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Ty'Ron Hopper 2024 NFL Draft: Combine Results, Scouting Report For Missouri LB

Originally posted on The 33rd Team | By Greg Cosell | Last updated 4/10/24

The 2024 NFL Draft is getting close, making it an excellent time to highlight some of the class' best players with scouting reports. Each report will include strengths, weaknesses and background information.

Here's our report on Ty'Ron Hopper.

Ty'Ron Hopper 2024 NFL COMBINE RESULTS

Height: 6-foot-1 3/4
Weight: 231
40-yard dash: 4.63 (pro day)
10-yard split: NA
20-yard shuttle: 4.43
Vertical jump: 36"
Broad jump: 10-foot-4
Arm length: 31 3/8"

Ty'Ron Hopper 2024 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

STRENGTHS

A thin-framed former defensive back who played more of an athletic movement game than a physical power game
Some twitch and suddenness to his movement, which showed when he made plays in the run game by shooting gaps with an explosive burst
Has the lateral movement and quickness to beat offensive linemen's blocks in the run game and stay true to the integrity of his gap assignment
At his best in the run game in the box by avoiding and slipping blocks rather than taking them on with physicality
A scrape-and-flow linebacker with smooth, fluid lateral agility to navigate the box and the short-area burst to make tackles
Has inside-out, sideline-to-sideline play speed and range, and he made plays in pursuit with the speed to run down mobile quarterbacks
In 2022, he was featured as a pass rusher on third down from multiple alignments and was a penetrator and looper in stunt games
He showed lateral quickness and closing burst on pass-rush reps, especially when he had a bit of a runway.
Has the speed to turn and run with vertical routes from the inside, and matched receivers and tight ends from No. 2 and 3 splits
He added a physical element in 2023. There were run-game snaps where he attacked downhill, taking on blocks with physicality.
Showed play recognition and lateral flow quickness to at times out-leverage climbing offensive lineman blocks in the run game
Showed some short-area twitch and suddenness as a run defender in the box as well as snap-to movement when clean
A quick, sudden reactor in the passing game to throws in front of him and has excellent range to get to the sideline and make plays
Made plays as underneath zone coverage defender while reading the quarterback and reacting with quickness to throws

WEAKNESSES

Can he play as a stacked linebacker at the next level with his frame? That will be a question NFL scouts and coaches will have.
There will be questions about his ability to stack and shed and play through contact in the run game because he is built like a safety.
Too many run game snaps he was swallowed up by a climbing lineman due to his undersized frame and limited strength and power
2023 tape showed his change of direction in a more confined space is a concern, and he struggled at times to break down; tight hipped
Missed tackles in run game on plays that were his to make, Did not come to balance effectively in the hole
At times a beat slow with key and diagnose, recognition and reaction in the run game, very inconsistent
Some assignment mistakes in underneath zone coverage due to not playing his area of responsibility with discipline

NFL TRANSITION

Hopper is one of the more intriguing linebacker prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft class as you transition him to the next level. He will be somewhat polarizing in how he is evaluated and projected because his potential deployment in the NFL will be very much a function of team and scheme.

Hopper is an off-the-ball linebacker with length and some twitch and suddenness in the box and play speed and range sideline-to-sideline. In today’s NFL, those traits can be at a premium depending on several variables — personnel makeup of the defense/structure and front alignment of the defense/division the team plays in, among other factors.

Hopper plays with quickness and speed, and while his game is not built on physicality and power, he showed the play recognition and reaction to flow laterally in the box to out-leverage climbing linemen and make plays in the run game.

Hopper would have his best opportunity to play relatively early in his career in sub packages given his coverage ability and his extensive experience as a blitzer and green dogger. As he develops (assuming he does) he could become an on-the-ball WILL linebacker with his run-and-chase profile and his inside-out sideline-to-sideline play speed and range.

OTHER NOTES

Hopper came out of high school as a four-star recruit and began his college career at Florida, where he spent three seasons. He transferred to Missouri for 2022 and 2023.

Hopper aligned both stacked in the box and bumped out, depending on the offensive formation. There were snaps he matched up man-to-man on tight ends and backs on wheel routes. Hopper was also deployed as a blitzer and as a looper in multiple stunt concepts. There were significant third-down snaps when he lined up as a standup 0-technique and either rushed inside or was the looper/penetrator in a stunt concept. That's a foundation of Missouri's pass rush on third down.

In 2023, Hopper again lined up in multiple locations as Missouri’s WILL linebacker, depending on the defensive play call and the offensive formation. There were significant snaps when Hopper lined up outside the box over the slot or as a wide overhang defender. Hopper was deployed as a blitzer at times, and he also green dogged when he was man-to-man on the running back and the back stayed in as part of the protection.

This article first appeared on The 33rd Team and was syndicated with permission.

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