2011 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Alabama DT Marcell Dareus
Marcell Dareus is one of the best players in the entire draft, putting aside position for a moment. You might know him best–or you might not–for knocking out Texas quarterback Colt McCoy in the National Championship game. You might also know him for making Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins afraid of defensive tackles. Okay, that last one is not true, but you get the idea. Marcell Dareus had a bit of a “down” junior season, but displayed the consistent ability to disrupt plays and be a dominant defensive lineman at the NFL level.
NFL Team Visits/Workouts
- Buffalo Bills
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- Washington Redskins
6’3″ 319
Strengths
Dareus is a very, very gifted athlete. You saw him at the Combine, and he just looks like an NFL player. He has huge arms, a great big lower body, and excellent quickness. Dareus–at 319 pounds, mind you–ran the 40 yard dash in under five seconds. It doesn’t matter if that number was 4.99, but getting under five seconds at that size is almost unheard of.
Dareus first broke out in 2009 as a star player in Alabama’s 3-4 defensive look, and it’s speculated that he could play either DE or NT in a 3-4 scheme, or DT in a 4-3 scheme, and many scouts feel the latter is his better fit. Dareus’ versatility will only help him on draft day. He packs a serious punch and has the ability to completely dominate a game, as we saw on his biggest stages against Texas in the National Title game and against Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl. Check out the video below, where you will see Dareus against Michigan State on a play-by-play analysis. This is one of–if not his most–dominant games as a member of the Crimson Tide. (NOTE: You can view every play, just follow this one with #2, and so on…)
With so many of his teammates moving to the NFL in 2010, Dareus was left as kind of the lone ranger on the Alabama defensive line. Terrance Cody, Brandon Deaderick, and Lorenzo Washington all moved on to the professional ranks, leaving Dareus to fend for himself, so to speak. Despite receiving so much extra attention from opposing offensive lines, Dareus managed to put together a solid junior campaign to follow up his sophomore breakout year.
Dareus’ size, strength, and quickness are the main reasons he is being talked about right now as potentially the best player in the draft. Here you can see that all on display in one play.
Weaknesses
If you compare him to a guy like Nick Fairley, he’s definitely not as flashy. Fairley put up huge numbers this past year, where Dareus is more of a space clogger and elite run stuffer who simply doesn’t let much get past him, though he has as good if not better athletic ability than Fairley. He was suspended at the start of last season for accepting improper benefits from an agent as well.
He doesn’t have any real glaring weaknesses other than he doesn’t put up elite numbers, but Alabama had a very talented defense and he was receiving most of the attention.
Overall
Dareus is a fantastic prospect and a virtual top ten lock, possibly even top five. He is one of the most dominant players in college football and should be one of the first players selected come draft day.
Here is the hit that knocked Colt McCoy out of the title game:
And here is footage from the Alabama pro day: