Everything NFL draft fans need to know about Alabama edge defender prospect Anfernee Jennings
Anfernee Jennings | EDGE | Alabama
Elevator Pitch
A three-year starter at Alabama, Jennings has the experience, the power and tenacity to be a solid edge rusher at the next level, regardless of whether his hand’s in the dirt of if he’s serving as a stand-up rusher. Though he’s an average athlete with a set ceiling, he should be able to produce in the pros.
Vitals
Height | 6-2
Weight | 256
College Bio Page
Career Stats
Strengths
If you’re looking for power off the edge, Jennings is a guy you’d like to get to know.
Jennings, who had 13.5 sacks and 25.5 tackles for a loss in his final two seasons at Alabama, packs a powerful punch at the point of attack. He plays with nice force behind a muscular frame, showing off good timing, placement and power in his strikes. In addition to his powerful upper body, he also gets solid drive in his lower body when he executes a bull rush. He does a good job of placing his hands inside the shoulder pads of opposing blockers and being able to control his battle at the point of attack.
As his experience would indicate, Jennings is an intelligent edge rusher who does a good job of processing the action ahead of him. He plays with a calculated approach when defending RPOs and other option plays, squaring up in space and exploding onto whoever keeps the ball. He can read the set points of his opponents to expose their hip alignments and identify when to cut inside. While he isn’t a stellar athlete, he times his jumps well off the snap.
Weaknesses
While Jennings brings plenty to the table as an edge rusher, he doesn’t have the highest upside in the world due to a lack of premier athleticism. He’s a bit of a stiff athlete, as he doesn’t move around in space with much fluidity, limiting his value in coverage. His speed in the open field isn’t all that impressive, and he doesn’t offer much value as a backside defender in pursuit. Though he doesn’t have great length off the edge, he can struggle with staying low and consistently getting his weight underneath him when he engages with blockers.
Jennings can be thrown off balance by powerful blockers at times, and his overall coordination as an athlete can stand to improve a bit. He doesn’t have stellar speed when he turns the corner, which allows opposing quarterbacks to climb the pocket and scramble while the offensive tackle seals him off at the top of his arc. He also has a worrisome injury history, having suffered a high ankle sprain and PCL and artery damage in his leg that nearly required amputation, with both injuries having taken place in 2018.
Projection: 3rd-4th Round
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