Scouting Devon Still
The Jets made three roster moves yesterday and we're going to look at each of the new additions over the weekend. The first is former Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still.
The 28-year old Still is listed as 6'5" and 310 pounds and was a second round pick out of Penn State. In three seasons with the Bengals, he registered 40 tackles and half a sack but was out of the league in 2015 as he was dealing with some family issues. He made his return with the Texans in 2016, but played just three games before ending up on injured reserve.
Background
After some early injury issues, Still gradually increased his production over the course of his career at Penn State, recording career highs in tackles (55), tackles for loss (17) and sacks (4.5) in his senior year as he was an all-American and the Big Ten defensive player of the year. He ended his career with 113 tackles and 10.5 sacks.
The Bengals selected him with the 53rd overall pick in the 2012 draft and he contributed off the bench for them for two years.
In 2014, Still was unsurprisingly cut, as he was understandably more concerned about his daughter Leah and her fight against a rare form of cancer. However, the Bengals still kept him on their practice squad and he ended up being activated early on in the season and playing all year.
He was released in final cuts again in 2015 and spent the season out of the league, but then made his comeback with the Houston Texans last year. Despite initially being listed as a starter, Still didn't play much over the first couple of games, but then had a bigger role in week four. Unfortunately, he injured his foot in that game and would miss the rest of the season.
The Jets had already worked Still out on at least one occasion and signed him yesterday, following injuries to back-up defensive linemen Brandin Bryant and Claude Pelon.
Let's take a closer look at what Still brings to the table, divided into categories.
Measurables
Still has decent size and, as you can see below, posted average numbers at the combine, where he was dealing with a toe injury:
However, he boosted his stock by running a 4.94 40-yard dash at his pro day, where he also posted average agility numbers. He displays some good explosiveness on film.
Usage
Still was a 4-3 defensive tackle at Penn State and that's how the Bengals employed him almost exclusively. When he went to Houston - a 3-4 team - they also used him out on the edge at times. He's not really a two-gap nose tackle type of player.
Motor
Despite playing in 33 NFL games, Still has yet to make his first start. However, he has shown he can handle a big workload because he played over 700 snaps in 2010.
He's only played over 30 snaps once in an NFL regular season game, but has played over 50 once in preseason action.
Run defense
Still battles hard in the trenches and has the ability to throw off his blocker or flow laterally to stay in front of the ball.
In college in particular, Still (#71) showcased an ability to shoot a gap and explode into the backfield:
At the NFL level, he's made less of an impression in the running game, but is rarely dominated at the point of attack.
On this play, Still (#75) is driven out of the middle by the pulling lineman, setting up a decent gain:
Short yardage
Still can be extremely effective in short yardage situations due to his ability to shoot a gap and explode into the backfield:
However, he will struggle at times to hold up against a double-team and, on this play, he was completely buried by the left tackle to create a lane for the short touchdown run:
Pass rush
While he only has half a sack at the NFL level, Still did show a good ability to collapse the pocket and get to the quarterback in college:
While he also stunts well, Still's most effective move is definitely the bull rush, which he uses superbly here, getting in under the pads of his man to drive him back and then showing good athleticism to disengage and stop the quarterback from escaping:
He hasn't been a very productive pass rusher at the NFL level. His half-sack, on which he also forced a fumble, was more of a coverage sack than anything where he had to beat a man:
2013 was his best year in terms of generating pressure, which he managed to do on approximately one in every 12 pass rush attempts. He's not done much more in preseason work, although he did have one other sack after pressuring inside and then cleaning up, along with another that was negated by a penalty.
He gets upfield and into the quarterback's face on this play well, leading to an interception:
Tackling
Tackling is one of Still's most impressive attributes. He'll hit a ball carrier hard and stop them in their tracks on a regular basis, closing explosively and doling out punishment with good form and technique.
Still has only missed a few tackles over the course of his career and none seemed to lead to particularly big plays.
Here's a big hit he made in space:
Batting passes
Batting down passes is something Still is adept at and he'll often get his hands up to challenge a pass. He has been credited with three passes defensed at the NFL level and four in college. Here's one of them:
One of the passes defensed he had with the Bengals saw the ball deflected up into the air off his helmet for an interception. Still has also dropped into coverage a few times.
Special teams
Still hasn't really made any contributions on special teams, playing only on the field goal rush unit.
Instincts/Intelligence
Still seems to play with his head up and reacts to what is going on ahead of him even while fighting in the trenches.
He had two dead ball penalties in preseason action though.
Attitude/Demeanor
Still is perhaps best known because of his daughter Leah and her courageous fight against a rare form of cancer for which she won the Jimmy V Award at the 2015 ESPYs. Leah is currently healthy, enabling Still to focus on getting back into the NFL.
As you can imagine, enduring something like that has given Still an added layer of humility and earned both Devon and Leah respect from around the league. He was already regarded as a hardworking player who gave good effort on the field, in the weight room and in conditioning drills and was a team captain at Penn State.
The only off-field negative against him are that there were some reports of unpaid child support at one stage a few years ago, which has presumably since been resolved.
Injuries
Still is presumably completely recovered from the foot injury that ended his 2016 season. He's had some minor issues during his NFL career, including an elbow injury in 2013 that caused him to miss about a month and a back injury at the end of that year which landed him on injured reserve. When he was released in 2014, part of the reason was that he was dealing with hamstring issues.
Still also had some injuries at the start of his college career, tearing an ACL in 2007 and then suffering a broken ankle in 2008. He finally made his Penn State debut right at the end of the 2008 season.
Scheme Fit
Still has mostly played in a 4-3 defense but possesses a combination of athleticism and size to potentially contribute at defensive end or defensive tackle in the Jets' current system. His experience with the Texans last year should help, because their system perhaps has more similarities with Todd Bowles' scheme than Cincinnati's does.
Conclusions
Despite his experience, Still would have to be considered an outside bet to win a roster spot. The Jets brought him in only because they had a couple of injuries to players already not expected to make the cut in the team's most stacked position group.
Still won't make the team unless there's an injury, a shock trade or unless the team gives up on at least one of their younger linemen such as Lawrence Thomas or Deon Simon. However, he has legitimate talent - which is how he got drafted in the second round in the first place - and plenty of tread left on his tires despite being 28.
He also has motivation and inspiration, which he'll have drawn from his daughter's plight. If that attitude of never giving up runs in the family, then I suspect Still's NFL journey still has some distance left to run. He's going to be fun to root for if that's the case.
UP NEXT: We'll take a look at wide receiver and return specialist Bruce Ellington tomorrow morning.