DraftNasty’s Under the Radar, Vol. III: Anthony Wint 6’0 224 (E) LB FIU
2 min readStrengths: Durable. Smart. Lines people up. Communicates in the pre-snap. Brings major hip explosion to the table. Squats over 600 lbs. Attacks FBs and hammers the ball back to teammates. Downhill player. Fills his gap control with little hesitation if covered up by a three-technique DT. Strong wrap tackler. He flows over the top to replace LBs who’ve abandoned gap control. Absolutely deposits crossing routes if he can get an indicator off the QB’s indicators (UCF ’15). Comes with absolute force on trail blitz concepts (TFL, UCF ’15). Sticks his foot in the dirt to drive forward out of his pass drops. Closes distances quickly on his inside-out breaks to the sidelines. Tracks plays laterally (Temple ’17). When in pursuit, he’ll unload as a hitter to rock WRs (Marshall ’17).
Weaknesses: Size. Has always used too much shoulder when stacking to shed OL (North Texas ’14). This extended into 2015, when he would attempt to shed OL climbing up to him. Size becomes a detriment when OGs come off late on him. Average contact balance. Overruns some tackles. Took some poor angles sliding vs. outside runs (MT, Marshall ’17-TD). He can occasionally look stiff flipping his hips as a curl-hook defender. Missed three games in 2014 due to a left knee injury. Missed one game in 2017 (Tulane) due to injury.
Other Notes:
- Attended Homestead HS (Fla.) and was a 2nd Team All-Dade County Class 6A selection in 2013
- 1st Team All-Dade County as a wrestler (113-25 record in career)
- 2014 (9 sts, C-USA All-Freshman, Honorable mention All-C-USA): 48 tackles, ½ TFL, FF, FR
- 13 tackles vs. Indiana on 9/12/15
- 2015 (2nd Team All-C-USA): 88 tackles, ½ QB sack, 5.5 TFLs, 2 FRs, INT and 2 PBUs
- 9 tackles, 2 TFLs vs. Maryland on 9/9/16
- 2016 (12 sts, 2nd Team All-C-USA): 108 tackles, ½ QB sack, 6.5 TFLs, 2 FFs, FR and one PBU
- 2017 (2nd Team All-C-USA): 92 tackles, ½ QB sack, 8 TFLs, 3 FRs, 2 PBUs
- Career Stats: 45 games, 336 tackles, 1.5 QB sacks, 20.5 TFLs, 3 FFs, 7 FRs, INT and 5 PBUs
Summary: Wint may lack for what you’re asking for in man coverage but it is an area he can improve upon in the next couple of years. His explosion, instincts and play speed are all top-notch. We feel this is a player who will help immediately on any special teams unit as a core player. His size is a weakness, but his football intelligence has gotten better over time.
DraftNasty’s Grade: 5.431 (4th Round)
Editor’s Note: DraftNasty’s grades on players are compiled from our eight identifying characteristics and do not constitute a draft projection.