2022 Chiefs Draft Prospect: Channing Tindall

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NAME: Channing Tindall

POSITION: Linebacker

SCHOOL: Georgia

HEIGHT: 6’1”

WEIGHT: 230 pounds

CAREER BACKGROUND

A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Channing Tindall attended Spring Valley High School. His senior season of high school football was simply spectacular. For instance, he finished with 190 tackles (most in the state), 14 tackles for loss and nine sacks. Tindall received many notorious accolades. This included being named to the USA Today 2017 All-USA first-team defense, 2017 South Carolina Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-state. Tindall was also selected to play in the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. 247Sports rated him as a four-star recruit. They also ranked him as the fifth best linebacker prospect in the nation, as the 103rd best prospect nationally and as the third best prospect to come out of the state of South Carolina.

Climbing The Ladder

After joining the Georgia Bulldogs, Tindall played in all 14 games as a true freshman in 2018. He would finish with 17 tackles, four quarterback pressures, two tackles for loss and two sacks. In 2019, Tindall played in 11 games. He had nine tackles, three quarterback pressures and 1.5 sacks. Despite a shortened schedule in 2020, Tindall played in all 10 games. He tallied 15 tackles and three sacks.

Tremendous Finish

In 2021, Tindall was still largely used in a reserve role, as he rotated in with other tremendous Georgia linebackers on a star-studded defense. His production grew significantly, nonetheless. He registered 67 tackles (third-most on team), 19 quarterback pressures, 7.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and one forced fumble. The breakout performance allowed Tindall to earn second team All-SEC honors. As a team, Georgia also won their first national championship since 1980.

SCOUTING REPORT

Instead of listing positives and negatives for traits, this year we will be listing the best trait of each prospect and work our way down to the biggest area of improvement/absent trait(s), from top to bottom.

Tackling

The main thing that stuck out here, was that Tindall is always controlled as a tackler. He routinely comes in with good tilt, with an executed wrap up and he generally delivers superb timing on his tackle attempts. Tindall gets his weight on top of opponents fairly easily. In those moments, the ball carriers either stop their feet entirely or lose balance quickly, as a result. Tindall maintains a solid strike zone right around the opponent’s waist. Usually, his tackle attempts come with a lot of power. He has more of a reserved use of power, however, rather than exuding it wildly.

Football IQ

Tindall is a player who reads, reacts and chases extremely smoothly. His recognition of blocking concepts and of the backfield alike allow him to be prepared for anything. On the other hand, Tindall does not get shaken much by fakes or double moves from opposing skill players. When diagnosing and keying tendencies in the middle of the field, he generally waits a bit to trigger downhill. Thus, Tindall sustains solid leverage and is able to dictate a more well-rounded timing or technique against both the run and the pass. Most of all, he shows little wasted movements or indecisiveness in space. If he reads play direction or picks up on hints from blocking schemes, Tindall continues moving at full speed and pursues the ball efficiently.

Run Defense

With his commanding read and react ability, Tindall works best against the run. His processing and trigger speed are equally nimble. That is especially true when he works downhill. When working laterally, however, Tindall is much more willing to reach top speed earlier and he extends his strides further. He displayed tremendous patience when it came to staying in run fits before shooting gaps. When he did then shoot those gaps, Tindall was able to catch opponents off guard with his tenacious attitude. That is something that does not necessarily jump off of the screen from him most of the time.

Lateral Mobility

The range and long speed of Tindall is where he wins in space. He not only moves with control and patience. But, Tindall is also able to flash springy feet and swift change of direction skills when needing to find a second gear in the open field. He is also rather stout when it comes to his angles and body positioning. That is monumental for Tindall, as he lacks the length or consistent hand power to constantly rely on his upper half.

Flexibility

Being able to turn, adjust and contort his body in space has been hit or miss for Tindall. He seemingly feels more at ease by staying square to the line of scrimmage. Overall, there is just not as much smoothness when Tindall is forced to use a half-turn technique. If he has to turn and run to cover deeper down the field, the linebacker will usually lose those above average instincts and patience. His spatial awareness tends to wane during those instances. Lastly, Tindall can see his smooth footwork become much less clean when he cannot move in more direct tracks.

Pass Coverage

The greater upside for Tindall when defending the pass may actually come as a blitzer from the middle. He not only covers ground quickly, but he is able to quickly get his hands in the throwing lane as a pass rusher as well. While in coverage, Tindall is suited to cover in zone coverage only. Being able to read the quarterback’s eyes is something that he feels under control with. His reads and keys allow him to find guys entering his zone at a rapid pace. At the same time, Tindall has steadily improved at keeping plays in front of him.

Block Deconstruction

There are times where Tindall can be late to extend his arms at the point of attack. This is a defender who is more comfortable with running through or around traffic to get his hat to the football. As things currently stand, Tindall certainly possesses power to overwhelm blockers. Figuring out how to better use that to his advantage is still a work in progress. Yet, that could definitely be fixed with further coaching and increased opportunities.

Versatility

The slight limitations in pass coverage could put a minimal cap on his playing time, as he transitions to the NFL level. Tindall is someone who has proved himself greatly when asked to make plays in space. But largely, this player appears to be more confident when remaining in the box and when working downhill. He is a bit of a throwback style of linebacker, to a degree, when you consider today’s pass happy NFL. Perhaps, he could increase his value with more reps on special teams.

CHIEFS FIT

As a linebacker with range and downhill tendencies, Channing Tindall could be of interest to the Kansas City Chiefs. For far too long, they have needed more stability on run defense and more secure tacklers in space. Tindall thrives in both of those areas. To a degree, he could provide a somewhat similar skillset to that of Nick Bolton, given his instincts and violence as a tackler. As he continues to transition at the NFL level, the Chiefs could utilize someone like Tindall on early downs and in short yardage situations.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs draft prospect profiles throughout this spring. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.