Mike Morris 2023 NFL Draft Profile
The 2023 NFL Draft class has a deep EDGE rusher class. One of the appealing late-round prospects is Mike Morris. That said, there are a lot of questions surrounding Morris. Let’s take a lot at Morris’ 2023 NFL Draft Profile to evaluate his draft stock.
Morris was a four-star prospect coming out of his school and elected to attend Michigan. Once at Michigan, Morris did not break out until his fourth season. In fairness, he was buried on the depth chart behind future NFL players Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo and Kwity Paye, among others. That made it hard for him to find the field early in his career.
In 2022, Morris became a starter and Michigan and played well. This resulted in Morris tallying seven and a half sacks and 11 tackles for loss. This was good enough for consensus first-team All-Big Ten honors. Despite his success, Morris’ final season at Michigan was underwhelming largely due to an injury that kept him sidelined in Michigan’s biggest games.
That injury has left questions’ regarding Morris’ tape. The EDGE rusher played much better prior to the injury. It also raises questions as to if Morris has been healthy throughout the draft process. His poor NFL Combine performance suggests he is not.
Strengths:
The biggest strength for Morris is by far his size. At 6-foot-5, 275 pounds, Morris has great size for an EDGE rusher. Not to mention, his arms are 33-and-a-half inches long.
Morris uses that size to win with power moves off the edge. He often does this with a solid bullrush that can push linemen into the backfield.
In the run game, Morris can hold his ground, set the edge and shed blocks. At this point in his career, he looks to be much more pro-ready at defending the run while his pass rush game is much rawer.
Morris also has added value as he is fairly versatile. At Michigan, Morris played the edge in a 3-4 defense and rushed from a two-point stance. That should translate to the NFL, but he also has the ability to play the end with his hand in the dirt. His size may allow teams to slide him further inside as well. That transition would put a cap on his potential, however.
Weaknesses:
Mike Morris’ 2023 NFL Draft stock to a massive hit at the combine. As mentioned, he did not perform well. That can be seen in his drills and testing.
In the drills, Morris did not perform as well as anticipated. More importantly, he potched the athletic testing. Morris was one of the slower EDGE rushers with his 4.95 40-time. The remaining of the drill did not get better as he had a 28.5-inch vertical jump and a 9-foot and two-inch broad jump. Morris did alright on the bench with 22 reps, but you would like to see a higher number out of someone that wins with power.
As far as his game goes, Morris does not have a lot of rush moves. If Morris wants to produce at a high level in the NFL he will need to develop a deeper bag of rush moves. Morris can also play too high at times. This is understandable due to his size, but he will need to lower his pad level at the next level.
I think a team will also need to decide whether Morris is going to play inside or outside. I think he can play at either position. That said, to reach his full potential I think he needs to stick to one position and develop his game.
2023 NFL Draft Stock:
Morris has a wide range of draft stock. At its peak, I think teams can start considering him in the fourth round. I would not be surprised if his combine performance scares enough teams to make him slide into the fifth or sixth round. Still, I think Morris is a solid selection at any point in the fourth round.
Despite having a day three grade, Morris has a higher upside than most players in that draft range. If a coaching staff can help Morris capitalize on his size and natural talent, he will greatly outplay a day-three selection.
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