Tyrus Wheat was oftentimes used as the X-factor on the defense, moving around between an inside linebacker spot and a rush edge in your traditional 3-4 front. I don’t believe he will have such value at the next level due to a lack of athletic ability to play inside linebacker, but his downhill style is what Mississippi State was trying to utilize. 

I don’t see a ton of upside in Wheat’s game. He looks like a player who will be limited to simple roles at the next level, not really able to drop into coverage or win with a dominant trait. While his strength is good, he doesn’t wow me with much else. He’s going to be limited as a tackler because he struggles to make good decisions in space and isn’t as instinctive as I want to see. 

Tyrus Wheat is a uniquely built EDGE who has 27 TFL and 18.5 sks in 3 year @HailStateFB career@Tyrus_Wheat18 is equally effective stacking the edge as he is rushing the passer or pursuing in space. Sub 0.96 10 yard split and 22 MPH GPS shows up in his get off and chase speed 🌪️ https://t.co/qmWv0ZJADf pic.twitter.com/qOCLS8cuTO

— Shane Coughlin (@Shane__Coughlin) January 21, 2023

Has stayed remarkably healthy his entire career. Never missed a game. 

Tyrus Wheat’s scouting report

Athletic Ability (35)

Speed/Athleticism: 15 

• Speed (5/7) – Excellent quickness. Not particularly mobile in the open field. Moves better than his size would suggest, but overall his athletic ability and speed is very average. 
• Lateral Quickness (2.5/4) – Does not display good lateral quickness. Struggles to move from side to side. 
• Body Control (2/4) – Doesn’t have good body control. A lot of wasted motion, doesn’t change direction well either.  

Burst: 10 

• First Step Burst (3/5) – Decent first step.  Inconsistent with it – sometimes looks good and other times looks very slow. Seems to be slowed down by cold weather. 
• Explosion (3/5) – Overall average explosion. 

Power/Strength: 10 

• Upper Body Strength (2.5/3) – Very strong upper body. 
• Lower Body Strength (2.5/3) – Strong lower body generates some drive and push off of the snap. 
• Brute Power (3/4) – Has a decent bull rush that he uses to bully at times. 

Pass Rushing Mechanics (20)

Bend: 10 

• Balance (3/5) – Average balance overall. Keeps his feet sometimes but is limited with the body control being just average at best. 
• Bend (3.5/5) – Has a decent shoulder dip that he uses upon engagement that will get him some leverage around the edge.  

Finesse: 10 

• Hand Usage (3/5) – Uses his hands well to utilize his power. Likes to get his hands up into the upper chest and bully the tackle back when he can. Struggles to work his hands when he doesn’t have good initial placement. Struggled even to work off of blocks against tight ends. 
• Hand Placement (3/5) – Good hand placement while using his bull rush. Does not show good hand placement when working into a more finesse role. 

Defending Ability (40)

Tackling/Pursuit: 15

• Tackling Ability (3.5/5) – Tough tackler. Hits well. Tends not to wrap up and instead uses his power to knock players over. Solid wrap up when he uses it. 
• Space Defending (2/5) – Not someone that I’d want to have out in space. 
• Pursuit Angles (2.5/5) – Pursuit angles are normally under-pursued and he struggles to work to make the tackle. 

Coverage Ability: 20

• Instincts (5/10) – Lacks a tremendous amount of instinct overall. Doesn’t have a natural feel for where the play is developing. Not often in position to make a play. So often out of position. 
• Man Cover (2/5) – I question Wheat’s reactive athleticism and overall skill to stay with someone in man coverage. I think he’s very limited in this regard. 
• Zone Cover (2.5/5) – Gets to his zone quickly but doesn’t have the body coordination to watch the quarterback as he drops. Tends to watch the play developing around him as he gets into his zone. 

Motor/Consistency: 5

• Motor (3/5) – Average motor overall. 

Overall – (67) – 7th Round/PFA