Head to Head Suh Vs. McCoy

Throughout the 2010 Draftseason, we’ll be pitting two highly regarded prospects against each other and evaluate them on different aspects of the game and see which one emerges victorious.  Today it’s a battle of two of the best defensive tackle prospects to come along in years, as Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh takes on Oklahoma’s Gerald McCoy.

1. SIZE According to his bio on the Cornhuskers site, Suh stands 6’4 and tips the scales at 300 pounds.  McCoy on the other hand is listed at 6’4 and 297 lbs.  We are gonna call this one a tie.
ADVANTAGE: PUSH

2. DURABILITY: McCoy has missed only one game during his college career with a broken hand.  Suh has suffered multiple knee injuries in 2005 and 2007 respectively and has had surgery to repair damage.  He hasn’t missed a game since though.
ADVANTAGE: MCCOY

3. PASS RUSH: Suh is an extremely powerful player who can consistently battle through double teams and hurry the quarterback.  He is deceptively quick for such a big man and is absolutely relentless.  McCoy is extremely quick off the snap and uses a wide variety of pass rushing moves to get around blockers.  He can also bull through lineman on just his power alone if he wishes.
ADVANTAGE: MCCOY

4. VS. THE RUN: McCoy uses his initial quickness to get in the backfield and blow plays up.  He is an excellent tackler with a non stop motor.  Suh is an elite run defender.  He excels at using his hands to fend off blockers and then finds the runner and makes the tackle.
ADVANTAGE: SUH

5. STRENGTH/POWER: Suh is extremely strong both in his lower and upper body.  He has plenty of tape where he just plows a would be blocker into the backfield destroying the play.  Suh can fight through double teams and often will pick up the ball carrier and slam him to the ground with ease. McCoy is strong in his own right but doesn’t rely on brute strength the way Suh does.  He relies more on his speed and technique to get around lineman and not through them.
ADVANTAGE: SUH

6. PRODUCTION: This is the only category that isn’t even close.  Granted Suh had one more year than McCoy but here are the stat lines.  Suh: 212 career tackles, with 25 sacks, and 4 interceptions.  McCoy: 77 career tackles, with 14, sacks, and 1 interception.
ADVANTAGE: SUH

CONCLUSION: The battle of defensive tackles has come to a riveting climax and Suh edges out a 3-2-1 victory over McCoy.  Suh has the impressive stats, power, and is a beast vs. the run.  While McCoy is more of a speed guy who uses sound technique and his initial burst to disrupt opposing offenses.  These two players are elite prospects and are likely both top 5 picks and could even go 1-2 overall in April.