Browns Film Room: LB Sione Takitaki’s strengths and weaknesses

We are around two months away from the start of NFL training camps for the 2019-20 NFL season. The Cleveland Browns have had a busy and exciting offseason. The team has made some big additions to a team that already is a young and talented squad on the upswing. The Browns did not have a first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, but the team still came out of it with seven new players. In the third round of the draft, the Browns selected linebacker Sione Takitaki of BYU.

In 13 games as a senior last year, Takitaki had 119 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, one forced fumble and four sacks. He was a four-year player at BYU. So, what are the Browns getting in their new linebacker? Well, let’s go to the film to examine the strengths and weaknesses of linebacker Sione Takitaki.

Strengths

Playing in Traffic

Takitaki is adept in getting through the traffic around the line of scrimmage to track and get to the ball. He is able to elude, slip and power through block attempts to stay clean to continue to go after the ball carrier. His ability to stay clean or get away from blocks is one of his better skill sets. He keeps his eyes on the ball and is able to find his way through the muck of the trenches to go and get the ball carrier. Here are some examples of this ability.

In the first play versus Wisconsin, Takitaki is lined up on the left edge against this run play. At the start of the play, Takitaki is chipped by the tight end and then picked up by the other tight end. The linebacker is then met by the pulling offensive lineman from the inside. Takitaki overpowers the tight end and withstands the offensive lineman to stay free so he can slip between the two blockers and help bring down the running back from behind. In the second play versus Utah State, Takitaki is in coverage when the offense tries to pull off a receiver screen to the right. The linebacker is able to slip through the rush of pulling offensive linemen who are trying to get out in front of the screen to help block. His ability to get past those blockers allows him to help bring down the receiver for a loss on the play.

The third play against Utah State is a situation where Takitaki is in the middle linebacker spot versus this run play. Utah State schemes a run up the middle with a pulling offensive lineman leading the back through the hole. Takitaki is met by the lead blocker, but the linebacker keeps his eye on the ball carrier even when he is engaged with the lineman. When the ball carrier draws near, Takitaki extends his arms to keep his body away from the lineman, allowing the linebacker to easily detach from the block so he can go after the ball carrier. He does this and is able to bring the ball carrier down. In the final play against California, Takitaki is on the right edge versus the run play to the right. When the play starts, he initially is met by the extra blocker positioned at the wingback spot. The linebacker, though, keeps his feet moving so he cannot get caught and engaged by the blocker. This allows him to stay clean and eventually slip inside to track down the ball carrier and bring him down for a tackle.

Athleticism

Takitaki is a really good athlete with the speed to play from sideline to sideline. He also has explosion in his game. At the NFL Combine, he ran 4.63-second 40-yard dash and tested in the top seven of all linebackers in both of the athletic jumping drills. His athleticism shows up in the ability to play sideline to sideline, rush the passer and to move freely in coverage. After playing on the edge in 2017, he transitions to linebacker with the power and strength of an edge rusher. He holds up very well at the line of scrimmage. His athleticism affects both his pass and run defense. Check out his athleticism in both of these aspects of the game.

Pass Game

The first play against Wisconsin shows off Takitaki’s ability to move in coverage. He is in zone coverage and at first, he turns quickly upfield after he sees the tight end leak out the backfield and upfield. But, he stops following the tight end when he sees the quarterback targeting the running back in the left flat. The linebacker is able to change directions quickly and close with great explosion, stopping the back almost immediately after the catch. The next play versus Washington is another play where he is zone coverage, but this play shows his ability to track down plays from sideline to sideline. The play is a play-action receiver screen to the left. Takitaki is swept to the right because of the play action, so the linebacker has to quickly retreat back to the left when the pass goes out to the receiver. The receiver is able to get upfield, but Takitaki is able to chase the receiver down from behind, showing off the linebacker’s speed. In the final play versus UNLV, Takitaki shows off his explosive speed. He is lined up as an edge rusher in this pass rushing situation. Takitaki explodes off the right edge and is able to get around the edge with his speed. His speed and explosion cause the offensive tackle to hold him, so he cannot reach the quarterback for the sack. The speed and explosion are on display in this play.

Run Game

The first play versus Wisconsin is an example of Takitaki’s pursuit athleticism. He is lined up on the left side of the formation and Wisconsin runs a handoff to the right edge. Takitaki shows his speed to track the running back, who was forced out toward the right sideline. The linebacker was able to get to the back before he could cut upfield. The next play against California illustrates Takitaki’s explosion and speed. He is unblocked on the right edge and when the ball is snapped, the linebacker bursts into the backfield and is able to meet the ball carrier before he even enters the hole at the line of scrimmage. The final play versus UNLV is a combination of the prior two plays. He is on the right edge versus this run play that is going to the left edge. Takitaki is able to quickly get off the line of scrimmage and chase down the ball carrier from behind before the back is able to even turn the corner.

