On tape, Terrell Lewis looked like a top-50 pick in the 2020 draft. He wasn’t selected in the first 50 picks, falling all the way to the third round at No. 84 overall.
The reason for that is his injury history, which is quite lengthy. He missed almost his entire sophomore season at Alabama with a torn ligament in his elbow. In 2018, he tore his ACL before the season began, sidelining him for all of his junior year.
He returned last season and was named second-team All-SEC with six sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss, but his reemergence was a little too late for him to improve his draft stock enough. The Rams benefited from Lewis slipping in the draft, and he’s been called a steal by several outlets.
Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling selected each team’s biggest steal in the 2020 draft and Lewis was unsurprisingly his pick for the Rams.
Part of the reason Lewis is even considered a potential steal is because of his untapped potential. His impact was greatly hindered by his inability to stay on the field, which also limited the amount of time he had to practice. The hope is that he finally stays healthy in the NFL, which the Rams expect after Sean McVay called his injuries “freak instance,” and finally have a big impact on defense.
Lewis has the makings of a really good edge rusher. He’s 6-foot-5, 262 pounds and has 33 7/8-inch arms, which allows him to take on blockers, disengage and even bull rush them into the quarterback. He’s similar to Leonard Floyd thanks to his length and size, which made it no surprise that Brandon Staley eyed him in the draft.
In order for Lewis to live up to his billing as a potential steal in the draft, he’ll need to stay healthy and have an impact as a pass rusher. Double-digit sacks are certainly in the cards for Lewis at some point – probably not as a rookie – so it’s about staying available and taking to the coaching of Staley.
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