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Cedric Gray, LB, North Carolina (Senior)

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Rayane M

Back for the 2024 NFL Draft edition, The Trick Play team is once again offering to immerse you in the heart of the event through the scouting reports of Rayane and Valentin. Who will become the next gem of the pro world and who, on the contrary, risks a spectacular flop?
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Strengths :

  • Strong presence against the run
  • Coverage ability
  • Reading ability
  • Developing strength and power
  • Pursuit angles
  • Age and progression

 

Weaknesses :

  • Plays too high
  • Lack of punch
  • Appears rather slow
  • Zone coverage needs improvement
  • Lack of explosiveness

TTProfil

 
If I didn't start watching Cedric's tapes this season with the greatest enthusiasm, it's primarily because, having seen him play many minutes last year, let's be clear, I was not convinced by Gray. The only thing I didn't know last year was his age, which only appeared on the internet very late this season. And there it is, his lightning-fast progress revealed to me, as if I had just made the discovery of the century.
 
If Cedric excels in one aspect of his game already, it's definitely in his huge presence against the run. It's simple, Cedric is a tackling machine, as UNC has been producing for a few seasons now. He had 144 tackles in total last season, 121 this season, along with sacks, forced fumbles, and fumble recoveries. Furthermore, his tackling technique is good, and Cedric rarely misses tackles. Generally, when he gets his hands on the ball carrier, he brings him down, and that's something I'm uncompromising about for a linebacker.

There are significant improvements to note compared to last season in his coverage movements. Especially in man-to-man coverage, Cedric reads better and also tracks the targets he's responsible for much more effectively.
 
If Cedric has improved his game reading this season by doing it much faster, it will still be necessary to be careful not to rush on this point because I've seen him miss plays because of it. In any case, I consider his reading (or at least the progress he has made on his reading) as one of his strengths because his processing speed of the information read has really improved.
It's clearly night and day compared to his junior season, but as I wrote just above, since he's quicker in his reading and processing, Cedric can sometimes make mistakes on certain plays like Read Options or RPOs. He must remain quick in his reading while also staying patient. Easier said than done.

Cedric also seems to have gained a lot of strength and power throughout the season. It's particularly noticeable when he blitzes and is able to really put pressure on the offensive linemen trying to block him, which wasn't always the case before. His defensive coordinator has clearly recognized this, as he sent him on more blitzes this season with success. While it sometimes cost Cedric tackles as he got caught up in traffic, he went from 1 sack last year to 5 this season, which is quite impressive for a player whose career sack record was stuck at 2.5 before this season.

This goes hand in hand with what we've said about Cedric's quality in run defense, but it's also worth noting that he's capable of taking good pursuit angles. Moreover, Cedric navigates very well in the traffic of the tackle box to get to the ball carrier. On this aspect, it's truly impressive. He manages to slip between blocks with good agility and tackles ball carriers who sometimes don't even see him coming.
 
Finally, as you may have gathered from the numerous mentions of progress and his age in the introduction, the last interesting point about Cedric Gray is precisely that. His age and significant improvement this year. Between his young age and his breakout performance this year, Cedric proves that he is still far from reaching his ceiling, which gives him a lot of value at the LB position.  
 
While his progress this season is simply impressive, it's important not to forget that Cedric remains a player who will need work before he can claim an undisputed starting position.
 
For example, Cedric still tends to play too high at times. This was a significant issue last season that he has managed to improve upon. However, despite the noticeable difference, he still plays too high too often, especially when engaging a blocker.
Furthermore, since we're discussing his ability to shed blocks, this is something he rarely manages to do, largely due to a lack of punch. Despite making initial contact with the blocker with decent power, because he's both too high and fails to punch post-contact, no separation is created, and Cedric struggles to disengage from the block. So, there's work to be done on this aspect.
 
One aspect that bothers me a bit about Gray, despite having a slim and athletic build, Cedric sometimes appears rather slow on the field. This impression is further exacerbated because he occasionally takes time to get to the tackle once he's made his read. This issue, as seen earlier, is less common than last year but can still occur sporadically. This sense of slowness is particularly noticeable because Cedric can sometimes lack a bit of explosiveness. It's not uncommon to see Cedric arrive late to the ball carrier, resulting in assisted tackles when he could have made the solo tackle by arriving faster.

Finally, I think Cedric's zone coverage could be quicker. Again, Gray seems to have progressed significantly between last season and this one, showing much less of the nonchalant and sluggish demeanor he had in his junior year. However, when he finds himself needing to sit in his zone, it's not uncommon to see him watching balls thrown for catches at the edges of his zone without a direct reaction from him. Once again, he'll need to be more active in the NFL if he wants a chance to earn a starting position quickly, especially in a league that is more than ever focused on aerial attacks and offers no favors to rookies.

 
 
The articles follow each other and are similar, as yesterday with Dominick Puni and today, Cedric Gray will be the second Sleeper Alert to come out this week.
 
If I was rather ambivalent about his tapes from last season, I am much more interested in what I saw from him this season, despite a significant drop in his tackling stats. I also believe that we could potentially see Cedric Gray develop into a Mike LB profile. At only 21 years old (he turns 22 during his rookie season), he shows a lot of promising traits, including his strong presence against the run, his ability to defend the pass both in Man and Zone coverage, and most importantly, a leap in the progression of his game between 2023 and 2024. It's not difficult to imagine him continuing to develop within an NFL roster. While he may lack the athleticism that excites people today, he remains a solid LB capable of contributing to a defense lacking quality tacklers. Although he may still be a bit too raw to claim an immediate starting position in the NFL in my opinion, I wouldn't be surprised to see him earn playing time as early as his second year.
 
Cedric could very well be a steal for a team that picks him up on the third day of the draft. Personally, I currently have him valued as a fourth-round pick, whereas last year I only had him in the sixth to seventh round range. That's how much progression I've seen from him this season. Furthermore, with his age, it wouldn't be surprising to see a team draft him as early as the third round.
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