speed. Whether it’s squeezing down gaps and transitioning into pursuit, or build up speed off the edge after disrupting the tight end’s release, Wilson comes at you in a hurry.
As a pass rusher, Wilson is very quick laterally, shifty in his moves. For as big as he is, Wilson sure can change direction in a hurry. Would imagine that he would’ve tested very well.
Where Wilson Could Stand to Improve
Personally, I have my own concerns on Wilson, as he lacks elite burst off the snap. Wilson is consistently the last defensive lineman to move when the ball is snapped. That killer first step is trademark of a majority of elite pass rushers and Wilson is significantly lacking there. For example, you can see it in this clip above, Wilson (EDGE on bottom of formation) can close ground in a hurry due to his length and quality speed, but he lacks urgency off the snap, often the last one to begin his rush.
Inconsistent in use of his hands to disengage blocks. Plenty of times he’ll land a shot to the chest of the tackle, but simply uses it to try and long arm his way to the QB. And when that doesn’t work, when the OT anchors well, he stops his pursuit and accepts the stalemate. He has some nice moves, he just doesn’t use them when the first move fails.
Another area that Wilson needs to get better is power with his hands. It’s lacking. Wilson uses his length quite well and overall shows a good play strength, but there is a violence that is lacking when he goes to punch and use his hands. The clip above shows sort of what Wilson’s M.O. tends to be: He lacks power and force with his hands, rather opting to use his length to generate separation.
How He Fits in Detroit?
There’s two pieces to this. First, where does he fit positionally, and then second, how does he compare to what the Lions need and Holmes and co. have tended to prioritize?
From an on-field perspective, Wilson is a bit more raw than you probably would want out of a top ten selection, but overall he would likely slot in as more of a true SDE, more or less similar to how the Lions have started deploying Joshua Paschal, an outside-inside edge player who can easily start on the outside of a formation on first- and second-down, but also has the capacity to kick inside and rush from interior alignments.
However, Wilson played in a 3-4 stand-up edge rusher role at Texas Tech, and showed he really can align wherever you need him. Aidan Hutchinson is somewhat similar, and thus, Detroit could use their two first-round edge rushers in a number of different ways to generate the best alignments and match-ups. Additionally, Wilson has the length and power to operate inside, as Tech would also use him in the occasional 4i alignment from 3-4 looks. He’s plenty versatile.
Now, as to how he fits the Brad Holmes mold? He really doesn’t. The Rams prioritized explosiveness off the edge, and that simply is not an accurate way to describe Tyree Wilson. He’s big and long and shifty, but he lacks the urgency, violence, and explosiveness off that snap that so far has defined Brad Holmes’ EDGE selections. Even in Detroit, both Aidan Hutchinson and James Houston were classified and profiled as explosive athletes. Wilson would be a stark break from that. It doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile, it just means it’s different than what the loose expectation is.
Here’s the bigger issue when evaluating this though. I do not, personally, believe Tyree Wilson warrants the kind of hype that people like Daniel Jeremiah are saying he has. I think there is certainly a good player to work with, but Wilson is highly raw, and like Brad Holmes, I find explosiveness and urgency to be the top two traits for scouting pass rushers, and I think Wilson is noticeably lacking in both, especially in terms of a top ten selection.
Add in that you would also be drafting over Joshua Paschal in year two (though I personally wouldn’t care about that overall), and making the Lions potential re-signing of John Cominsky somewhat redundant, and I am left largely uninspired by the thought of Detroit grabbing Wilson at sixth-overall. Like the rest of you, I still trust that Brad Holmes, the professional NFL executive and scout, probably has a better estimation of it than me, but I tend to believe that top ten picks are where you can see the most clarity in which guys simply have “it”, and I am currently not seeing that with Wilson, especially not in their current scheme alignment. If you wanted to sell me on Detroit moving back to a 3-4 and developing Wilson as a 3-4 DE playing more inside, I’d be quite open to that, but in the scheme Glenn ran last year, Wilson’s a pretty bad fit and lacks the ability to be an overly impactful pass rusher in the current scheme.
My view on Wilson largely boils down to where he would play. He has excellent ability and fit as a 3-4 defensive end, but lacks the explosiveness to consistently become a force off the EDGE, and thus, making him a bit of a reach right now for a 4-3 team with the sixth-overall pick. If the Lions wanted to shift to a 3-4 look and play him inside more, he could be a Calais Campbell-like player for someone, given his size and strength.
But at the moment, I do not see a premier pass rusher in Tyree Wilson at the NFL level off the edge, and think the hype is a little bit ahead of where I’d value him. There’s good traits and tools to work with, but as mentioned, the lack of urgency and explosiveness in his play is somewhat concerning for me when evaluating him. I would hope Detroit uses the pick on someone else, or, more ideally, the Seahawks at fifth-overall do exactly as Daniel Jeremiah suggests someone might do and take Wilson over Will Anderson.