Channing Tindall 4-3 ILB Scouting Report

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Channing Tindall NFL Draft Profile Position: 4-3 Inside Linebacker School: Georgia Current Year: Senior Height: 6'1" Weight: 223 pounds
Channing Tindall Scouting Report Tindall has a low-cut athletic frame with fluid hips. With this frame, he can change directions and explode fairly easily. Tindall has excellent short-area burst, which he can use to adjust his tackling angles and surge into the contact point. He can also sift through congestion and stack quick movements with his twitchy athleticism. Tindall is a spry lateral athlete who can manipulate his leverage and maintain positioning on a given play. He can also hit a rare second gear when closing in on plays. He flashes excellent range, and his pursuit speed allows him to run down players from behind. Tindall carries violent burst into contact, and his dense 6’2″, 230-pound frame can stop runners in their tracks. Additionally, with speed and explosiveness, Tindall can spy QBs and close in an instant when passers look to scramble. Tindall has underrated play strength for his size. He occupies blockers for teammates and keeps his balance when clogging gaps and taking on double-teams. He’s a physical player who’s willing to lower his shoulder and engage blockers with force. He is a superb tackler — one of the more important defining traits at his position. He consistently squares up in open space and uses his wingspan to wrap up ball carriers. More often than not, the Georgia ILB takes good angles to the ball, and he’s able to carry those angles while accelerating in open space. Tindall shows flashes of operational promise at the second level. He maintains good discipline on split zone and inside runs. He has the awareness to hold his positioning while the play develops, then explode forward when he has a lane. He’s shown to process and read option plays quickly, then trigger on the ball and secure solo tackles. While on the move, Tindall has a good sense of timing when attacking blocks. Tindall is still a work in progress in pass defense, but he shows definite potential here as well. As a blitzer, Tindall can shrink through gaps and explode into the backfield. And in coverage, the Georgia ILB is fairly patient letting routes come to him. He keeps his feet active at all times and sticks to tight ends in the short and intermediate ranges with his burst and length.
Areas for Improvement While Tindall has tantalizing upside, there are still plenty of ways he can keep building his game. First off, Tindall’s eyes aren’t quite as consistent as those of his teammates. The Georgia ILB is sometimes late to diagnose play fakes and get proper depth, and he can do a better job following the quarterback’s eyes in coverage. Tindall sometimes lacks spatial awareness. He can obstruct his teammates’ paths and free up space for receivers. Additionally, Tindall can get tugged off routes by misdirections at times, and he can give up too much cushion as well. In a similar vein, Tindall can be late to trigger to in-breaking routes and can be indecisive when met with two-on-one looks. Moreover, he has room to improve as a playmaker in coverage, as there aren’t many examples of functioning NFL ball skills. Tindall doesn’t always play to his full explosive capacity. Yet, he seemed to play faster as he became more comfortable and confident down the stretch. He does come out of his stance a bit upright at times, which saps at momentum. Additionally, the Georgia defender can better use his hands to deconstruct blocks. He’s physical, but that physicality can be channeled more efficiently.
Channing Tindall Career at School Strangely enough, despite his high school production, Tindall has never been a complete full-time starter at Georgia. He takes the third-most reps out of himself, Dean, and Walker. Nevertheless, Tindall’s role has steadily increased over four years. His patience has paid off, and this year, he’s made his biggest impact yet. After totaling just 41 tackles in his first three seasons with the Bulldogs, Tindall has broken out as a legitimate defensive playmaker in 2021. In 14 games ahead of the national championship, Tindall amassed 59 tackles, 6 TFL, 4.5 sacks, and a forced fumble, earning career highs in all of those categories.
Channing Tindall NFL Draft Player Profile Tindall isn’t quite as consistent from an operational standpoint as his fellow Georgia ILBs. Nevertheless, he shows definite flashes of the necessary processing and reaction quickness, and his athleticism affords him a high ceiling. Especially in the box, Tindall is explosive, physical, and can erase space for ball carriers on short notice. His strength and physicality, combined with his ability to shoot gaps, close ground in pursuit, and navigate congestion with his twitch and agility, give him a strong projection as a run defender. Moreover, he has the athleticism to incubate further development in coverage. At the very least, with his strong athleticism and tackling ability, Tindall can be a special-teams standout on Day 1. Still, he has legitimate three-down potential if he can keep honing the finer points of his game. The mix of short-area explosiveness, range, physicality, and reliability as a tackler gives him starting upside. He’s a player well worth the investment on Day 2.