2014 NFL Draft: Pre-Draft Breakdown – Morgan Breslin, DE USC

Sep 22, 2012; Anaheim, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans defensive end Morgan Breslin (91) sacks California Golden Bears quarterback Zach Maynoard (15) at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

USC’s defense was much maligned last year and with good reason, but they did have a few bright spots on their team, including their defensive end Morgan Breslin.  An undersized end that specializes as a pass rusher, Breslin was able to rack up 13 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss along with 4 deflected passes in his first year with the Trojans after two years in junior college.  Breslin is effective with his quickness, first step and being able to beat opponents around the edge before tracking down the quarterback.  He has some issues defending the run and is in an awkward position trying to defend the run at his size as a left end, but he is a huge threat in obvious passing situations and can be a nightmare for right tackles trying to get out in pass protection.  With Monte Kiffin more or less forced out and with the Dallas Cowboys, it will be interesting to see if Breslin’s role changes this year.  The end across from him, Wes Horton, has graduated and is trying to make his way in the NFL, so it would not be a surprise to see Breslin play right end, even if only occasionally.  He is better suited to play at that spot, especially as a starter and proving he can rush from that side would help him in the NFL process as a player who can rush the passer from both sides.

Breslin shows few pass rushing moves but still was able to have a ton of success in his only year for USC.  He will need to expand his repertoire and be less predictable when he moves onto the NFL in order to continue having success.  At this point, Breslin looks the part of a pass rush specialist and is likely a day three pick right now, but has the potential to potentially move up draft boards and give a team more options in pass rush packages in the NFL.

Vitals & Build

Breslin is listed at 6’2” 250lbs and is an explosive athlete going forward with decent top end speed, but he accelerates well and can get to his top speed quickly so while he may not be a guy who tests great in the 40, he should do well in the 10 yard split with his initial explosion.  He is not a particularly fluid athlete and has problems changing direction and struggles when it comes to flipping his hips.  His motor is good for the most part, though he will quit on plays early and at times, can look pretty bad in the process.  He appears to have a decent amount of room to add strength and he needs it as he is not overly powerful at this point and needs to continue adding strength for this season and going into the draft process.

Snap Anticipation & First Step

Breslin not only anticipates the snap well consistently, but he also has a good first step which enables him to get up the field quickly.  He is able to put opponents at an immediate disadvantage and force them to play catch up in catching up to him on the outside and adjusting to what he is doing.  Breslin seems to treat every play like it is a passing play, but he is particularly dangerous in obvious passing situations when he has the freedom to get after the quarterback.

Block Shedding

When Breslin is able to work half the man, he is able to get under their pads, use leverage, and get past opponents by finishing them with a rip move.  He struggles to beat blockers who are able to get in front of him, be it tackles or even tight ends.  Breslin is not real powerful at the point of attack and does not do much in terms of being able to beat blocks.  He has a rip move he can just but needs to continue working to develop more strength and bring heavier hands so it can work more consistently.  The other thing that hurts Breslin is he is entirely too predictable in how he attacks the opponent, so they know what is coming for the most part and can anticipate what he is going to do before he does it.

Run Stopping

An area where Breslin is inconsistent because he is often facing opponents with a substantial height and weight advantage as well as more length than he possesses, Breslin has to rely on quickness to beat blockers.  He is anything but the classic power end and is more suited to be a pure pass rusher than he is a run stopper on that side.

Breslin is not overly powerful at the point of attack and is forced to try to slip blocks or avoid getting blocked in the first place by right tackles.  His best bet is to use his speed and quickness to knife into the backfield to disrupt plays, but will get too deep at times and end up overrunning plays.  When he is able to break down at heel’s depth, he can make the play and knock teams for a loss.

