2022 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: DL Matthew Butler, Tennessee

Matthew Butler has a lot of intriguing characteristics as a pass rusher. could he be a fit for the Giants?

Matthew Butler, DL

Height: 6’4
Weight: 297 lbs.
Class: Senior
School: Tennessee
Arm length: 33 ½”
Hands: 9 ¼”

A former three-star recruit out of Garner High School in Garner, North Carolina, Butler was the 35th defensive tackle ranked in the 2017 cycle and the 12th recruit ranked in North Carolina. Butler exercised his COVID-19 fifth-year option and had his best season of play during his senior campaign.

Notables

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Butler recorded 31 pressures in Tim Banks’ first season as defensive coordinator in 2021; Butler was used more as an attacking penetrator that leveraged his quickness off the snap to disrupt the pocket, cause undesirable IOL angles, and crash rushing lanes. Butler also had 28 STOPS, five sacks, and 27 tackles in 2021.

Before Banks arrived on campus, he played under Derrick Ansley, who didn’t utilize Butler’s quickness off the snap as much. Butler finished his college career with 53 pressures, ten sacks, 68 STOPS, and 93 tackles. Butler attended the East/West Shrine Game and was one of the more impressive prospects to participate in the event. He then tested at the NFL Scouting Combine:

• 40-yard-dash: 5.0
• Bench press: 17
• Vertical jump: 32
• Broad jump: 112
• 3-Cone: 7.89
• Short-shuttle: 4.81

Strengths

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

• Good size and length with very good athletic ability
• His lower body explosive number (80th percentile for VJ, 87th for BJ) aren’t a surprise
• Very bendy for a 300-pound player
• Plays with good control when rushing the passer
• Quickly gets off the snap to attack the half-man
• Flashed UOH, rip, bend through contact for a sack vs Georgia (Q1, 1st&10, 7:39) vs. Justin Shaffer
• Employed double-swipes and clubs to position himself in a half-man relationship
• When he times the snap well, he uses exceptional explosiveness/quickness to get hip to hip
• Showed initial hand usage to keep chest clean and position himself outside blockers in an attacking manner
• Great at dipping shoulder into contact and not exposing his chest when he is penetrating
• Seems to have pass rushing plan when attacking in obvious passing situations
• Has the ability to change direction and loop wide when running twists
• A good run defender in base situations - very good eye discipline
• Does well when reached, very good reactive quickness
• Gets his hands inside and flashes his eyes on running concepts vs single blocks
• Plays with a lot of effort and his always running around the field
• A 1-gap penetrator who is quick off the snap that can be a disruptive force in certain situations along the line of scrimmage

Weaknesses/Can Improve

Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

• The attacking style of the defense would force him into positions to not always leverage his run responsibilities
• Attacking style leads to him popping his pad-level too high, leaving himself exposed
• Handling double teams will be an issue
• Vs Georgia (Q3, 2nd&12, 13:56) embarrassingly plowed over
• Struggled to anchor against Purdue and Alabama
• Needs to play with more power
• Thrown aside vs Kentucky (Q3, 2nd&10, 3:42) when attempting to attack outside shoulder - predictable, plus he didn’t time this specific snap well
• Could be more consistent coming out of his stance - limited wasted movements
• Functional strength at the point of attack has to improve to consistently earn snaps in the NFL

Summary

Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Overall, Matthew Butler is a pass-rushing specialist early on in his career who can leverage his quickness and ability to attack the half-man relationship to penetrate gaps in a 1-gap system.

Butler has juice as a pass-rusher; he seems to have a plan when pass-rushing, is flexible/agile enough to loop, and he’s a solid overall run defender when he’s not double-teamed. Butler struggles with functional strength when asked to anchor against double team blocks.

Teams who are looking for disruptive players outside of Day 2 who can penetrate and cause chaos in the pocket, then Butler could be a developmental option who could have success. He may need some time to make a significant three-down impact, but the upside is very understandable.

GRADE: 6.12

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