Cliff Avril: "Mayowa can be one the best DE in the league"

[TeamoftheCentury]

There is some obvious rare talent with Mayowa, but I refuse to get excited about him until he starts to show strength/power in his pass rush repertoire. Right now he's all finesse, no punch. Clemons may not be a sensational athlete, but he was still very hard to block because he mixed excellent technique with surprising strength. Basically, if you are pass blocking it's really hard to defend inside, outside and bull rush all at the same time. Clemons could attack all three, and when he sensed that a tackle was too light on his feet to cheat against an edge rush, Clemons would just dip his pad level, drive his feet and blow right through the guy. It's very similar to a pitcher who uses one pitch type to setup another later.

Mayowa is good at doing the rarer things, slipping inside and around tackles is very hard to do and even most first round pass rushers aren't very good at it. Guys that can power rush are a dime a dozen. So I guess there is optimism that Mayowa could bulk up and learn to use his strength later. But until I see that, I won't harbor any grand illusions.

(The way I read Avril's comments) He wasn't comparing Mayowa to Clemons. Recon Hawk was. I think Avril's comments were answering a question knowing Clemons isn't part of the picture. Did Avril say Mayowa needs to be just like Clemons or he will not be a Top DE? To me, it's significant to get a player's take on a teammate/prospect like this. It's some insight for us fans and I appreciate the OP. All I take from it is that Mayowa has earned some respect from at least one significant peer who thinks he can be a special player. He's not guaranteeing anything there nor saying he will make us forget about Clemons. Clemons had years to master his craft. Give Avril a chance to work with the kid and see what kind of player he might develop into.

I was more impressed reading Avril willing to invest in Mayowa. Great teammate right there. Before reading this, I wasn't thinking Mayowa could factor into the final roster. Now, I'm more interested to see if he might become much more than just an end of the roster player.