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Positives: Has a lean, tall frame with good muscle development, broad shoulders, tight waist and thick thighs … With another 10 pounds of bulk, he could possible convert to a weakside linebacker in a Cover-2 scheme … Tough and aggressive playmaker with an excellent work ethic and a keen desire to win … Very coachable and team oriented, as he not only made a position switch as a senior, but took on additional duties on special teams, performing capably in any role the coaches placed him in … Shows steady foot speed and acceleration throughout his running stride … Flashes a quick closing burst, agility, balance and body control closing on plays in front of him … Very instinctive and intelligent player, with a high amount of academic awards … Easily takes plays from the chalkboard to the playing field … Has the range to make plays along the sidelines and plays with good alertness, as he is not apt to bite on pump fakes or play action … Even though he's a bit high-cut, he has the loose hips to mirror receivers throughout the route in man coverage … Shows ease of movement and good plant-and-drive agility coming out of his backpedal … Has a good grasp of route progression and keeps his head on a swivel to track the ball in flight … Can close on the ball in a hurry and shows the leaping ability to compete for jump balls … Built and plays like a linebacker, taking a "search and destroy" attitude as he simply crashes into blockers … Quick and active in run support, but needs to do a better job of using his hands to shed … Meets the opponent head-on when covering in the short-range passing area, daring the receiver to try and run with the ball … Suited to play "the box" in an eight-man front … Fills the holes with aggression and has the speed to cover runners coming out of the backfield … Decisive in recognizing the plays and is rarely caught out of position … Maintains position in man coverage, often keeping a hand on his assignment to prevent separation up field … Excels at covering the underneath passes while playing in the zone … Has explosiveness when changing directions, flying to the line of scrimmage to stuff the run … Plays off blocks with force and strikes low at the legs going for the tackle … Has the hands to catch the ball outside the frame work and shows good hip snap to change direction and get back into the play when he out-runs it … Shows good speed and timing getting down field to break up the wedge on the special team coverage units … Quick to recognize the play and will not take false steps in pursuit … Hits bigger than his size indicates and makes sound decisions coming up in run force.
Negatives: Needs to use his hands more efficiently in attempts to shed blocks … Plays with good intensity, but seems to taper off later in games (possible stamina issues) … Good collision type tackler, but needs to wrap with better consistency, as he tends to take a side, resulting in the ball carrier being able to slip off some hits … Needs to do a better job of protecting his feet working near the pile (susceptible to low blocks) … Has very good timed speed, but lacks that explosive second gear or burst to get back into the play … Can't be relied upon as anything more than an emergency fill-in on kickoff returns, as he lacks the hip swerve or wiggle to elude heading up field … Good at making plays in front of him, but does struggle a bit with his speed when having to recover (takes false steps when his cushion is absorbed) … Must make better use of angles when closing on the ball.
Compares To: Kerry Rhodes, New York Jets -- Wendling is a tight coverage defender with good speed and keen field instincts … Like Rhodes, he has a knack for always being in position to make the plays in front of him … He shows ease of movement in his backpedal and natural hands for the interception … He needs to use those hands more effectively in attempts to shed blocks and, while he shows good force behind his hits, his wrap-up tackle technique needs refinement … With his ability to play both safety positions, he should see immediate action in nickel and dime schemes.
Negatives: Needs to use his hands more efficiently in attempts to shed blocks … Plays with good intensity, but seems to taper off later in games (possible stamina issues) … Good collision type tackler, but needs to wrap with better consistency, as he tends to take a side, resulting in the ball carrier being able to slip off some hits … Needs to do a better job of protecting his feet working near the pile (susceptible to low blocks) … Has very good timed speed, but lacks that explosive second gear or burst to get back into the play … Can't be relied upon as anything more than an emergency fill-in on kickoff returns, as he lacks the hip swerve or wiggle to elude heading up field … Good at making plays in front of him, but does struggle a bit with his speed when having to recover (takes false steps when his cushion is absorbed) … Must make better use of angles when closing on the ball.
Compares To: Kerry Rhodes, New York Jets -- Wendling is a tight coverage defender with good speed and keen field instincts … Like Rhodes, he has a knack for always being in position to make the plays in front of him … He shows ease of movement in his backpedal and natural hands for the interception … He needs to use those hands more effectively in attempts to shed blocks and, while he shows good force behind his hits, his wrap-up tackle technique needs refinement … With his ability to play both safety positions, he should see immediate action in nickel and dime schemes.
This is a great pick
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