NFL Scouting Report on Mike Morris

Michigan footballer Mike Morris’ scouting report as he prepares for the 2023 NFL Draft.

Mike Morris didn’t burst onto the scene when he arrived in Michigan and immediately took off for Michigan football.

Mike Morris was one of those laggards, patiently waiting in the wings for his time to shine as defensive linemen like Josh Uche, David Ojabo, Aidan Hutchinson, Mike Danna, Kwity Paye, and more were all on top of him on the depth chart.

It took until his senior season to finally get the opportunity to show off his abilities, but Mike Morris did not disappoint this year.

He finished the year with 7 1/2 sacks and will have the opportunity for an even better season and career in the National Football League.

Profile

Position: Defensive end

School: Michigan

Current year: 4th year-Senior (entered the 2023 NFL Draft)

Height: 6’6

Weight: 278 pounds

Good points

Although Mike Morris’ dominance waned at the end of the season (mostly due to injury), he was arguably Michigan football’s top leading threat for the 2022-23 season, and was someone who one that other university programs had to plan for whenever he was. in the field.

There are a lot of positives for Mike Morris and his abilities.

The first thing that jumps out at you about Mike Morris is his tall stature. He’s a juggernaut in final position at 6’6. It also has the weight to match, at 278 pounds, to rush from the edge, but still big enough to stop the run.

Mike Morris distributes his size and weight well, with his strength and with the pop in his hands. I would say his speed is underrated for someone of his stature and he can sometimes surprise opposing tackles when engaged one-on-one.

One thing you will notice about Mike Morris is that he is really physical at the point of attack and constantly uses his hands to gain leverage over his opponent. He sets a hard edge with his upper body strength.

Mike Morris hates being blocked and chipped by opposing tight ends and will go out of his way to avoid them, or get past them as quickly as possible, which is a positive because a block or chip can disrupt a passer’s momentum.

Mike Morris is really good at attacking his opponents’ zone running patterns. During zone runs, he does a good job of squeezing in, going straight down the attacking point (especially when not blocked) to the back, and dropping the opposing ball carrier for a minimal gain, at the line of scrimmage or behind the line for a loss of yardage.

Mike Morris is like Aidan Hutchinson in that he is very good at anticipating the snap of his fingers and using it to his advantage. He combines anticipation with using good angles with the QB when passing and quite often gets by with slower opposing tackles.

Mike Morris’ leg drive is good as he rushes at opposing QBs to help collapse the pocket. Mike Morris does a good job of establishing his edge and restoring his advantage, if necessary, to gain better leverage against opposing tackles.

Mike Morris has some good counter moves (which can be further developed at the NFL level) with the cross hit, club over, and tear move.

Finally, Mike Morris converts his speed into power at an above average rate, which helps him turn the corner and fend off opposing tackles.

negatives

Unfortunately, while Mike Morris has shown a lot with Michigan football, he has quite a few weaknesses that could really be exploited at the NFL level.

Mike Morris is not a fast-twitch athlete, which is what made Aidan Hutchinson so good with Michigan football. Mike Morris just doesn’t have that innate athletic ability of an elite passer.

Combined with this lack of quick twitch, there is a mediocre start from the line of scrimmage. This needs to be corrected, as a big part of Mike Morris’ success comes from perfectly timing his shots and surprising opponents’ tackles.

If Mike Morris doesn’t time his snaps perfectly, he will more than likely be ineffective at rushing the passer and will be blocked during hand fights.

What made Aidan Hutchinson so good was his engine. He never stopped attacking, even when he (rarely) lost a rep. Mike Morris used to stop his feet when he makes contact with the opponents tackle causing him to lose leverage and leg drive on the opponents tackle allowing the tackle to hit him. move more easily.

Also, when Mike Morris rushes the passes, he has a habit of getting up more than a typical DE should for the type of pass he is making.

It’s one thing to be used in a two-point position like a WIDE 9 edge, but otherwise the purpose of the edge is always to stay low to the ground, never stand up straight for leverage to get around the edge as quickly as possible. This needs to be fixed for Mike to succeed at the NFL level.

Mike Morris is too effectively knocked out of double teams, as he almost never offers resistance to them, which also needs to be fixed. It’s really hard to get by with a double team, obviously, but if there’s hardly any resistance, that’s a problem.

On runs more based on the opposing team’s perimeter, Mike Morris has trouble recognizing and getting while shooting guards and tackles and can be knocked out of the game if caught off guard (which happens on these types of games more often than you would like).

Finally, Mike Morris has almost no bends. Once he loses leverage against an opposing tackle, the rep is pretty much done. Mike Morris does not have the courage to bypass the opposing tackle.

Mike Morris will definitely have to work on his NFL-level turn if he still wants to return home despite losing the leverage battle initially.

Insight

Overall, Mike Morris isn’t close to a polished product, but NFL teams should love his positives a lot already. These are the negatives that will need to be ironed out, but no perspective is ever perfect, so everyone has things to work on.

Mike Morris might have the best upper body strength of any defensive perk in the class and has very good power as a bull rusher (which is by far his best pass-rush type).

Mike’s biggest concern is if he can really improve his turning and edge contractions. Simply anticipating the NFL-level snap to win will almost never work.

Combine that with Mike Morris being a bit of a tween advantage (because he has to have more athleticism to be an advantage on an odd or even front and isn’t tall enough to be a technical 3), and this could ultimately affect its stock.

Mike Morris will really need to have a good combine to prove to teams that he has the athletic ability and the penchant to earn reps consistently at the NFL level. He also needs to add 2-3 more pass-rush moves to his arsenal to counter opposing tackles.

Ultimately, Mike Morris should be taken anywhere from Day 2 (mid-second round) to Day 3 (and mid-to-late fourth round).

With a great combine, bowl game (if any) and pro day (if any), Mike Morris has the advantage of being taken early in the second round. He will make his money by being drafted into a team with an even front pattern that needs a power rusher.