Versatility

Because of his athleticism and playing experience, Takitaki is a versatile defender that can play multiple positions and perform multiple roles. In college, he played both linebacker and edge rusher. He is a player who can rush the passer, defend the run and go back into coverage. He has the talent and experience to do all of those tasks. Here are some examples of this versatility.

The first play versus UNLV is an example of Takitaki playing at the edge rusher spot in pass rushing situation. He shows off his agility and athleticism to get past the left tackle with a stutter step and an inside pass rush move. He gets the hit on the quarterback in this pass rushing situation. The second play versus Washington illustrates a situation where he is lined up at the strongside linebacker spot in a run defending situation. He shows a powerful jab that pushes the extra tight end on the end of the line into the backfield, forcing the ball carrier to have to extend even further toward the sideline before cutting upfield. He is then able to help track down the ball carrier for a short gain. The final play versus Washington is a play where Takitaki is in zone coverage. He has the left side of the field covered. He sees the tight end settle in the middle of the field and quickly closes on the tight end to make the immediate stop after the catch. He showed off his versatility in these three clips.

Weaknesses

Tackling

What might be the biggest weakness in Takitaki’s game is his tackling. His pursuit angles and tackling angles are just not always on target. When he gets ahold of a player, he shows good tackling ability, but he misses a lot of targets due to bad angles taken. He also can struggle with quick players in the open field when they quickly change directions on him. Here are some examples of this problem.

In the first play versus Wisconsin, Takitaki is in coverage, but the quarterback cannot find an open target, so he decides to run out of the pocket toward left sideline. Takitaki is the first one in pursuit and has the quarterback in his crosshairs. But, Takitaki takes a bad angle and runs where he expects the quarterback to be going. The quarterback cuts back inside causing the linebacker to overrun him and miss the tackle. In the second play against Washington, Takitaki is in coverage again. The running back gets the pass after the quarterback dumps it off to him in the middle of the field. Takitaki is the closest defender and has the ball carrier in his sights, but the back jukes Takitaki causing him to miss the tackle. The ball carrier was too quick for him there. In the final play versus Washington, Takitaki is in a similar position as the first play. He is in coverage and the pass is thrown quickly to the receiver on the left sideline. Takitaki quickly recognizes the play and runs over to track down the receiver. He is in position to make the stop at the line of scrimmage, but he once again takes a bad angle on the ball carrier, aiming ahead of the receiver, causing the linebacker to miss the tackle when the receiver stops and cuts back inside.

Pass Coverage

Takitaki’s pass coverage ability is a work in progress. I do not think it is a huge weakness like his tackling, but it is an area where he has room to grow and improve. He did not have a lot of snaps in coverage before last season. He has the athleticism to cover in both zone and man coverage. But, he has shown some tendencies in both coverages that he needs to improve on. In zone coverage, he can be too slow to react at times and can keep his eyes on the backfield too long without noticing the players around him. Similar to problems in his tackling, quick players can be too quick for him to stick with if they change directions on a dime. But, for most of these deficiencies, I think time and experience can help him improve in these areas and make him solid to good in coverage overall. Here are some examples of his coverage problems.

In the first play versus Wisconsin, Takitaki is in zone coverage for this pass play. When the play starts, the linebacker sees the tight end sit down underneath, so he comes up and sits right behind the tight end. But, Takitaki is keeping his eyes on the quarterback a little too much because he is too slow to react when the tight end cuts inside away from his spot underneath. The tight end is able to get free and pick up the first down reception. In the second play against Washington, Takitaki is in zone coverage in the middle of the field. Washington runs a pair of crossing routes in opposite directions. He initially picks up the tight end on the left side of the field, who is running to the right. When the tight end crosses paths with the receiver who is crossing to the left, Takitaki hesitates just a second before he picks up the receiver. The hesitation gives the receiver just enough separation to catch the ball cleanly and head upfield for a big gain.

The final play versus California is another example of where Takitaki is in zone coverage. He starts out by backing up in coverage to cover the deep routes downfield, but he sees the quarterback eying down the running back that slipped out of the right side of the pocket. Takitaki leaves his zone to head toward the running back and the rolling quarterback, who is headed toward the sideline. Takitaki, though, keeps his eyes on the quarterback and loses track of the back when he gets to the sideline. The linebacker decides to close on the quarterback, who is already being tracked down by the pass rush. This decision leaves the back open behind him, allowing the pass to be completed over top of him. Takitaki made the wrong decision to pursue the quarterback because the quarterback was already wrangled by the pass rush and had nowhere to escape. The linebacker ended up in an area where he was in no position to either hit the quarterback or cover the back.