NFL Draft Prospects 2019: Edge Rusher - Chase Winovich, Michigan

In one of the more unusual stories, Chase Winovich suffered a fractured skull and subdural hematoma when tripping over a garbage can in junior high. After surviving that accident, he became a standout football player in the state of Pennsylvania. Despite rooting for Ohio State as a kid, he decided to join their biggest rival Michigan.

His first two years under Jim Harbaugh were hampered by injuries, even though he already was excellent as a rotational piece in 2016. However, he turned it one of the top edge defenders in the nation once he became a starter. In those last two seasons combined, Winovich recorded 13.5 sacks and 34.5 tackles for loss. He plays with leverage and extension against the run, while keeping his eyes on the backfield. His 37 run stops actually led the country among edge rushers and he earned the second-best run-stop percentage at that position.

I think Winovich might be the best player out there in terms of grabbing cloth and pulling 300-pound men away from him. He offers penetration in the opposing backfield as he gets around tackles at a high rate before the ball-carrier can get past the line of scrimmage. This kid is an extremely passionate player with a running motor and has some craziness to his personality. You see some hard hits on tape and when there’s a loose ball, he goes after it.

As a pass rusher Winovich gets under the opposing tackle’s pads when he runs the arc and has a strong initial club to clear himself of the hands of his blocker with a rip to create an angle after that one-two step. He is a push-pull specialist once he feels guys lunging into him. What is best about Winovich is a pass rusher is how he counters the hands of his opponents once that guy aims for his punch. He has the strength go through one shoulder of his tackle and turn that guy’s hips, displays premiere effort and gets the job done with plenty of second and third moves.

In 2018 he won 21.7 percent of his pass-rushing snaps and finished second in the Big Ten with 52 total pressures, including 14 QB hits. With that being said, the Clay Matthews-lookalike lacks that explosive first step and is a little slow off the snap. He lets tackles put their hands on him and guide him along too much, instead of stepping around and flipping his hips. He doesn’t have great length and looked like a rather marginal athlete among that talented Wolverine defense.

Overall, Winovich is just a little bit too much of a straight-line player at this point, but I think his lower body is good enough to win him the corner when he uses his speed to be a threat off the edge in the NFL as well. Winovich had a really good day at the combine for a guy who people often say has limited upside, running sub-4.6 in the 40 and looking very comfortable moving in space.

He was an integral part to one of the best defenses in college football these last few years and while he will probably not be a double-digit sack specialist at the next level, he can be a strong run-defender with flexibility on third downs. He is one of the toughest, most physical players I’ve ever evaluated and I love his energy.

Grade: Early third