Darrian

Beavers

The Giants selected Beavers in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He was competing for a backup gig in training camp. At 6’4/237, Beavers is a run-stuffing interior linebacker who could’ve made an impact on early downs. If the injury is an ACL tear and nothing more, he should be ready for the offseason program next year.

Beavers (6’4/237) was a big, strapping, physical presence in the middle of Luke Fickell’s defense. Beavers is a downhill thumper with enough lateral agility to meet running backs outside the tackles. His lack of speed is apparent in coverage, where he can get torched by a bad assignment. Beavers will help your run defense, but he should either be removed on passing downs or asked to make simple zone drops. Best-case scenario, he develops into a KJ Wright-type.

Beavers (6'3"/243) ran a 4.67 40, had a 39-inch vertical, a 10'3" broad jump. He rated as great in explosion, good in speed and elite in agility. Beavers’ testing numbers make him very intriguing despite not being one of the top names, and combined with his coverage skills (he started as a safety) he could go decently early in the draft.

The fact that Beavers (6'3/243) started his career at safety when he was at UConn shows he has the ability to drop in coverage. As transferred over to Cincinnati he made the transition into a linebacker and pass rusher, capping off his senior year with a career-high four sacks. Jim Nagy highlighted some of the videos on Beavers from the Senior Bowl showing his ability to break through the line of scrimmage, and his smothering coverage. Teams always love to have a linebacker who can go out and cover tight ends, especially when most DB are undersized. For a man of his size, he’s incredibly athletic, and with a good showing at the combine, he can bring his stock up even further.

Beavers (6'3/243) hit the road this past winter in transferring from UConn to Cincinnati. Playing on the Huskies’ burning dumpster defense last season, the junior registered 23 tackles and four sacks with two passes defensed across 12 games played. The Athletic’s Justin Williams believes that Beavers has a shot at earning a starting role with the Bearcats. At worst, he should be a productive rotational piece.

Beavers appeared in 12 games for the Huskies in 2018 as a sophomore, and he led UConn with four sacks. He’ll have to sit out next year unless he receives a waiver, but he’ll have two more years of eligibility starting in 2020 if he doesn’t.