On more than a few occasions, he has been singled and beaten up by tight ends that are able to turn him, create a hole, and a big running lane.  Breslin has trouble using power to collapse the pocket and close the hole so he is often forced to try to use his speed and try to go around the block one way or the other in hopes of making a play.  This is another situation where Breslin is often hurt by his size as he is facing a number of tight ends who are substantially bigger than he is which creates a mismatch on that side to run the ball.  He needs to get stronger and be able to hold up at the point of attack better to really improve here, but he is in a tough spot if he continues to play left end in running situations.

Pass Rushing

This is Breslin’s best area as he has the explosion and agility to get into the backfield and the closing speed to track down quarterbacks.  He is able to turn the corner quickly and track down the quarterback off of his initial move.  He breaks down and while he occasionally gets too deep in the backfield, is able to make the adjustment and still track down the quarterback on second and third efforts at time if the quarterback holds onto the ball too long.

Breslin’s production is remarkable when he only really does three different variations off of the snap.  If he is lined up against a right tackle with no tight end, he is going outside with a speed rush and hoping to dip his shoulder or rip when he is able to play half the man.  When there is a tight end lined up next to the tackle, he is going to attack in the gap between the right tackle and tight end.  And then they will liberally call stunts that have him and the defensive tackle next to him attack up the field and then cross up with the defensive tackle working like a guard to take out the tackle and Breslin attacking in the crease behind the guard before he is able to adjust, if Breslin can exploit it quickly enough.  Using those three moves over and over, Breslin was able to tally up thirteen sacks, which is a credit to his quickness off the snap and his ability to get low.

Tackles would start anticipating the outside rush and cheat right off the snap and he was still able to produce, but this is going to be a much bigger problem in the NFL where they have much better feet and if he is that predictable, he is going to struggle to produce.  Offenses adjusted to shove him past the play and have the quarterback step up in the pocket and make a throw or simply toss it to the running back in the space where Breslin had been.  The tackles he faced for the most part were simply unable to beat him enough to the outside to stop him; NFL tackles will be.

Breslin can still have success using that outside speed rush but needs to make the effort to develop a legitimate inside rush to keep  opposing offensive lines honest and set up the outside speed rush so it is there.  He should also start selling the outside rush and get them overcompensating to stop the outside rush and just attack inside in the space created in front of the tackle and guard to get to the quarterback.  As remarkable as his production is, he is entirely too predictable and needs to continue developing to avoid a significant drop off in production, even in the college game.

System Fit

Breslin’s best fit is in a 4-3 scheme that lets him operate as a situational pass rusher on the outside.  He has been used as a linebacker at times and could play in a 3-4 as an outside linebacker, but he has not shown the ability to contribute whatsoever in coverage and is incredibly stiff.  He does his best work attacking forward, so if a 3-4 team wants to take him, it is still as a situational pass rusher, but he is probably at his best with his hand on the ground as an end.

Schedule

Notable Games

Although Stanford would be a good test for Breslin, the Trojans do not play them this year unless both make the PAC-12 championship.  Both Notre Dame and Arizona were able to shut down Breslin last year and could be a good test for him this year.  Both are teams that will use spread type looks and get rid of the ball quickly, which makes it more difficult for Breslin to make an impact.

NFL Comparison

Although not quite as tall, Breslin bears a resemblance in his playing style to Mark Anderson who was a fifth round pick out of Alabama.  Anderson has struggled when forced to start and has never been a great run defender, but he been a valuable commodity as a pass rush specialist.  Anderson has been able to get double digit sacks twice in his eight year career, once with New England and once, his rookie year with Chicago; both of which were teams that made the Super Bowl.  Breslin will be a valuable commodity even if he is not a high draft pick as teams can never have enough pass rushers.

Draft Projection

Morgan Breslin needs to continue adding strength and if he can prove to be a better run defender, it will help his cause, but ultimately, he is going to be drafted on getting after the passer, so being less predictable and adding more moves and ways to mix up how he gets there will do the most for him in the draft process.  Breslin looks the part of a third day pick now, but he could raise his stock between now and then with development.