Jeffrey Gunter Scouting Report and NFL Draft Profile

 

EDGE, Coastal Carolina # 94

Jeffrey Gunter Scouting Report Measurables:

6’4 260

Arm length: 33 inches

Wingspan: 80 ⅛ inches

Hand size: 9 ¼ inches

40-time: 4.7 seconds

10-time: 1.57 seconds

Short shuttle: 4.35 seconds

3-cone: 7.21

Broad jump: 10 feet 2 inches

Vertical: 35.5 inches

 

Jeffrey Gunter NFL Draft Player Profile

 

Jeffrey Gunter was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina. He attended Riverside High School and graduated in 2017. At Riverside, Gunter played defensive back. However, he hit a growth spurt that came out of nowhere. Because of this growth spurt, Gunter moved to a DE/OLB and has remained there ever since. Gunter received All-PAC 6 honors in his junior and senior years. Coming out of high school, Gunter was a 2-star recruit and was only recruited by one school. That one school was Coastal Carolina. He committed to them in December 2016, signed in February 2017 and officially enrolled in August 2017. At the end of the 2018 season, Gunter transferred to NC State due to some family issues. However, his heart remained with his teammates and the program.

Gunter transferred back to Coastal Carolina prior to the 2020 season. After sitting out the 2019 season due to NCAA Division I transfer rules, Gunter’s return to Coastal Carolina in 2020 was impactful. He was named Sun Belt All-Conference’s first team, led the nation with forced fumbles(6), was tied for second on the team and fourth in the Sun Belt conference with 6.5 sacks, and was second on the team and seventh in the Sun Belt conference with 12.5 sacks. Gunter had another nice season in his red-shirt senior year. He was named All-Sun Belt second team, made the Sun Belt Conference All-Conference second team, was invited to the 2022 East-West Shrine Bowl, and was invited to the 2022 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics.

 

Jeffrey Gunter’s Strengths

 

First step off the snap

Gunter is able to get off his stance and get his hands on the opponent quickly. His power generates speed, which creates a formidable burst coming off the line. His burst forces his opponent to match his quickness, so they can get to the intersection point. Otherwise, they’ll be outmuscled.

 

Power from the upper body

Gunter has great upper body strength. His thick frame is evidence of his upper body power. As mentioned before, acceleration creates power, and it’s evident here. His power from his upper body allows him to keep his opponent engaged. He relies a lot on his power to get pressure.

 

Coverage

As mentioned in his player profile, Gunter played defensive back in high school. Whenever he has to cover open space, he looks comfortable out there. His experience and understanding of coverage has given him good instincts and his speed has made him rangey in coverage. This combination of range and instincts are big factors that aid his coverage ability.

 

Long arms

Gunter uses his arm length to his advantage on many occasions. Both of his go-to pass rush moves, the long arm and the power rush, require his arm length to be effective. His long arms allow him to get his hands on his opponent rather quickly.

 

Run defense

Due to his powerful hands, Gunter can set the edge well. His combination of quickness and power allows him to disrupt gaps effectively to minimize run plays. Needs to work on chasing after runners. Effort and lack of tackling ability come into question when challenging runners directly.

 

Hand-use

His hand use isn’t elite, but it’s serviceable and sets a good foundation. He has powerful hands that allow him to sway the opponents in whatever direction, but his hand counters need some work. Gunter needs to work on beating his opponent quicker with his hands so he can make a play on the ball. Hand use is a key trait that every successful NFL pass rusher has. I believe the fact that he already has a solid foundation in terms of hands, projects favorably to his development into an NFL pass rusher.

 

Jeffrey Gunter’s Negatives

 

Bend

Despite his good burst off the line, Gunter’s bend is poor. His hips appear stiff and often result in him getting moved around laterally. His poor bend doesn’t let him get to the quarterback effectively, as he struggles to get around the opposing offensive tackle.

 

Leverage

Piggy-backing off the previous statement regarding his stiff hips, they affect his ability to get low and remain low. His overall struggles to play low and keep good leverage are a big reason why he is able to be moved laterally. The lower man always wins. If Gunter wants to make an impact in the NFL, he needs to work on this aspect of his game.

 

 

Change of direction

Despite his quickness, his lack of hip fluidity and agility result in him having a subpar change of direction ability. This hinders his ability to make tackles and chase after the ball. It also results in him being moved laterally with ease.

 

Limited pass rush moves

Outside of his long arm, power rush, and a couple of counter moves, Gunter doesn’t really have much to his pass rush arsenal. Mastering a few more moves will make him a more viable pass-rusher.

 

Tackling

There are a couple of instances where Gunter shows wild tackling techniques. He fails to decelerate and settle his feet effectively. This can be attributed to issues concerning his lower half such as hip fluidity.

 

Jeffrey Gunter’s Draft Stock

I project him as a 5th to 6th round pick who could be a solid pass rush rotation guy in his first few years as he works on refining some of the undeveloped portions of his game.

 

Final Thoughts on Jeffrey Gunter Scouting Report

Raw is a good one-word term to describe Gunter. He has a lot of natural gifts like strength, size, and speed, but needs to work on refining certain aspects of his game like tackling and leverage. I believe the upside on Gunter is worth drafting, but a team drafting him must understand that he is a player who you will need to give time to and coach properly in order to get the most out of him. I believe he fits best as a 3-4 OLB, as he has sound coverage ability and enough edge rusher traits to produce at the NFL level.

 

NFL Comp

Jeffrey Gunter could be seen as a more raw version of Bradley Chubb. A comparison to someone in the 2022 NFL Draft is David Ojabo, the defensive end from Michigan who is projected to go in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Jeffrey Gunter Scouting Report Analyst- Andrew Angelina.