Tershawn Wharton’s development in 2020
One thing that stands out about Tershawn Wharton when you watch him is his size. While the Chiefs website has him listed at 6’4″ and 255 pounds, his measurables for the draft show up as 6’1″ and 280 pounds. We know that college websites will lie about a player’s height and weight by a few numbers, but the difference here is odd. The rookie looks more like his draft profile than what the Chiefs have him listed at.
Wharton doesn’t have the prototypical height or length of a defensive tackle playing the 3-Technique, and he also doesn’t have the mass of your typical nose tackle either. For reference, Chris Jones is 6’6″ and 310 pounds. Derrick Nnadi stands at 6’1″ and 312 pounds. Even Nnadi is shorter than what teams generally want at the nose tackle position, but he makes up for it in other areas. So how does Wharton make up for lack of length and mass?
Athleticism and build are the two main contributors to Wharton’s ability to overcome his size. His frame is built almost entirely of muscle, which is why it’s shocking at times to see him throwing offensive linemen around, given his lack of bulk.
Another good play by Wharton from Week 1, wins the low man battle, resets the LOS while maintaining his gap, and reaches out with one arm to make the tackle while still engaged with the center. pic.twitter.com/YqSY4RNKvv
— Travis Steffen (@nflstuff999) November 12, 2020
During Wharton’s first game against the Houston Texans in Week 1, he flashed his abilities in limited playing time. In the play above, Wharton maintains leverage against the center by staying lower than his opponent. For whatever reason, David Johnson doesn’t follow his pulling guard to the left boundary and elects to run up the A gap. The right tackle performs a reach block on Tanoh Kpassagnon but is held up in the run lane that Johnson is working into. As the running back comes into the gap, Wharton extends his left arm to slow down Johnson and help make the tackle.
Wharton had multiple pressures on Lock in Week 7, but he also had some flashes in the run game. Here, he shows quickness and recognition to not allow the RG to reach block him, then throws him out of the way to make the tackle pic.twitter.com/qeNQ16ikwU
— Travis Steffen (@nflstuff999) November 12, 2020
He also displays outstanding body control and agility to give interior offensive linemen trouble in the run and passing game. Wharton quickly realizes that the right guard wants to get out in front of him to perform a reach block, which would allow a clean run lane for Melvin Gordon.
Staying in front of the guard and keeping his chest clean, Gordon is forced to cut back inside. As he makes his cut, Wharton throws the guard past him and latches on to the running back for the stop.
Tershawn Wharton has been fun to watch develop so far this season. While Watson picks up the first down with his feet, Jones and Wharton pushing their blockers into him forcing him to run and then the hustle from Wharton. Endless motor pic.twitter.com/ydyrsJ57v2
— Travis Steffen (@nflstuff999) November 12, 2020
Wharton’s play strength and athleticism also show up in passing situations. Kansas City has utilized several alignments similar to the one above, where they have three down linemen to one side of the line. The point of this is to allow a 1v1 situation for Jones against a guard. Both Jones and Wharton walk their blocker back into the lap of Deshaun Watson, forcing him to abandon the pocket.
Watson ends up picking up the first down with his feet but notice the hustle from Wharton in pursuit. That endless motor is consistent every week and every snap. Yet another reason why he has seen increased playing time.
So far, it looks like Wharton's primary move outside of just a bull rush is the club-rip. We've seen it a few times now, and while it's still a work in progress, it shows development and optimism for what's to come pic.twitter.com/VE1uQs4sNY
— Travis Steffen (@nflstuff999) November 12, 2020
Over the last few weeks, Wharton has been developing his club-rip move. He starts with a step towards the B gap before performing the club portion of his pass rush move. On this particular play, the club was a tad high but got the job done as it removed the right guard’s hands. His athleticism allows him to quickly get into the A gap before the guard can get ahold of him, putting pressure on Teddy Bridgewater.
When you have first step explosiveness like Wharton, sometimes you don't need a developed pass-rush move. That right guard had no clue what hit him. pic.twitter.com/svIc0Lhdyt
— Travis Steffen (@nflstuff999) November 12, 2020
That athleticism also shows up with his explosiveness off the line of scrimmage. As the ball is snapped, the right guard works into his set, expecting Wharton to work outside. Instead, the rookie explodes inside, leaving the right guard chasing and forcing Bridgewater to throw the ball away.
Over the first nine weeks, Tershawn Wharton has shown signs of development that have impressed not only the fans but also the coaching staff. Athleticism and play strength will only get a player so far. He already had the explosiveness off the line of scrimmage to cause problems in both the run and passing game.
To compliment those traits, Wharton has shown improvement in identifying where the ball is going on running downs and improved his hand fighting and pass-rushing moves to get after the passer. There’s still plenty of room to grow but what we have seen in just half of the season from a UDFA is quite impressive.