Quote
Pernell McPhee, DT, BAL
Selected: 34th pick of the fifth round, No. 165 overall
2011: +13.1 pass rush, 308 snaps
by Gordon McGuinness
For me, no late round draft pick is more intriguing than Baltimore’s fifth-round defensive lineman Pernell McPhee (+16.9 overall). He may be almost exclusively used to get after the quarterback, with just 48 of his 308 snaps coming against the run, but his dominance as a pass rusher more than makes up for him being one-dimensional at this stage in his career. In his rookie year, he has become an integral part of Baltimore’s pass rush, especially as the season has gone on, with key plays in the Ravens big wins against Cincinnati and San Francisco.
It took him a little bit of time to hit form in his rookie year, with four sacks, a hit, and five pressures through the first nine weeks of the season. Now I’m sure you’ll agree that most general managers and coaches would be happy enough to get that kind of immediate production from their fifth-round draft pick, but it’s what McPhee did next that makes him stand out in this draft class. In Week 10 in Seattle, he was on the field for just 15 pass rushes yet managed to put pressure on Tarvaris Jackson five times, once every three snaps! That was the start of a four-game run where he accounted for three sacks, four hits, and 10 pressures before coming back down to earth a little bit with just a hit and a pressure in last Sunday’s game against Indianapolis.
For McPhee to truly become a star on the already star-studded Baltimore defense, he’s going to need to improve against the run, he’s been used sparingly in that regard so far but when he has, he’s yet to really impress. Take a look all the way back in Week 2 when the Ravens went to Tennessee: with 4:18 remaining in the third quarter and the Titans facing 2nd-and-10, he bit on a draw play, blowing right by guard Jake Scott and taking himself out of the play altogether, allowing Chris Johnson to follow the gap left by McPhee for a 6-yard gain.
It’s hard to knock him too much for plays like that, though, when you see what kind of pass rusher he is developing into. There were two plays that occurred on back-to-back snaps that made me really stand up and take notice of him back in Week 11 at the end of Baltimore’s home win over Cincinnati. It’s rare to see a rookie step up with big plays to end the game, let alone a fifth rounder, but that’s exactly what he did here. 3rd-and-17 with 40 seconds remaining in the game and the Bengals driving for the would-be game-tying score, McPhee has the unenviable position of being lined-up opposite left tackle Andrew Whitworth, one of the league’s premier LTs. He gets past Whitworth inside almost immediately off the snap, forcing quarterback Andy Dalton to run out of the pocket and throw the ball away. The very next play he was the quickest Raven off the snap blowing by Whitworth on the outside this time before sacking Dalton to seal the game.
To see this type of production from a fifth-round pick is rare, but you can see the impact he has had on a Ravens defense that was crying out for pass rush help in the offseason. Keep an eye out for McPhee on third downs and obvious passing situations for the Ravens, it’s still early in his career but he has the skills to be a truly special player in the NFL.
http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2011/12/16/the-scramble-late-round-impact/