Ty'Ron Hopper, LB, Missouri (Senior)
Rayane M
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Strengths :
- Very athletic
- Nice potential on blitzes
- Very good coverage ability
Weaknesses :
- Tackling technique needs improvement
- Below-average size
- Reading ability
- Raw
- Beware of off plays
LB Ty'Ron Hopper
— Rayane M (@RayaneScout) January 20, 2024
Although undersize for a LB, he's a true athlete who shines on tapes thanks to his speed and explosiveness, on the other hand Ty'ron is still very raw on some aspects and it will take a bit of work to see him succeed in developing his potential
4th Rnd Talent🔎 pic.twitter.com/rvkJPzqd8i
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Let's start with his tackling technique. As I mentioned in the strengths section, Ty’Ron has the unfortunate tendency to sacrifice his body when tackling, largely due to his slender build for the position and his background as a defensive back (Ty’Ron began his collegiate career as a cornerback). While we appreciate big hits, we prefer tackles that bring down the ball carrier. This isn't something that gets fixed overnight, especially when the bad habit was formed early and has never been corrected. So, expect to see Ty’Ron sometimes diving, attempting to tackle with his back, or even failing to engage his arms to secure the tackle. It's actions like these that reflect his background as a defensive back.
Another concerning point is his physique. He is slender for a linebacker, and I already saw this as a problem two seasons ago. Unfortunately, he hasn't managed to gain weight; according to this year's numbers, he may have even lost more weight.
The problem is that with this physique, he risks being limited to a restricted role in certain systems due to the skepticism of some coaches about his ability to have an impact against the run.
To continue with his lack of size, which directly impacts his ability to be impactful against the running game, let's talk about his lack of power in actions that require him to fight to maintain his gap responsibility or simply to disengage from blocks. It's very, very challenging, and it's really not uncommon to see Hopper being truly dominated. Over the seasons, he has managed to develop a nice Rip move which sometimes allows him to shed blocks before they are fully locked in, but it's not yet a foolproof guarantee.
I don't know which team he will land with, but I really hope to see him paired with an established linebacker who is a specialist in the Run Stop, but especially with one or more defensive tackles who force the offensive line to focus on him. Without that, we'll have to hope that Ty’Ron is able to shed the offensive lineman before they can get their hands on him because if it happens, Hopper is almost taken out of the play on that rep unless a miracle occurs.
Furthermore, Ty’Ron plays a bit too high for my liking, whether it's engaging a block or making a tackle. He doesn't put himself in the best position to be dominant. He would benefit from getting lower and could even better disguise his lack of size through this small technical adjustment.
Now that the major issue has been addressed, we can discuss the minor points to work on that could make a big difference in the pros. Firstly, he could still progress in his reads. While they are generally good, we can still see naive mistakes and reps where he takes too long to read, which is unfortunate. Moreover, when this happens, he gets stuck in traffic, where his speed can't help him and his lack of power is really felt.
Ty’Ron could also work on his pursuit angles, which are not optimal. Since he is fast, he often takes too flat of an angle and can sometimes be caught arriving at the point of contact slightly too late, forcing him to tackle the ball carrier from behind and thus lose some yards, which can be crucial when added up over an entire drive.
Finally, one point that really disappointed me on the tapes from this season, unlike those from previous years, is this nasty tendency to relax when the play was on his opposite side. It's really something we didn't see in previous seasons, and it's a point that displeases me greatly, especially in positions that are in the Tackle Box (DL and LB).
To conclude, Ty’Ron Hopper is a special prospect who may not succeed everywhere because while he has real qualities, he remains an extremely Raw and will need development as well as good utilization of his strengths. Where Ty’Ron is fortunate is that he is entering the league at the right time.
Never has the league been so demanding of this kind of hybrid profile, and if Ty’Ron is a true linebacker whose transition from high school years is a resounding success, he still remains dominant in his coverage skills, and just for that, he can be a highly important piece if used correctly. However, we must not overlook the real flaws he can show, especially at the linebacker position, including minor issues with reads, tackling, overaggressiveness, and especially his lack of power and size for an ILB. He can quickly become a liability for his team if misused.
Personally, while I really like the player, it's important to remain measured and weigh the pros and cons. That's why I wouldn't draft him before the 4th round. A small disclaimer regarding his projection: I tried to find his age without success, but for a player like him, age could play a determining role in his projection.
Un joueur de 20ans avec ses qualités et défauts pourrait être projeté bien plus haut que ce même joueur à 24ans. Selon son âge donc, il pourrait tout à fait être sélectionné plus haut. Dans tous les cas Ty’Ron Hopper reste un joli projet à développer mais attention a ne pas le voir comme un pur Inside LB, au contraire c’est même plutôt un OLB qui sera une belle option hybride en Package Nickel.
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Ty’Ron is very athletic; he's truly an explosive player. He gets to the ball quickly and doesn't hesitate to sacrifice his body on certain tackles (but we'll come back to that a bit later). While he can be dangerous and also interesting on blitzes due to his speed and explosiveness, it must also be said that he possesses very few weapons to truly be a threat on Pass rush. He will need to be confined to blitzes to allow him to be dangerous because he won't be capable of lining up on the edge in certain packages like a true Edge, and that's fortunate because it's not his primary job, quite the contrary!
Ty’Ron is quite agile, and his hips are fluid. Furthermore, he shows patience and isn't hesitant to accompany players threatening his zone because he knows he has the speed to re-attack in front of him if needed. It's not uncommon to see him recognize a threat that isn't even in his zone and start to drift toward that threat to be able to act if necessary. (when we say a player in zone coverage "Drifts," it means he starts to slide/be drawn toward another zone/player) Ty’Ron has also prevented touchdowns several times this year by capitalizing on coverage mistakes by his teammates.
Finally, to conclude, one point that I really like about Ty’Ron is his ability to be very active on plays. He doesn't hide and almost always tries to be involved in the action. This is even more evident against the run, where he compensates for his lack of size with boundless activity.