Fundamentally sound, plays with good pad level, good in gap control
Very good in coverage, fluid hips, and good footwork
Takes good angles to the ball, flows to the ball well in pursuit
Very physical, heavy hitter, and is fearless
Versatile, could potentially play any linebacker position
Faster football speed, than timed speed. Quicker than he is fast
Wades through traffic well, and evades blockers
Cons
Undersized at only 5-11, 236
Doesn't have good timed speed (4.78)
Has battled injuries in the past, knee and ankle, but healthy recently
Needs to do a better job wrapping up the ball carrier
Takes too many false steps, doesn't quickly identify plays
Doesn't take on blockers well, and is done once engaged
Not N.F.L ready
Overall
Darryl Sharpton is one of those guys who doesn't look very good on paper, but when you watch him on the field, it's hard not to be impressed with the guy. Sharpton is undersized, and doesn't have ideal straight line speed (4.78). He also needs some coaching, he needs to better recognize offensive sets, and be more confident with his reads, as he is often late to the play. Also needs to be coached on wrapping up on his tackles better. As mentioned he looks much better on the field than he does on paper, he is quicker than he is fast, is very physical, and does a very good job in coverage. Sharpton's best fit could be in a cover 2 defense, where he will play a lot of zone coverage, and take on fewer blockers, but has experience playing all 3 linebacker positions in a 4-3 defense. Part of the reason why I like Sharpton is because most of his flaws are things that can be fixed with N.F.L level coaching. At the very least, Sharpton will be an effective special teamer. He is a mid round prospect, should go about round 4.
