I’ve been closely monitoring the progress of Derek Parish, an EDGE rusher from the Houston Cougars football program. Parish has been catching the attention of scouts and coaches with his impressive physical attributes and his ability to disrupt opposing offenses.
At 6'1" and 244 pounds, Parish has the size and strength to overpower offensive linemen and make plays in the backfield. He also possesses a quick first step and excellent speed off the edge, making him a nightmare for quarterbacks and ball carriers alike.
Serritella has been impressed with Parish's ability to read and react to plays, as well as his discipline and technique. He shows a good understanding of gap control and maintains leverage in his rushes, making it difficult for blockers to push him off his path.
One of Parish's most impressive attributes is his versatility. He has experience playing both as a stand-up rusher and with his hand in the dirt, and has even been utilized in coverage at times. This versatility makes him an asset for any defensive scheme.
Despite his strengths, Serritella notes that Parish still has areas to improve upon. He could work on his counter moves and develop a more diverse repertoire of rush moves to keep blockers guessing. Additionally, he has room to improve his ability to shed blocks and make tackles in the run game.
Overall, Serritella sees a lot of potential in Derek Parish and believes he has the ability to make an impact at the next level. His combination of size, speed, technique, and versatility make him a prospect worth watching closely as the draft approaches.
One Liner:
Overall, Parish is a versatile player with over 400 snaps on special teams, experience playing fullback, and encouraging technical development as an edge rusher, but he lacks the size to earn a consistent role on defense early in his NFL career.
Pos: EDGE
Ht: 6010
Wt: 244
Hand: 938
Arm: 2928
Wing: 7300
40: 4.85 SEP 29, 2022 11:56 AM EDT
DOB: 1/4/1999
Hometown: Pearland, TX
High School: Pearland
Eligibility: 2023
Evaluation:
Parish primarily rushes from a two-point stance. The former three-star recruit sometimes plays the half-man game as a pass rusher, but there are also many instances of him throwing himself into the offensive lineman with little finesse. These power rushes produce mixed results as Parish lacks elite arm length or size for an edge rusher. However, his weight room heroics translate to the field. Parish is muscular throughout his frame, which helps him convert speed to power. He’s able to jostle and displace linemen with powerful stabs and leg drive. When his initial rush dies, Parish has several counters in his bag, including a rip. He’s willing to redirect into inside rush lanes if the B-gap has opened. Parish has adequate bend to work around the tackle’s outside shoulder and flatten his rush to the quarterback. The Texas native has deceptive speed at the top of his rush and displays above-average burst off the line. Parish has mastered a cross chop and a hopping cross chop variant, which produce many of his initial wins as a pass rusher. His motor runs hot in pursuit, and he never quits working toward the quarterback. Parish also uses a powerful one-armed stab to create separation before winning the outside shoulder. He compresses the line on inside runs and has improved his vision into the backfield as a run defender. There are concerns about Parish’s projection to the NFL level as a run defender. He’s an undersized edge rusher who will face size mismatches trying to anchor against NFL linemen. Parish is strong, but he gets sealed by linemen in the running game and sometimes struggles with blocking tight ends. He lacks experience dropping into coverage. Tackles with superior length can engulf Parish and erase his impact from plays. The sixth-year edge rusher has a limited tackle radius and needs to finish a higher percentage of his tackle attempts. There are instances where Parish struggles to disengage from blocks. He sometimes launches his body into the tackle, and his rush immediately dies. His hands deploy late on these reps, negating his power.
Grade:
4th Round
Quotes:
“Everybody that’s been around Derek Parish knows the type of guy that Derek Parish is. Derek Parish is a soldier. He has a brother who, I’m not sure if he’s in the Army or the Marines…He had surgery like two days ago. But everybody knew that Derek Parish was going to play.” -- Houston defensive lineman Nelson Ceaser on edge rusher Derek Parish playing two days after having surgery on his hand
NFL Draft Profile: Derek Parish, EDGE, Houston Cougars