Atlanta Falcons: Takkarist McKinley — An in depth look

An in-depth look on what to expect from defensive end Takkarist McKinley, the first round pick of the Atlanta Falcons out of UCLA

Now that the draft is long gone, we’re going to take a look at Atlanta Falcons defensive end Takkarist McKinley and realistically see what he brings to the table.

First, if you’re unaware about his background, Takk is from Oakland California. In High School he played all along the defensive line, so this isn’t one of those convert success stories – this guy has always gone after the quarterback. What is different though, he also ran track in high school.

In college, he played for a small school to begin with — Contra Costa College in San Pablo, California — and wrecked havoc in his first year with 33 tackles and 10 sacks. He then transferred to a more prominent school in UCLA. He started one game his first year there, and had 2.5 sacks. His next season, he had 3.5 and 10 his final season of college. But let’s look more in depth at the Falcons’ first round selection.

In 2015, Takk had 24 hurries, and 29 run stops. In 2016, he had 37 hurries, and 35 run stops.  So it seems as if he’s a very capable run defender. Everywhere you look, scouts chime in about his motor being one of his greatest assets, the run stops and hurries back up that sentiment.

Comparisons

It’s always fun to look at comparisons, so that’s what we’ll look at right now:

PFF’s draft guide compares Takkarist to Shane Ray.

Optimum Scouting’s draft guide compares him to DeMarcus Ware.

Ian Wharton (BR)’s draft guide compares him to Whitney Mercilus

NFL.Com compares him to Tamba Hali.

Now lets look at this at a whole; Tamba Hali is a very good pass rusher, the guy has super powerful hands. DeMarcus Ware is one of the greatest power pass rushers ever. Whitney Mercilus is coming into his own and has a great motor. Shane Ray is the odd-ball in the comparisons but no one is a sure-fire thing. Now lets not act like these comparisons will come into fruition, but it’s fun to look at anyway.

What will Takk bring?

Toughness: Takk is a strong guy. He’s a very emotional guy (As seen by his post draft interview)

Grit: Watching him, you see how he handles dealing with double teams, triple teams…he takes a beating but he gives more than he takes.

Dedication: His whole story with his grandmother paints the picture of a guy who is dedicated to make something of himself. Don’t think that his goals stop at the NFL draft.

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Vic Beasley is one of the fastest pass rushers in the league. His first step is almost second to none. Takkarist is the perfect player across from him because of the power. It’s a great mixture along the line of power and speed. Stat wise, lets not put a number on it; but we can all agree — if healthy — it’ll help the entire defensive line to have someone who’s got a bit of an edge to him as a part of it.