NFL player comparisons for Pittsburgh Steelers DL DeMarvin Leal
By Tommy Jaggi
Low-end NFL comparison: Jerry Tillary
Despite some freakish athletic traits and very good length for an interior defender, Jerry Tillery hasn’t been nearly as good as advertised. In fact, he’s been downright bad during his first three seasons in the NFL.
On paper, Tillery’s numbers look fine. He earned 51 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and 14 quarterback hits last year. However, the overall play has been wildly inconsistent. As a result, Tillery graded out as just the 96th-best edge defender in the league last year among 109 qualifying players, according to Pro Football Focus. The overall grades during his first two seasons were even worse.
Tilley has some great traits and most viewed him as a high-upside player coming out of Notre Dame, however, he was never able to put it all together. Similarly, Leal has an impressive combination of length and quickness and he makes for an impressive highlight real.
Leal is young and has lots of things to work on while transitioning to a full-time interior defender in the NFL. This is a transition that isn’t guaranteed to go smoothly, and if he struggles, he could have a similarly rough start to his NFL career.