Surratt was the Tar Heels’ quarterback as recently as 2018, before making the transition to linebacker. The switch looked effortless and he was voted First Team All-ACC in both 2019 and 2020. He’s still a little raw, but his athleticism and upside make him one of the draft’s most interesting defensive prospects.
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Strengths
Surratt is one of the most athletic prospects you will come across at linebacker, and that is the foundation of his game. Given his relatively recent switch to the position he is still learning some of the fundamentals, but he has consistently demonstrated the ability to fulfil the diverse requirements of the position.
Surratt has excellent lateral mobility and short area quickness. When coupled with his urgent play style this makes him a nightmare to account for. He is more than comfortable dropping into zones and even matching up with tight ends in man coverage down the field. He loves to get downhill against the run, packing a real punch to his hits. He’s active in the backfield too, with 22.5 tackles for loss over the last two seasons.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of his game to date has been his work as a blitzer. His numbers are genuinely comparable to some edge rusher prospects in this class, and his burst and quickness force offensives to account for him in their protection schemes. Surratt has racked up 63 total pressures, including 14 sacks, on just 200 career pass rushing snaps.
His improvements as a tackler this season was very impressive. This had been by far the biggest knock on his game in 2019, where he had 27 misses on 130 attempts. He finished 2020 with 11 misses on 97 attempts, but the majority of them came early on. He actually had just three misses on 66 attempts through his last seven games. His PFF tackling grade jumped from 225th amongst linebackers in 2019 to 19th this season.
Another thing that NFL teams will love is Surratt’s work ethic. It speaks volumes that he chose to stay at UNC and make the transition to linebacker when his time under center came to an end. The fact that he managed to so with such success is an added bonus and he offers huge upside. It is hard enough to win First Team All-Conference honours at any point, let alone in your first and second season playing a position.
Weaknesses
The weaknesses to Surratt’s game are what you would expect. Despite his solid performances for the Tar Heels, he is still very raw from a technical perspective. He has shown substantial improvement since his position switch, but there is some way still to go. Whilst he can make up for this with superior athleticism in college, that won’t be enough at the next level.
One major area for improvement is his play recognition skills, particularly against the run. Surratt often gets moved out of his run fits and he has a habit of taking poor angles. He also struggles to disengage from blockers and finds himself getting taken out of plays too often. He clearly has potential, and when he does read well he uses his athleticism to make splash plays in the backfield. This just needs to be more refined and more consistent.
His ability in coverage also has room for improvement. Surratt has all of the tools to be an elite coverage player, and has flashed ball production potential, with two picks and five pass breakups through two years. Once again, it is a case of him needing to be more consistent on a down-to-down basis.
Bottom Line
Surratt has been excellent since his switch to linebacker in 2019. Whilst he is understandably a little raw, he has shown the ability to make plays in all aspects of the game. He is a great blitzer and his improvements to his tackling in 2020 have significantly elevated his stock. He offers genuine versatility and elite athleticism that is sure to put him on the radar of many NFL teams.
Big Board Rank: #41
Positional Rank: #5
