Ht – 6’2” Wt – 239lb Class – SR
Career Statistics
2021 Stats – 142 Tackles, 8 TFL, 1.5 Sacks, 3 INT, 0 PD, 0 FF (13 Games Played)
Career Stats – 266 Tackles, 19 TFL, 5.5 Sacks, 3 INT, 2 PD, 1 FF (33 Games Played)
Attribute Breakdown
Tackling – Good tackler, but he is in no way elite. While his wrap-up technique is great, he often over-pursued the target or tried to tackle with a blow. Those mistakes caused him to miss a bunch of tackles.
Physicality – Muma plays with good physicality, and he seems very tenacious, but the full extent of that strength didn’t show. He got stonewalled by many blocks and missed a bunch of tackles. He isn’t one to ever back down or shy away from physicality, but it’s unclear how much of a winner he will be going up against NFL physicality, even as willing as he is.
Block Shedding – Awful. Struggled consistently with any type of block, even simple chop blocks or blows. He didn’t display any moves to get past blockers, and as a result, he was a very unsuccessful and unproductive blitzer.
Football IQ – Next-level processing and vision. Muma is always near the ball, and it showed in his gaudy tackle totals. He is always taking the right steps toward the play, and he is hardly faked out.
Range & Speed – Muma has explosive speed, and his lateral movement is shockingly fast. As a result, he is very rangy, and pairing that speed with his football IQ makes for a sideline-to-sideline defender.
Man Coverage – Very sticky in man coverage. He has the speed to stick with any receiver. Although sharp cuts can occasionally give him some trouble, he has the great change-of-direction ability and processing not to fall too far behind.
Zone Coverage – A bit troubling. Muma clearly can’t backpedal, so retreating in zone coverage means he has to turn and run, which leaves him vulnerable. Additionally, when playing intermediate or deep zones, he is very conservative and seems more scared of being beat, rather than trying to make a play. His processing and QB reading is next-level, so he has great tools for zone, but a few troubling traits.
Combine – Muma didn’t blow anyone away at the Combine, but he quietly had one of the better days in Indy. Jumping a 40” Vert and a 10’9” Broad is explosive, his 4.63 40 and 4.28 Shuttle showed great speed for a Linebacker, 27 Bench reps, and a 7.06 3-Cone showed great change-of-direction and strength. As one of the few Linebackers who did all the drills, he came up near the top in nearly all of them. The one concerning measurement was his lack of wingspan, coming in at sub 76” total. That’s not terrible, but it’s hardly average.
Overall
Chad Muma might get swallowed up by this talented Linebacker class, but that in no way should indicate he isn’t a good prospect. There are many things to get excited about with Muma.
He is a prototypical MLB, and he can be dominant in the right scheme. Using great speed and football IQ, he is always near the ball. He plays with the requisite physicality to be successful, and his coverage abilities are amazing for a Linebacker.
On the other hand, his ability to get past blocks is very concerning. He also didn’t look like a natural athlete, rather someone who built up his abilities over time. That’s not too much of a knock, as that shows he’s a grinder, and it worked. However, for the NFL, not being a natural “born athlete” might be an issue.
Chad Muma is definitely a player who will intrigue many teams, and in the right scheme and system, he can be a mainstay menace in the middle of the field, and be the true defensive QB for many years.
See Chad Muma’s overall ranking among other players on my Big Board.
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