Vita Vea: What is his worth?

By most accounts, Vita Vea is all but a top 15 lock. He has the production. He’s said to have the athleticism. His power is unreal. Not to mention the quickness of a guy 70-80 pounds lighter than him. For me, with Vea, when you dig deeper, there are inconsistencies in his game that give me pause. There are plenty of plays when Vea beats his man, but can’t get to the ball carrier. His “tackle radius” is sub-par. He uses a “hump” move as his go-to. When it works, it’s beautiful. But for every time it works there are 3-4 times where it has no impact. He will fire out of his stance and look like a top-15 pick. Then he’ll pop straight up and hang at the line of scrimmage as a pass rusher. His hand placement, balance & awareness as a player worry me. Finishing is a skill. It’s something he showed he lacks at Washington.

There are also promising traits that get overlooked in his game as well. Vea does small things correct, like come off of a twist tight so the offensive lineman can’t get to him. We all know he’s strong as hell, but I believe his quickness is being underrated. When he gets on the move, he’s tough to contain. I go more in depth on all these things in the video below.

As far as his worth goes, he feels more like a 30-40 type pick, than a 10-20. There’s nothing wrong with that, and he could certainly outperform that. I’d pass on him in the 1st. I wouldn’t be upset, but he wouldn’t be my first choice. He has more value than say, a Danny Shelton. Here’s the video. Enjoy!