Dameon Pierce
RB Florida 5-9 218 SR #27
GRADE: 84 OVR RANK: 62 POS RANK: 3
ARM LENGTH: 30 ¾”//HAND SIZE: 9 3/8”//40YD: 4.59 (56%)//10YD: 1.58 (73%)
VJ: 34 ½” (61%)//BJ: 9’11” (64%)//BP: 21 (77%)//SS: ( %)//3C: ( %)
Projection: Scheme-diverse RB who will succeed as part of a committee early in his career but could develop into a load-carrier for many teams. Late Round 3 ~ GrindingTheMocks.com
Ravens Fit: Not the most athletically gifted back but tough as the day is long. Has exceptional contact balance and will fit the Ravens’ heavy gap scheme well. His main deficiency in terms of footwork came on Duo. He is versatile though, and can operate Zone runs equally effectively. The Ravens are likely looking for a 3rd down RB in this draft and while he is excellent in pass pro, he is not a prolific pass-catcher, albeit, certainly with projectable traits to this role. To value him highly enough to get him, they would need to be looking for a guy who could contribute as a runner, as much as looking for a pass-catcher.
Overall Fit 
2/5
Running the Ball
Good initial burst out of stance, he is patient behind the line of scrimmage and presses his key in Outside Zone. When he is running parallel to the sideline with the bounce being the pre-determined read for OZ, he is disciplined with his body movement with his toes and hips pointing in the direction of his path, he then makes good decisions on when to come off that path. On other Outside Zone aiming points, he could keep defenders more honest with more discipline with his hips. On all Outside Zone runs though he presses his keys consistently and makes good decisions on when to cut back. He has great vision, especially to the second level where he is able to identify the right path, based on an accurate assessment of his abilities and how he wins. He could trust his contact balance and play strength more than he does though, occasionally bouncing outside against lesser competition when he knows he can get outside and get upfield with his athleticism. When he’s more disciplined against better run defenses, as he knows he has to be, he’s more productive. He is not as effective when running Duo as he doesn’t press his keys consistently and looks a little lost. On Gap runs he will press the blocker when his path is to follow a puller who isn’t kicking out a DE. When this is the case, he’s patient, waits for the blocks to set up and is then decisive, and he can get skinny through any hole.
He’s an excellent problem-solver, he faced poorly blocked defenders on countless occasions that he had to account for himself and he did. He would press the cut back lane to open up the bounce and could use his lateral quickness, which is good, to make defenders miss in space, as well as pressing into a pile of blockers and defenders before popping out the other side. His pressure step is very convincing and defenders regularly take the bait on it. He runs behind a very low pad level and operates with a consistently low center of gravity. His contact balance is absolutely exceptional, he seems to gain momentum from contact, often steadying himself in a couple of steps before accelerating upfield again. This is true against even the very best tacklers who struggled to bring him down, even with a clear shot and perfect form. Arm tackles certainly won’t do and there is often a stream of missed tackles in his wake. He will also drag DBs with him for several yards – must be gang-tackled. He also takes on would-be tacklers with authority, he is tough, physical, competitive. Is more of a build up speed guy but has some initial burst to him and has lateral quickness.
Passing Down Skills
Good ID and play strength as a pass protector, stays low with good initial hand placement and sustain against DBs and LBs, blitzing. Not a prolific pass-catcher but good hands and uses lateral quickness to gain separation, doesn’t quite have foot speed to win consistently in short areas underneath.
SUMMARY
Low center of gravity, runs with toughness and exceptional contact balance. Good in Zone or Gap, good footwork – shifty rather than explosive but good lateral quicks
PRODUCTION SR: 100 Att, 574 rush yards (5.7 avg), 13 TD, 0 Fumble, 19 tgts, 19 Rec, 216 rec yards (11.4 avg), 3 Rec TD INJURY: None
RAVENS FIT
Toughness 3
Intelligence 4
Versatility 5
Grit 5
Scheme 4
