Tommy is also very determined when it comes to taking on opposing blocks. He doesn't shy away or deviate from his lane or gap responsibility to avoid the blocker. He remains disciplined, engages the block well, and extends his arms effectively, which gives him enough separation to then act on the ball carrier. While he still has work to do on his block separation, as we'll see later, his willingness to engage the block while respecting his assignment is a real positive for a player looking to establish himself in the box.
Staying on Tommy Eichenberg's hyper-determined side, we also need to mention his pursuits, which are once again very determined. He plays the action all the way, until the whistle blows, and never gives up, which is again a good trait for a linebacker.

Another aspect that can be very interesting in a linebacker, and that Tommy possesses, is his ability to be a very good tackler. Personally, I like what I see; he tackles low, initiates the tackle with his chest and not his arms, and he uses his arms well to secure the tackle. Additionally, I rarely saw him use shoulder tackles. Naturally, when these points are respected, the number of missed tackles decreases. So, once again, this is an important aspect.

If Eichenberg manages to be impactful both in his tackling and in his play against the run when he's in traffic, all without shying away from opposing blocks despite having relatively small arms, it's also because he plays low. I keep repeating this on almost all my scouting reports, but it's one of the fundamentals of this sport and an important point for many positions. Playing low gives a significant advantage, and Tommy understands this. He tries to stay low as much as possible, and that's often what allows him to make plays.

Tommy's coverage ability is more impressive than one might think. At first glance, Tommy might seem like a typical Inside LB, bulky, not particularly impressive athletically, with no extraordinary stats to support any presence in pass coverage. Yet, I find him very interesting in his zone coverage. He's rather agile, has a good explosive start, fluid hips, and is capable of very quick changes of direction. What impressed me the most, considering his average speed, is his man-to-man coverage on RBs, where I found him really strong. While I believe he compensates for his lack of athletic abilities with good reads and angles of attack, the result remains the same: the target is covered.
To give you an idea of how interesting he could be in coverage, Jim Knowles, the current defensive coordinator for the Ohio State Buckeyes, didn't hesitate to use Tommy as a Nickel Back in certain packages.

In the end, Tommy represents a rather complete archetype of LB, as he also adds to his arsenal the ability to be a decent pass rusher. While he shines primarily in blitz situations and often more as a charging buffalo than as a technical player, he has still managed to be dangerous in this situation over the last two seasons.

So why isn't Tommy Eichenberg's name popping up more often in the top LB prospects to watch as the draft approaches? Well, first off, his limited and really average athletic abilities. While we could already see a slight deficiency in certain game situations on last year's tapes, he failed to silence critics this year, and given the numbers from various Combine or Pro Day drills, it's highly likely that Tommy will fall much lower than the value I personally assign to him.

Then there's his reading ability and sometimes overly disciplined nature, areas in which he can, and must, improve. While these two points have been mentioned in the strengths, there's still work to be done. Indeed, while Tommy can read the game decently by taking his first step forward, he can still make progress in this aspect of his game by being a little less disciplined. Too often, he remains focused on a single key read, and as a result, he can sometimes be late on deceptive plays or completely fooled when the fake is well executed. It's not uncommon to see him end up on the opposite side of the play because his key read was on another player than the ball carrier. By being less disciplined in solely keeping his eyes on his key read, or simply by learning to read like an NFL-level LB, Tommy could make a giant leap in his progression.

I also find that Tommy can sometimes lack a bit of strength to battle against bigger players in the Tackle box. If he truly wants to establish himself inside the box, he'll need to address a slight deficit in upper body strength against larger opponents. The game last season against Notre Dame is a good example where he was sometimes overpowered in blocks. In that game, I remember seeing him struggle against TE Micheal Myers and OT Joe Alt even though he was lower than them. So, that's another area for improvement. 

Finally, I find that Tommy sometimes shows a lot of naivety when he operates within the box, especially in block engagements. 
While he does manage to stay low often, as we've seen several times during this scouting, Tommy is still a bit lacking in this area. Not lacking in the literal sense of the word because he doesn't get "moved" per se, and in addition to that, he has a good, fairly heavy build. However, it's more about his separation work where he is "lacking". Between his short arms and the bad habit he has developed of simply letting go of the opposing blocker once he has recognized the opposing play, he makes the task too easy for the blocker, who can then come back to disrupt Tommy and ultimately prevent him from making the tackle. It's these kinds of reps that make me think Tommy is either naive or a bit simple-minded, and since I can see plays where he demonstrates good intelligence, I find it hard to believe he is simple-minded. But perhaps I am wrong on this point. The issue is that with now three seasons of experience as a starter, you cannot see a linebacker who simply lets go of a blocker without using a technique to get rid of him. At this level, that's not acceptable because if you don't get rid of that blocker, he will always come back to block or interfere with you.

A willing and active player, Tommy Eichenberg will have assets to showcase during the draft for a team in need of reinforcements at the linebacker position. While not the best athlete at his position, Tommy remains a relatively fast player thanks to his explosiveness in short areas and his good reading ability. If we also add to that his very interesting coverage ability, the fact that he is a very good tackler, and also that he can generate pressure effectively on blitzes, it's not unreasonable to believe that he could make an impact in a defense. Particularly in a defense looking for a 4-3 outside linebacker or a number 2 inside linebacker in a 4-2 Nickel scheme.
I think that in the long run, if he progresses well in the NFL, he could even become a Mike linebacker, thepotential is here anyway.

If Tommy has aged since last year, my opinion of him hasn't changed much, and I haven't seen any major differences in his game either. Due to the change in defensive coordinator, I couldn't assess his lack of progress. It's impossible for me to know if Tommy has reached his ceiling or if he simply experienced a slowdown due to learning a new playbook, integrating a new defensive philosophy, adapting to a new role, adjusting to new keys, disguising blitzes differently, learning new play signals, in short, undergoing a change in coordinator, and this could also explain the significant drop in stats between last season and this one.
Similarly to LB Noah Sewell from Oregon last year (drafted by the Bears), this drop in stats doesn't affect his quality as a player. Just like Sewell under Dan Lanning (HC of the Oregon Ducks), it's even possible that Tommy has ultimately progressed more in terms of football IQ under Jim Knowles. Only the future will tell.

If you ask me, while Tommy Eichenberg isn't yet a game-changer worthy of a first-round pick, he already had a second-round value for me last year thanks to his qualities as a player that can easily translate to the NFL from day one. That being said, we cannot ignore the fact that he's now a 23-year-old prospect, doesn't excel in athleticism, and is coming off a statistically worse season. So, logically, his value drops compared to what I assessed for him last year, and thus, I would consider him now as a later-round pick. So I value him as a late 2nd rounder or 3rd rounder.