Vincent Valentine, DL, Nebraska: 2016 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Nebraska’s Vincent Valentine entered the 2016 NFL Draft after redshirting his freshman year, and spent time in and out of the starting lineup in the next thee years following. Valentine hails from Edwardsville, Illinois and earned second team all-state honors as a senior at Edwardsville High School while racking up 35 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and three sacks.

He was chosen to be a first team Class 7A all-state performer and first team All-Southwestern Conference for his efforts. Valentine was mostly recruited by Big Ten schools, and ultimately chose Bo Pelini’s Cornhuskers over Florida and Illinois.

While at Nebraska, he played in all 13 games in his redshirt freshman season with six starts. He made 21 tackles, with five for a loss, and one sack on his way to making the honorable mentions of the Big Ten all-freshman team. His sophomore year he started 11 out of 13 games and saw his production increase to 45 tackles, seven tackles for loss, three sacks, a forced fumble, and two pass break ups.

Heading into his redshirt junior year he was hyped up, but was noble to live up to it due to a rash of injuries that led to him missing three games. After the injury plagued season he declared for the draft, ending a somewhat successful career in Lincoln with some question marks.

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Measurables:

Height 6’4″

Weight 329 lbs.

Arm Length 33 1/8″

Hand Size 9 5/8″

Combine/Pro Day Results:

40 Yd Dash 5.19 seconds

Cone Drill 8.03 seconds

20-Yd Shuttle 4.59 seconds

Vertical Jump 29.0″

Broad Jump 11.0″

Bench Press 17 reps

Games Watched:

2014: USC

2013: Iowa

Strengths

Valentine has NFL size with a very big frame and legs the size of small tree trunks. He possesses the size that can require double teams even at the next level. One thing he did very well was clog gaps, and that is his biggest upside as a prospect. When at the 5-technique he commands attention, especially against smaller centers.

In the Iowa game he was able to blow Austin Blythe (275 lbs.) off the ball, all game he was pushing him around and even drove him into quarterback Jake Rudock for a sack. You can see here what he was able to do to.

Another thing Valentine does well is tackle running backs who try to come through his hole. He can shed blocks in a second if he is needed to, to make the play. Valentine’s best asset is his size and it will undoubtedly help him garner attention in the draft process.

His ability to command double teams will be very beneficial for him since teams are always looking for big athletic bodies to plug into their defensive line rotations.

Weaknesses

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Unfortunately for Valentine, his decision to enter the NFL Draft this year was highly questionable. Athlon Sports even called it a, “critical mistake”.  His 2015 season was plagued by injury, and his production wasn’t exactly eye popping. His injury history, and repeat ankle sprains will undoubtedly be red-flagged by team doctors all across the league, as they should be. Another knock on his injury history is that he missed excessive periods of time for his injuries.

Another major criticism on Valentine is inconsistency. Some plays he looks like a day one or day two talent, but others he looks like he could go undrafted. Against USC’s Max Tuerk, who’s largely garnered as a day two prospect at center, he struggled to get off his blocks and was blown off the ball. His ability to stop the run is undeniable, but his pass rushing skills are below par. The issue there is a massive question mark that his game might not be able to translate to the NFL without better pass rushing skills.

Lastly, the worst criticism you can receive is one about your work ethic, and there are plenty of those about Valentine. Insiders around the team said that he had bad conditioning habits, and bad practice habits. This raises another massive red flag, and could drop his stock farther than his inconsistency or injuries.

Ultimately if he wants to make it at the next level he needs to be able to improve his work ethic, no team wants someone who will show up out of shape and who will take plays off in practice.

Overview

Vincent Valentine has potential and showed flashes in his redshirt sophomore season of what he could be. But in the end he has been criticized since leaving Nebraska for several reasons, and has given all 32 teams reasons to red flag him. Ultimately, he could become a backup nose tackle for the foreseeable future, and potentially a future starter if he is able to cut some “bad weight” and put some more muscle on his frame.

Valentine is not a commodity and he won’t be selected on day one. Probably won’t hear his name called on day two either. The never ending need for gap cloggers is the best thing he has going for him, and will hear his name called in the sixth or seventh round if he does get drafter. I

f he goes undrafted he will undoubtedly be signed as a free agent after the draft by some team, and could become a gem if he puts in the work.