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Cameron Sample (DE #5) was a senior bowl standout that played a variety of roles and positions from 3T, 4i (this play!), 5T, 7T, and 9T and has experience doing a variety of jobs for their defense. Let& #39;s watch the film to see what abilities he brings to the Bengals defense.
One of the first things I noticed on Sample& #39;s film is his ability to read the offense. Here you can see how he reads the OTs cut block during his initial step. He quickly punches down on him and then finds the football. Once he finds the ball carrier he hits him for a nice stop.
Navy (dw I respect the troops) tried a bunch of these bullshit cut blocks on him during their game in 2019. It was a clinic from Sample in terms of contact balance and punching down to disengage.
Another great job reading the OL and then finding the ball. The LT slips by him to get to the second level. Sample gives him a good shot so he doesn& #39;t get there clean and then takes on the FB while keeping his inside half clean to make the play.
The next thing I noticed on Sample& #39;s film is that he is a strong mf. Lined up again inside at a 4i and on the snap of the ball he gets underneath the OT and then is able to steer him all the way back into the ball carrier. Great job to roll his hips into this and generate power.
He does it again here against UCF. Stays low on the snap, punches with both hands right into the OT& #39;s chest, rolls hips into it, and steers the OT into the ball carrier. It takes a ton of strength as well as good technique to consistently do this.
That strength he uses to stop the run translates to rushing the passer. Here he is lined up as a wide 9 technique in a two point stance. On the snap he fires off the ball. The OT turns his hips ready for the speed rush and Sample bulldozes him for a holding call. Whooped his ass.
Here is another good example of him using his power during his pass rush. From a 4i again he fires off the ball and stays low. Once the OT slides over to him he slams his hands into the OTs chest and condenses the pocket with power.
Now let& #39;s move onto another area of his pass rush game. Some of this translates from the run game too. He does an excellent job of reading the OL on pass sets as well. Here the RT oversets him and Sample reacts with a beautiful club swim combo to win inside.
Another example of the exact same thing, but on the opposite side and in 2019. The LT oversets him and gives up the inside half. Sample reacts with a club swim inside QB is throwing quick so it doesn& #39;t effect him too much, but a dominant win for Cam.
The last pass rush ability I wanted to get into was his dip and rip move off the edge. The RT doesn& #39;t overset Sample, so he uses a dip and rip move to win the outside. Also nice strength and flexibility to run the hoop here for the QBH.
Another example of using his dip and rip move to win around the outside. He fires off the ball (key to all pass rush is your get off) and then reads the OT. OT doesn& #39;t overset him, so he attacks his outside half with a dip and rip.
The first problem I saw on Sample& #39;s film was this false step that comes up when pass rushing from a two point stance. It really slowed down his get off and limited his production. Watch at the very start where he first steps with his inside foot.
Another issue was that while he was good with using his hands he didn& #39;t always properly place them. Here you can see him with a long arm to the RTs face. This is a possible penalty, doesn& #39;t help him bullrush, and kind of a dick move.
While a lot of times he would be the leverage master and stay lower than the lowest player there were instances of him playing too high. This stopped him from generating the power required to effectively win. Could be due to fatigue which shouldn& #39;t be an issue here.
The last two issues are just that there is a lot of unknown with him. He did a great job, but he didn& #39;t face top competition. He also played a variety of roles for Tulane, but some of them don& #39;t translate to Cincy. Here he is playing 4i and two gapping against SMU.
Overall I like this pick in the 4th round. He has some refinement to do, but Hobby has an interesting player on his hands. I& #39;ll be interested to watch his development and if he is going to still play a variety of roles or if we want to develop him at a specific spot.
