Below is the PFF draft profile for Temple's Matt Ioannidis, which incorporates PFF’s college grades and scouting intel from our team of analysts. To see all of PFF’s 2016 scouting reports, click here.
Position fit:
DE in a 3-4 or 3-technique DT in a 4-3 defense.
Stats to know:
Had the seventh-highest pass-rush grade in the nation this past season. Earned a positive grade in every area of the game PFF measures.
What he does best:
• Reads the game. Ioannidis lined up all over the defensive line in Temple’s multiple fronts, and was asked to play both one- and two-gaps. Whatever he was tasked to do, he was very good at reading the play, as well as dealing with his blockers, often looking blocked, but flowing to the path of the running back and getting in on the play. Also gets his hands in passing lanes; he batted down three passes in 2015.
• Rushes the passer. He isn’t a bad player in any facet, but his best attribute is rushing the passer, and his production would likely have been higher had he been allowed to purely play one-gap every snap, rather than spend time at nose tackle or head-up over blockers. Ioannidis notched 33 total pressures this past season and 67 over the past two seasons, and was consistently disrupting the pocket.
• Works for the duration of the play. High-motor may sound like a cliché, but Ioannidis isn’t blocked just because initial surge doesn’t work—he’s prepared to spin the other way, keep fighting, and generally keep working his way to the ball, which produces some late positive plays.
• Temple had him playing all across the D-line, all the way from traditional 3-4 nose tackle, head-up over the center, to the edge of the defense outside of the tackle. He won’t be asked to do nearly as much in the NFL, but the fact that he was able to give all of those techniques a good effort bodes well for his ability to adjust to the next level.
• Can throw on anchors against double teams really well for a player of his size.
Biggest concern:
• He isn’t the best athlete in the world. Wins more with strength and motor than he does with quickness and burst, which is an issue for a guy best-suited for a one-gap system, because the standard of lineman in the NFL is far higher.
• Doesn’t have an array of pass-rushing moves. Usually just attacks a gap and then works towards the ball. He'll use an occasional spin move, but needs to add a variety of ways to win to his repertoire.
• Was virtually eliminated from the game as a pass-rusher when he faced Notre Dame, arguably the best line Temple played against over the past two seasons. That will raise question marks about how his play will translate to the NFL level. Recorded no pressures in 31 pass-rushing snaps in that game.
Pro style comparison:
Kendall Langford, Indianapolis Colts. Like Ioannidis, Langford isn’t the best athlete in the world, but he has been able to be relatively productive as an interior pass-rusher across multiple schemes in his NFL career. His potential was seen as perhaps higher than he ever fully realized, and there is a danger that also rings true for Ioannidis.
Bottom line:
Matt Ioannidis was an extremely productive college player for Temple, where he was one of the most important parts of a very good defense. He played all over their defensive line and was a consistently-disruptive force. He figures to be scheme diverse in the NFL, and has skills that should translate, but the concern is that he just doesn’t have the required athleticism to continue that production at the next level against better athletes. He is a very intriguing prospect, and a player with a lot to like, and who should fit any scheme in the NFL.
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