The former quarterback converted linebacker Chazz Surratt has a lot to bring to the table. In his first two years playing linebacker at North Carolina, Surratt made the All-SEC First Team twice and totaled 206 tackles. His impact on the North Carolina defense was tremendous, and the effect was felt as soon as he made the position switch. His great run support and zone coverage ability have put him on the radar as one of the more underrated linebackers in the class. However he’s not perfect of course, his speed and size are below average, but his instincts help make up for this flaw. He also struggles when tackling sometimes which is a red flag for a lot of teams. Even with these concerns, the talent and upside are there for Surratt. Good linebackers are in high demand in the NFL right now, and if Surratt makes the transition well, he can be elite.

Chazz Surratt Stats And Measurables:

College: North Carolina

Class: Senior

Height: 6’3″

Weight: 230 lbs

Position: Linebacker

Number: #21

2019 Stats(first season as linebacker): 13 Games/115 TOTAL/66 SOLO/6.5SACK/1 FF/1 FR/1 INT/3 PD

2020 Stats(second season as linebacker): 11 Games/91 TOTAL/49 SOLO/6 SACK/1 FF/1 FR/1 INT/3 PD

Strengths: 

1. Surratt’s ability to cover the middle of the field is special. He does a great job of reading the quarterback’s eyes and adjusting accordingly. Once he sees where the quarterback is going with the ball, he does a good job of moving to a spot where he can disrupt the play. Surratt is very skilled in hook and hole zones especially, where he is able to move around without drifting too far away from where he needs to be. He knocks out passes well when the ball is thrown near him, and he does a good job of covering every route that crosses his zone

2. His ability to stuff runs is truly spectacular as well. He is able to burst quickly through gaps untouched, giving him opportunities to make plays in the backfield. Even when Surratt doesn’t get through gaps untouched, he sheds blocks well and usually is able to get away before the runner has gotten too far away. Surratt was able to disrupt tons of runs to his side with ease. His ability to get through to a ballcarrier is truly phenomenal and teams will love the run support skills he offers.

3. Pass rush ability is another strength of Surratt’s. He has an arsenal of different moves and he showcased it well with 6.5 sacks in his Junior year and 6 in his Senior year. He’s a nightmare for offensive linemen with these moves in his back pocket. He can shed blocks very quickly, and with his agility, he is a force to be reckoned with when he blitzes. Stats can’t always tell the story but with Surratt, it seems like they do. As already stated his sack numbers are eye-boggling as a linebacker and most of these weren’t simply due to offensive mistakes or because Surratt got lucky, they were because Surratt does such a great job of manipulating offensive lineman, putting them out of position and allowing him to get by.

Weaknesses:

1. Even though Surratt is able to put himself in a position to make a play often, he doesn’t always capitalize due to his poorer tackling. He seems to lack strength and even when he wraps up, ballcarriers are still able to power through him to shed the tackle. Although Surratt still had a ton of tackles in college, he could’ve had even more had he been able to take advantage of more opportunities to bring down a runner.

2. Speed is another area Surratt will need to improve in. He isn’t the biggest linebacker, so he isn’t cut much slack in terms of his below-average speed. Surratt needs to work upon this as well because it could put him in a lot better position to make a play. There are instances where he recognized what play was coming, but if it was on the other side of the field he wasn’t able to get where he needed to be quick enough to have an impact. This took away a lot of chances for Surratt to disrupt runs, and with improved speed, his run support would be even more special. Being quicker would help Surratt a lot in the passing game as well. When matched up in man coverage Surratt has trouble keeping up with his matchup and is easily beaten downfield. NFL teams will very much want Surratt to get faster, especially considering how fast NFL tight ends and running back are nowadays.

Closing Ideas:

Chazz Surratt has had a very unique college career. The decision to switch from quarterback to linebacker proved to be a great one as Surratt is now on track to not only make the NFL but to have a chance to make a big impact on an NFL defense. His talent and skill shown in college were remarkable, and it bodes well for his future NFL career. A lot of his weaknesses can be fixed with repetition and practice, which he lacked much of at North Carolina (As previously said he only played two full seasons at linebacker in college). Surratt’s transfer from college to the NFL will be without a doubt interesting to watch, and if he can make the correct tweaks he could end up having a very successful NFL career.