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Dennis Kelly scouting report

By Will Lomas

Aug 11, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Dennis Kelly (67) and center Stefen Wisniewski (61) in action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lincoln Financial Field. The Philadelphia Eagles won 17-9. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 11, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Dennis Kelly (67) and center Stefen Wisniewski (61) in action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lincoln Financial Field. The Philadelphia Eagles won 17-9. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Tennessee Titans have traded Dorial Green-Beckham for Dennis Kelly straight up. It isn’t rare to see trades this time of the year, but it is rare to see the Titans get involved.

With Jon Robinson as the GM, it may be time that Titans fans learn to expect the unexpected. Whether that means swapping meaningless picks to end up with a franchise running back, or trading a receiver who would have made little impact to the team for a solid/above average offensive tackle.

Since no one on earth seems to know anything about Dennis Kelly, I decided to go through and watch what I could of him to form an opinion. Surprisingly, I was really happy with what I saw (which spoiler alert is a starting quality offensive tackle) in Dennis Kelly.

This is slapdash version of a scouting report I would make for an NFL draft prospect, built to fit what I saw in Kelly. Check it out and see why there might be a new “most intriguing” player to watch in preseason games now that we can all safely say Derrick Henry and Demarco Murray look good.

Dennis Kelly

Offensive tackle, Philadelphia Eagles

6’8”, 321 lb.

Games Watched: vs Tampa Bay (2016 preseason), Dallas (2015 week 9), Miami (2015 Week 10)

Pros

-Long arms, keeps defenders away from his body.

-Can smash people on down blocks. Comes with bad intentions.

-Very nice mobility, can get around defenders and wall them off.

-Really nice feel for the game. In pass protection he slides with his eyes on the defense feeling where he needs to help.

-Quickly gets to LB.

-Finds people to hit.

Cons

-Doesn’t have a quick anchor in pass pro.

-I wish he would sustain his blocks longer. Gets on his guy, pops, then can pull off the gas.

-He has only started two games in the last year, but in fairness he was behind Lane Johnson and Jason Peters who are two of the better tackles in the NFL.

-Needs to stop the pass rusher’s momentum at times. He has good technique and expects the passer to step up, but Sam Bradford was terrible.

-No proof he can play any position other than right tackle.

Summary/Usage

-I like this guy a lot more than I thought I would. Any sack that occurred while he was in was either a result of someone else getting beat, or was because Sam Bradford refused to step up into the pocket. In the running game, backside he constantly goes out of his way to get to the second level on the off chance that it will help the play. Playside, he is mobile and athletic enough to seal the edge, and strong enough to open up gaps in man-to-man situations.

I see no reason why the Philadelphia Eagles should have traded this guy for a player like DGB, who has upside but is far from an immediate impact guy. The Tennessee Titans may end up with a 6th OL that plays a lot for them as a “tight end” in jumbo packages. He is that athletic and helps that much.

Since his natural side is the right side, don’t be surprised if you see him line up at right tight end to help Jack Conklin mash people in the running game sooner rather than later.

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