Film Session: What does Alabama DT Phidarian Mathis bring to Washington’s defensive line?

The Washington Commanders drafted Alabama defensive deal with Phidarian Mathis within the second spherical at decide No. 47. Mathis, a redshirt senior, was chosen as a everlasting staff captain firstly of the 2021 season and was an ascending participant with the Crimson Tide annually.

His relative athletic rating was incomplete and lacked an entire image of his athletic skill as a result of he selected to do a partial exercise on the Mix. Alternatively, Mathis did do place drills at his professional day for NFL scouts and showcased his athletic skill relative to the place he performs.

I took a glance into what Mathis will deliver to the Commanders; his strengths and weaknesses towards the run and move.

Passing Rush Professionals

Mathis possesses sneaky athleticism behind his 6’4” 310 lb body that reveals itself in a number of methods. Lining up because the 3-tech DL, Mathis shows a novel move rush talent set from a collegiate defender, enjoying the place he does. Mathis has a double transfer pretend, beginning along with his fast twitch on the line of scrimmage, which threatens the guard and forces him to react to Mathis’s long-arm energy rush try. At that second, Mathis makes use of that to his benefit, showcasing lean/dip adopted by a chop/rip to win the nook towards the guard. Subsequent, he will get himself sq. to the quarterback after profitable towards the offensive lineman. He finishes with superb closing pace and a strong hit to create a fumble within the backfield and get well it.

Passing Rush Cons

Mathis’s fingers and his skill to remain in a rep on passing downs endure when his first transfer is ineffective, whether or not by preliminary quickness to get upfield or a chop/swim transfer that the offensive lineman wins towards. Extra particularly, Mathis struggles as a move rusher in his use of fingers, pad degree, and at instances in his rush path. For instance, on this play, Mathis has a rush path that lands him instantly in the midst of the lineman and is excessive, and usually when Mathis loses, he’s enjoying too excessive and loses any leverage he may have had.

Run protection Professionals

Mathis has a sophisticated degree of understanding of leverage within the run sport and is among the extra selfless gamers on the Crimson Tide’s soccer staff, which is what’s going to translate to the subsequent degree as effectively. Mathis is going through a double staff by the deal with and guard from the 3-tech place on this rep. This play for Mathis started with superb psychological processing, instantly recognizing what the offensive linemen have been making an attempt to do, and figuring out a double staff was coming. In consequence, he drops to a knee to order the leverage that he had, cut up the double staff with superb play power to outlive the double, and completed this rep off getting in on the deal with.

One other method through which Mathis wins within the run sport is along with his violent use of fingers and grip power. His fingers within the run sport are constantly in the best place to lock in with lengthy arms, create distance between him and the offensive lineman to seek out the soccer, and shed on the level of assault to make performs within the backfield.

Different notes

Mathis’s pursuit skill is at an elite degree. His motor and energy created a number of second or third-effort alternatives as a move rusher and on the backend of performs recovering fumbles on the second and third degree of the protection. Particularly, Mathis’s pursuit was evident on quarterbacks’ chase downs, bottom pursuit on ball carriers, and accomplished passes. In a single occasion, Mathis was defeated on a double staff and nonetheless recovered effectively and confirmed nice effort to chase down a ball provider. That is simply one of many high causes Washington felt he was a match for this protection and the line of defense unit.

Conclusion

Mathis’s presence ought to be felt instantly. He has violent fingers within the run sport and is a reputable disrupter as an inside defensive lineman. Whereas Mathis has a ton of versatility and performed snaps all around the line of defense, I see Mathis handiest on the 0-tech, 1-tech, and a pair of/2i-tech. Mathis’s burst and explosion are most evident from these alignments; it permits him to play in a cellphone sales space the place offensive linemen don’t have a lot area to work with on the snap.

As a move rusher, Mathis wins along with his preliminary rush plan. With superb play power, Mathis has an efficient bull rush to push a pocket or chop/rip and pull/rip strikes. Towards the run is the place Mathis has the potential to be dominant. Mathis has superb psychological processing in figuring out the blocking schemes (zone vs. hole) and kinds of blocks (attain/base/down) he’s up towards. Along with his superb hand utilization, Mathis controls his opponents, putting his fingers excessive and inside their chest, enabling him to stack and shed with out subject.

The timing of Mathis’s hand utilization is spectacular as effectively; for instance, he can seize a lineman’s forearm on the level of assault, taking away any leverage that they needed to block him. Due to superb leverage and imaginative and prescient within the backfield, Mathis displayed the flexibility to stalemate double groups, shed, and deal with the ball provider.

Mathis’s main struggles might be towards the move. Mathis has little upfield bursts to threaten offensive linemen along with his get-off beginning on the snap. Mathis displayed marginal physique lean making an attempt to nook and shut on the quarterback when requested to line up exterior of the offensive deal with. His use of fingers is beneath common. He has below-average play power when making an attempt energy rushes utilizing the long-arm method. Mathis lacks the counter strikes to remain within the combat throughout move rush reps. He additionally has marginal timing along with his fingers and below-average play power making an attempt to shed blocks in move rush reps.

Whereas I believe that he can have occasional success towards inside offensive lineman, he shouldn’t be requested to hurry towards offensive tackles, as longer/athletic tackles might overwhelm him. Mathis additionally must get higher along with his timing on stunts and lacks power because the crasher when requested to stunt.

Relating to Washington’s option to draft Mathis, it actually has nothing to do with him from a expertise standpoint; it’s about worth. The same storyline following the Commanders first-round decide, Jahan Dotson, too. Nevertheless, from an outsider’s perspective, not many individuals have a clear-cut image of what NFL groups’ draft boards appear to be; that data is never made public, if in any respect. Who’s to say that Mathis wasn’t considered as a high 50 participant on some groups’ draft boards? When the main focus is on worth, there’s a gray space that may solely be measured over time towards the prospects on the board when Mathis was taken. Within the meantime, I view Mathis as an excellent match schematically and a necessity for this staff.

I additionally don’t subscribe to the concept that Mathis is a participant who’s set to take Daron Payne’s job. Certain, Payne’s future with the Commanders is up within the air, however Mathis’s finest match with Washington differs from the place Payne works finest on this protection. I consider that Payne will finest profit production-wise in different alignments alongside the line of defense, particularly nearer to the offensive guard and deal with, as an alternative of the middle and guard. With all that being mentioned, Jonathan Allen, DaRon Payne, and Phidarian Mathis will see snaps from a number of alignments,

Former NFL tight finish Logan Paulsen and I broke down Mathis in additional element; take a look at the video beneath to see the Phidarian Mathis movie session.