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Deatrich Wise Jr., DE from Arkansas, 2017 NFL Draft Scouting Report

By Russell Brown

Nov 14, 2015; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr. (48) celebrates after defeating the LSU Tigers 31-14 at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 14, 2015; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr. (48) celebrates after defeating the LSU Tigers 31-14 at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports /
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Depth at the defensive end position for the 2017 NFL Draft, runs deep. From the first pick of the draft to the last pick in the draft. Somewhere in the middle of all that, Deatrich Wise Jr., will be on of those picks.

Coming out of Hebron High School, Deatrich Wise Jr., was a three-star recruit who had interest from Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and Arkansas. With only two offers to choose from, Wise decided to take the offer from Arkansas. In his first collegiate game, Wise had two tackles and a sack against Jacksonville State. Ironically, his father, Deatrich Wise Sr., played football at Jacksonville State before becoming a ninth-round pick in the 1988 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks.

After only recording two tackles and one sack during his freshman year, Wise Jr., suffered a season ending injury. This resulted in him earning a medical redshirt during the 2012 season.

Jumping ahead to his breakout season, Wise recorded 31 tackles with 10.5 tackles for loss and 8 sacks. He did all of this as a reserve in 2015 and officially became a starter for the 2016 season. While becoming a starter, the consistency from his breakout season tailed off and Wise didn’t quite meet expectations. He finished the 2016 season with 49 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.

Strengths:

  • Off the ball, he engages well and creates separation.
  • Bends down the line of scrimmage well.
  • Has a nice combination of moves as a pass rusher (engage and swim, outside to inside and spin moves).
  • Can time the snap and burst off the line quickly.

Weaknesses:

  • Plays high and doesn’t always show active hands.
  • If he gets double teamed, forget about it.
  • Doesn’t react quickly to the play — leads to poor hustle or pursuit to the football.
  • Rarely dips his shoulder off the edge.
  • Stiff at the hips — leads to poor edge presence or any lateral quickness.
  • Production issues led to losing starting DE reps.

Overall Thoughts

After the close of the 2016 season, Deatrich Wise Jr., had an invite to play in the East-West Shrine Game. Wise accepted and played for the East team. This game is where he caught the attention of many NFL Draft scouts and evaluators because of his size. At 6’5 and 270 pounds, Wise was already hard to miss but during the Shrine Game, Wise was consistent in stopping the run and setting the edge.

Being one of the 300 players invited to the combine, Wise Jr., had to have a good combine. He didn’t test out of the gym but he did alright. I think his numbers from the combine backed up his performance at the Shrine Game. His numbers during the combine were a 40-yard dash in 4.92 seconds, 22 repetitions in the bench press, 33-inch vertical jump, 20-yard shuttle in 4.36 seconds, 3-cone drill in 7.07 seconds and a broad jump of 125 inches.

At the next level, Deatrich Wise Jr., has to become more consistent. The consistency issues throughout his career at Arkansas are concerning  but when he puts it all together, he’s a good player. Some thought he was going to be a top 40 player in the NFL Draft but currently that’s not the case. My overall thoughts on Wise is that he’s a 4th or 5th round pick who will give a team nice value on day three of the 2017 NFL Draft.

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