College: South Carolina
Class: Senior
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 268 pounds
Positives
Functionality in Space: There is not much that Sutton thrives at. Although, he deserves credit where it is due. When given space, Sutton has enough athleticism to take advantage of what is given. Often, his “big” plays root from being given a free release off the snap. At the least, he is taking advantage of the defense ignoring him, but it is concerning for teams to not have issues ignoring him in the first place.
Negatives
Functional Explosion and Strength: Off the snap, Sutton is slow. He sluggishly rises from his stance and begins his equally as slow strides to the quarterback. Both as a pass rusher and as a run defender, Sutton gets bullied around. When Sutton tries to get to the quarterback, his initial punch is nonexistent. He rarely, if ever, forces a lineman to entirely reset his feet. After initial contact, he also fails to get any sort of consistent push or drive through lineman. Both factors make him a nearly useless interior pass rusher. In the run game, he gets tossed around with ease. Lineman have no issues washing him out of a play.
Technique: Aside from being an average athlete, at best, Sutton has a lot of work to do from a technique standpoint. His hand usage rarely appears, and when it does, it is seldom effective. His punch is not strong enough and he does not quite know how to rip or swipe at lineman. Around the edge, Sutton can not bend whatsoever. He gets to the top of his arch and fails to bend and work back inside. He is simply pushed outside, completely taking him out of the play, making him inefficient as an edge presence as well.
NFL Comparison: Pernell McPhee, Baltimore Ravens
Even with the comparison, Sutton is a poor man’s McPhee. Both are tweeners, and average athletes, that will or have bounced from defensive end to outside linebacker. Like McPhee, Sutton is likely to be buried in the depth chart for awhile, if not his entire career.
Draft Outlook
At 25 years old, Sutton is who he is as an athlete. He is not going to improve in that aspect. Sutton has a lot of room to improve, but he more of a low ceiling player than a project. Sutton provides little value or potential value. In this class, or any for that matter, Sutton is a 7th rounder, at best. Realistically, he will be an undrafted free agent with a shot to stick on a roster.
Draft Fits
If the New York Jets are looking to add depth at outside linebacker, Sutton could be a guy they target late in the draft or as a free agent.
As opposed to re-signing Reggie Walker, the San Diego Chargers may be looking at Sutton as a low-price option to replace Walker.