EDGE, Washington
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 262 lbs
Class: rs-Junior
Tryon committed to Washington as a four-star recruit back in 2017. After redshirting his freshman year, he played in 12 games in 2018. His breakout season came as a sophomore and Tryon finished the season with nine sacks and Second Team All-Pac 12 honours. Considered a fringe first rounder by many last summer, Tryon opted out of the 2020 season to prepare for the draft.
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Strengths
Tryon has received first round buzz in some circles and it is easy to see why scouts might fall in love with him as a prospect. He offers the ideal combination of size and length that you want to see in an edge rusher. Whilst he needs to improve from a consistency perspective, he has shown the ability to use his tools to his advantage. Tryon has powerful hands and offers real power at the point of attack to collapse the pocket with his bull rush.
The other thing working in Tryon’s favour is his athleticism. He is an incredibly athletic edge, with impressive burst and quickness off the line of scrimmage. He is able to test the depth of the pocket really easily, but has also shown the ability to convert his speed into power. His lateral agility is good too, and he is one of the most fluid players at the position. Tryon was used in a hybrid role at Washington and looked comfortable when asked to drop back into coverage. His best work came from a two-point stance and he’d be a great fit for a creative 3-4 defensive front.
One of the things that teams will love about Tryon is his motor. He does a great job of maintaining his effort through the course of a game and is always looking to keep plays alive. You rarely see him give up when he gets stuck on a block and he will keep trying until the play is over. He always looks to make plays against the run, even as a backside defender. Whilst he lacks the technical refinement to win consistently, you cannot fault his effort and this will carry weight when projecting to the NFL.
Weaknesses
The biggest concern with Tryon is his lack of production. His 41 pressures in 2019 were solid, but he never really looked dominant on tape. As a one-year starter, we really haven’t seen a lot from Tryon and his decision to opt out in 2020 really hurt his draft stock. His tools are intriguing, but he is very much a projection at this point and some way from being a polished edge player.
The other concern with Tryon will be just how raw he looks. His pass rushing plan is unrefined and he didn’t show the ability to combo moves together. There are far too many reps where linemen get their hands inside his frame and shut him out of the rep completely. When he won, he did so purely on his athleticism. This won’t be enough to get by at the next level. His run defense is similarly undisciplined and he regularly gets fooled by misdirection.
Bottom Line
Tryon is a difficult player to evaluate. There is a lot to like about his game, particularly in terms of his high motor and athletic tools. The problem is his lack of tape and just how raw and unrefined he looked on the field. He didn’t dominate in college and would need some time to acclimatise to the NFL game. The player that Tryon could become and the player he is right now are two very different things.
Big Board Rank: #80
Positional Rank: #11
