Scouting report for Miami Dolphins UFA defensive tackle Ellis McCarthy

Defensive Tackle Ellis McCarthy from UCLA has verbally agreed to join the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent. Here is the scouting report for him from the PhinManiacs Draft Guide, courtesy of Jeff Hyde (@Jeff__Hyde).

Ellis McCarthy was heavily recruited out of high school but failed to live up to expectations at UCLA.  He has good size for the position and has tremendous upper body strength, but failed to constantly maintain his weight at times and battled through a significant injury history in school including surgeries on both knees. 

On tape, McCarthy looks stuck in the mud at times.  He doesn’t carry his big body as well as NFL teams would hope and isn’t powerful enough to anchor down the nose tackle position.  He lacks balance which is crucial at the next level for a guy his size.  When healthy, McCarthy could work to improve his strength, balance and footwork, but for now he seems to be just a big body with limited athleticism. 

He will likely go undrafted this year, but if he can prove he is healthy, a big body at the position is hard to pass up.  This is especially true with the potential a healthy McCarthy could bring to a defensive line.