SirVocea Dennis NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for Pittsburgh LB

HEIGHT: 6'0½"

WEIGHT: 226

HAND: 10⅝"

ARM: 32⅞"

WINGSPAN: 78"

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40-YARD DASH: 4.64

3-CONE: TBD

SHUTTLE: 4.36

VERTICAL: 41.5"

BROAD: 10'5"

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POSITIVES

– Moves well, is quick and springy, which allows him to get from point A to point B in a hurry.

– Good eye discipline in zone coverage and has the athletic ability to take away throwing lanes as the middle hook defender.

– Against the run, he takes on blocks with his hands and has long arms to get extension if he gets stronger. He also showed flashes of the ability to escape blocks with an arm-over move if he can survive at the point of attack.

– Good speed allows him to disguise blitzes pre-snap and catch offensive linemen sleeping to get penetration unblocked; his speed also gives him good sideline-to-sideline range.

– High-motor hustle player who will make touchdown-saving tackles down the field.

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NEGATIVES

– Undersized for an NFL linebacker.

– He can be a little too aggressive when coming downhill versus the run and get caught in the trash.

– Needs to add strength; he'll get pushed around by offensive linemen and get stuck on blocks, as he lacks the strength to stack and shed. Even struggles to defeat blocks using a flipper.

– Has a habit of lunging and leaving his feet to make tackles, leading to misses.

– Against play action, he could afford to work for more depth on his drop or turn and use the "robot" technique (roll over and back) instead of backpedaling.

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2022 STATS

– 12 G, 94 total tackles (42 solo), 12 TFL, 7 SK, 1 INT, 3 PD, 2 FFs

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NOTES

– Born March 9, 2000

– A 2-star recruit in the 2019 class, No. 3,130 overall, No. 225 OLB, per 247Sports' composite rankings

– Injuries: 2023 (Foot, missed Senior Bowl game and missed NFL Scouting Combine workout), 2021 (Undisclosed, missed 1 game)

– 27 career starts

– 2022 Honors: Third-Team All-American (Pro Football Focus), First-Team All-ACC

– 2021 Honors: Second-Team All-ACC, All-ACC Academic Team

– 2020 Honors: Third-Team All-ACC

– Brother, SirVantis, played football at Albany

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OVERALL

SirVocea Dennis has a background as a defensive back, having played there in high school, and that shows up on his college tape. He's quick and a good athlete with impressive instincts in zone coverage. However, his run defense is a work in progress.

Dennis needs to spend time in the weight room. He struggles at the point of attack and gets stuck on blocks, often getting driven backward several yards by offensive linemen. That being said, he does take on blocks with his hands and has long arms to help get extension, so his issues are fixable if he can add size and strength.

Schematically, the Pittsburgh product would be best as a "Will" linebacker in even fronts to take advantage of his speed and mitigate some of his issues against the run. He also shows a lot of traits that will transfer to special teams, which he has some experience playing in college, mainly as a sophomore and junior.

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GRADE: 5.6 (Backup or Draftable/Rounds 6-7)

OVERALL RANK: 238

POSITION RANK: LB15

PRO COMPARISON: Eric Wilson

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Written by B/R NFL Draft Scout Matt Holder