Carter's Classroom: McDonald a definite deep threat, but passive blocker

The Steelers' addition of tight end Vance McDonald from the 49ers adds an element to the offense that was thought to be lost when the team had to cut Ladarius Green.

McDonald presents a vertical receiving threat who can take advantage of opponents when matched up with safeties or when he's attacking the soft spots in zone coverages. Today's Classroom will go over how he's developed that reputation as well as his credentials as a run blocker.



The stats on McDonald don't look all that impressive at first glance, but you have to remember that he was on a team that had a quarterback carousel for much of the season and an offense that had to rely on Colin Kaepernick as its top playmaker with little to no help.

But when you look at McDonald's biggest plays from 2016, you see how dangerous he is when a defense loses track of him.

Take, for example, his 75-yard touchdown against the Panthers when he ran a corner route into the soft spot of the Carolina zone and managed to outrun the entire defense for the touchdown:



Sure, he probably would have been caught by Luke Kuechly without the timely peel-back block, but this is still impressive home-run speed for a tight end.

And it's that speed that the Steelers are most interested in with McDonald. Coming out of college, McDonald's time in the 40-yard dash was a 4.69. Compared to Jesse James' 4.83, that is a significant upgrade in getaway speed. That speed may not be blinding, but the Steelers aren't looking for McDonald to be the primary playmaker in their offense.

Between Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant and Le'Veon Bell, opposing defenses will have so much to contend with that a tight end would have to get matched up with their least talented cover men. McDonald managed to make the best of some matchups a few times for the 49ers, including the slightly improvised touchdown he scores here:



McDonald appears to run a simple hitch route in the middle of the field to provide Kaepernick a quick check-down option, but starts rolling to Kaepernick's right when he notices the pocket is collapsing. When McDonald gets the ball and sees an open field, he capitalizes.

But he does more than just make catches in the soft spots of defenses, and the Patriots found that out a few times when they faced San Francisco last year. He is also a solid route runner who can shake off man coverage to create space for throwing windows.

Watch how he comfortably engages and gets past Devin McCourty for this touchdown on a crossing pattern:



McDonald comes off the line quickly, uses a few false steps into McCourty and then breaks across the field while still having enough focus to catch a pass thrown slightly behind him.

Also that's not just any safety he beat there, as McCourty is a two-time Pro Bowl player in his prime and a significant part of the Patriots' defense. If McDonald is able to beat a defensive back of this caliber consistently, it will definitely add a new dimension to the Steelers' offense.

McDonald loves to set defensive backs up with his stutter steps in the middle of the field. Watch how he sets up this wheel route by, again, running into the defensive back and then quickly accelerating up the field to create the passing window for Kaepernick:



He even manages to protect himself while making the catch for 25 yards. This is what the Steelers saw in McDonald and why they thought that maybe he can be the passing threat they hoped Green would have been.

However, not everything about McDonald's tape is so exciting, particularly his blocking skills.

The reason I'd call McDonald a "passive blocker" is because in his tape I see a player who looks to simply do his job in a run-blocking scheme, rather than demolish his assignments and crush opponents.

Part of what made Heath Miller such a beloved tight end was how he would throw everything he had into his blocks. Whether it was a defensive end or a defensive back, Miller would get his hands to the inside of his man, keep a wide base and pump his feet to either drive his man out of the hole or emphatically claim his ground.

McDonald looks more to just use his body to impede the progress of his opponent. Take, for example, this trap block he had on the Saints' behemoth defensive tackle, Nick Fairley:



Fairley is allowed into the backfield so that he can be trapped by McDonald, leaving the space he vacated for the running back to skip through. The play works and McDonald does a good job making sure that Fairley cannot contribute to stopping it, but notice how McDonald goes to just collide with the defensive tackle. He's not lower than Fairley, nor does he have any leg drive to move him even further out of the hole.

When I watch McDonald block, I see a player who doesn't have that killer instinct to destroy his opponents. It's as if he lacks the conviction to fully commit to his assignment and crush it, like he's not expecting to win the physical battle at the point of attack.

Watch how that same lack of commitment fails to stop Kony Ealy of the Panthers. McDonald is set up for another trap and simply brushes on by and allows Ealy to get to the running back and help Kuechly take him down:



The context for a trap block is that when you're a lineman or a tight end pulling from the opposite side of the line, you're using those five or six steps to build up steam and absolutely crush the unsuspecting defensive lineman who has broken free across the line of scrimmage and is looking for the ball carrier.

McDonald not only slows down on the play above, but whiffs on Ealy when he had a great chance for a big block that might open up the running lane enough for the back to avoid Kuechly.

But let's look at McDonald in a more natural run-blocking element out on the edge. Here we see him go against safety Patrick Chung, a player whom McDonald has a good five inches and sixty pounds on:



So here would be a perfect opportunity for McDonald to completely drive out the much smaller defensive back and impose his will, but he just lets Chung hang there and then eventually retreat when he sees Carlos Hyde is past the line of scrimmage.

When I see this, I notice a few problems in how he attempted to block Chung. For one, McDonald attacks with his arms coming from outside of Chung's shoulders instead of pushing them right into the interior of his chest. Doing the latter allows you to control the direction of your opponent and is the basic blocking you learn in peewee.

The next thing I notice is McDonald's lack of leg drive on Chung. Even without inside leverage, McDonald should be able to bully Chung, but he does not.

This is the essence of McDonald as a run blocker. He is happy to be in position and not have to blow anyone up. His goal is to engage his assignment and hand-fight at the line of scrimmage rather than physically dominate at the point of attack.

Let's take a look at some edge blocking against the Saints when he goes up against veteran defensive end Paul Kruger:



McDonald plays this smartly in that he allows Kruger to take himself out of the play. But notice how he sort of just slides Kruger down the line and doesn't finish him off. The snap of the ball was timed perfectly for when Kruger was shifting to the inside and so he was caught standing up.

This would be the perfect time to get his hands inside of Kruger with a lower pad level and drive him off the ball. Doing so might even clog up the progress of some of the linebackers and open up a better running lane, but the play is ultimately shut down because the linebackers win at the point of attack. While that's not directly McDonald's fault, this play is another example of his passiveness as a run blocker.

The Steelers don't have a superb run blocker in James, but his tape shows a stronger knack for this particular part of football when compared to McDonald.

This will be the question the Steelers find themselves asking about their tight end lineup: Is James the better option to get most of the snaps because of his ability to block? If McDonald manages to minimize the difference with James as a run-blocker on the edge and the several lead-blocking assignments the Steelers give to tight ends, he will win the starting job easily.

McDonald's vertical threat in the passing game is something the Steelers would love to see out of Xavier Grimble, but Grimble's hands are too inconsistent to be relied upon and missing those opportunities for home-run plays from the tight end could be a hindrance.

Adding McDonald to the lineup would present an extra threat which Roethlisberger could check to whenever a team feels comfortable shading extra coverage to both Brown and Bryant while favoring against an underneath route by Bell. Should that happen, the Steelers are hoping Roethlisberger recognizes it and McDonald capitalizes as he has shown on his tape.