Troy Polamalu Scouting Report

54 solo tackles, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 5 passes defensed. Doesn’t seem like such a great stat-sheet, but that’s Troy Polamalu’s season. The 5′10″ 212 Polynesian pummler out of USC has already made a name for himself as the NFL’s best safety. Ed Reed is good. Ed Reed is damn good. But Polamalu is better.

Three years into his career and Troy has 201 tackles, 6 sacks, and 7 INTs, and 23 PDs. The 1st round pick in 2003 (16th overall), Polamalu hasn’t missed a game since splashing down in Steel-City.

Here’s your Polamalu-Reed comparison:
Reed was a 1st round pick in 2002, going 24th overall to the Ravens. He’s racked up 220 solo tackles in 53 games, 4 sacks, 21 INTs, and 45 passes defensed. He’s 5′11, 200, 27 years old, and played his college ball at Miami.

So how can you give the nod to Polamalu? He has 1 career forced fumble compared to 4 for Reed. We’re talking about small statistical discrepancies.

Polamalu runs the 40 in 4.51. He was a 4.06 on the scouting scale. Reed was criticized in his draft year for not being enough of an athlete, but he still put up a 4.54/40. Now that’s not a great time. 4.4 is really the gold-standard, with the exceptional return men/RB/WRs running anywhere from 4.1-4.3. But it’s still pretty good for a safety.

Now if you really want to start a debate over safeties you’re going to have to talk about guys like Sean Taylor and Oklahoma’s Roy Williams. Taylor is, bar-none, the most underrated defensive player in the NFL. Taylor ran a 4.54 40, and at 6′2″, 231 has better size than Reed or Polamalu. He’s got a 34.5 inch vertical and he bench-pressed 365 at the combine. For my money, he’s the biggest hitting DB in the game.

Roy Williams is 6′0, 226, and runs a 4.53/40. He’s got a 34 inch vertical, and benched 225 13 times. The guy is a hitting machine, but I’d rather have Polamalu in coverage. That’s why I’m giving the nod to Troy. 4.53-4.54 seems to be the standard 40 time for safeties. But while he doesn’t have the size of a Taylor or Williams, Polamalu has the athleticism those two guys lack.

Adrian Wilson leads all safeties with 70 solo tackles, but Polamalu is right up there at 54, ahead of Williams and Taylor. More importantly, the Steelers are 7-4 with the defense winning Roethlisberger-less games against Green Bay and Cleveland.

Ed Reed Profile and Statistics
Troy Polamalu Profile and Statistics
Sean Taylor Profile and Statistics
Roy Williams Profile and Statistics