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COREY WOOTTON
6-6/270
Northwestern Senior

PROS: Shows a nice first step that can challenge the edge. Shows ability to bull rush off the edge. Has a nice motor and keeps working. Before injury, showed ability to drop into coverage and able to make plays in space. Showed good recognition and ability to play contain on the edge in the past.
CONS: Struggles to disengage from blocks. Needs to improve his hand use and technique, as he tend to lower shoulder to absorb block. After injury, lacked short-area burst to close on the quarterback and the edge speed to turn the corner.
OVERVIEW: Wootton was on the verge of being a high draft pick because a torn ACL he suffered in last year's bowl game. He came back and played in every game, but really didn't start producing until end of October. Finished year with 6 tackles for loss and 4 sacks, after having 16 and 10 as a junior.
NFL FORECAST: From his performance in the 2009 Alamo Bowl, I had graded Wootton as a potential Top 20 pick when he chose to come out. But in watching him this past year, I didn't see the same player. Frankly, from what little I saw I would have graded him as a late round pick. Pre-injury I would have compared him to Mathias Kiwanuka. After it, Jamaal Anderson. So the critical issue with determining his NFL success was is the injury going to have a permanent effect on his game? I can't answer that. I've seen where guys like Philip Daniels and Robaire Smith recently came back from ACL tears, but there doesn't seem a lot of precedent of young defensive linemen in their primes suffering the injury. So I'm not sure if the declines in play of guys like Daniels and Smith had directly to do with the knee or just old age. But let's assume he can come back somewhat from it. And if he winds up only being 80-90% of the player he appeared to be at the end of 2008, then he'll be a good pro. I think even without the injury concern, it would probably take him some time to develop at the next level. Despite good athleticism, he doesn't have great technique. So he is probably two or three years away from competing regardless of the injury. Which I guess could be a blessing in disguise because he can get healthy while he develops. At this point, I would expect him to be a solid starter for a team that has the potential to be a good two-way end. I'm not sure he's a double-digit sack artist anymore, but definitely has the potential to get 5-8 sacks each year.
ATL FORECAST: Wootton would have a chance to stick and be an impact player in Atlanta. He could compete and push for time at left end, although again, I wouldn't expect big things from him his first two years or so. But he would be a nice rotational player that is worth developing because of his potential in a few years to be a solid two-way player. I think he would definitely be an upgrade over Jamaal Anderson, since his baseline isn't far from where Anderson is now. By his third year, I think he would start hitting his stride as a starter and be potentially a fixture for the Falcons for years to come.
VALUE: Based off the assumption that the injury isn't something major, I would be willing to go as early as a late second round pick on Wootton. But because of his potentially slow development, I'd be more comfortable targetting him in the third or fourth round.

SKILLS
1-poor, 2-weak, 3-above average, 4-very good, 5-elite

STRENGTH: 3.0
QUICKNESS: 3.5
PASS RUSH: 3.5
POINT OF ATTACK: 3.0
RECOGNITION: 4.0
MOTOR: 3.0

Pros: Great size and frame. Has long arms and shows some good hand usage and uses his long arms well. Can disengage from blocks well and shows a nice spin move to spin off of blocks to pursue the QB. Seems to have good recognition skills, especially as it pertains to the QB, and does a good job of locating the ball versus run also. Works down the line well and does a good job of keeping contain on his edge and collapsing down once he recognizes the QB has handed the ball off. Gets off the ball alright for a man his size and plays with alright leverage also. Has a good motor and gets tackles in pursuit because of it, shows some ability to wrap up ball-carriers in space.

Cons: Does not have good quickness off the ball or good enough edge speed for a 4-3 DE in my opinion. He needs to get stronger also and fill out his frame. Could stand to improve his hand usage to shed blocks from stronger blockers and if he can get stronger he would be stronger at the POA. Had a serious injury and that will need to be checked out, and he may not ever be the same player he was before the injury.

Overall: Wootton is a good DE prospect, but I don’t think he would ever have more than 3-5 sacks at LE in a 4-3 defense. He has a great frame for a 3-4 DE, and I think bulking him up over the next couple of years and getting him stronger could develop him into a good 3-4 DE. He has the frame, he just needs to get stronger and add weight. He may never have the quickness and edge speed he had before his injury, but his quickness would be more than adequate at 3-4 DE. Improving his hand usage would be the next objective, but with a year or two of coaching and development he could clean up his fundamentals enough to be a quality starter at 3-4 DE. That is his ceiling, being a quality starter. His floor is being a back-up 3-4 DE if the transition doesn’t stick and maybe busting, or being a rotational DE in a 4-3 if a team drafts him and decides to keep him at left end.

Projection: 3rd-4th round: I think he will probably go in the 3rd round, but if the injury is a tad more serious than I am aware he could slide to the 4th. But if a team wants a developmental 3-4 DE Wootton will attract attention in this range.

SKILLS
1-poor, 2-weak, 3-above average, 4-very good, 5-elite

STRENGTH: 3.0
QUICKNESS: 3.5
PASS RUSH: 3.5
POINT OF ATTACK: 3.0
RECOGNITION: 3.5
MOTOR: 3.5