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Scouting Report: It's taken me longer than most to come around on Cameron Jordan of the California Golden Bears. I went back and watched several Cal games this year with no-one else in mind but Jordan, and I have to say I can see why people are putting him among the elite defensive players in this draft. He is similar to Iowa's Adrian Clayborn in that he's got a build that will allow him to play multiple spots along the defensive line. He's got 32 starts in his college career and has shown himself to be a very smart football player. The strength of his game, from my point of view is in run support. He's got a quick first step, works hard to shed blockers, and closes quickly to the ball carrier. This is why I think as a 4-3 DT he could be an exceptional player. He's a very aggressive player, maybe even to a fault at times, but when so many Defensive Linemen take plays off, you can be confident Jordan won't be one of those guys.
Draft Status: Tough draft to be a Defensive Lineman with so many good ones. Jordan seems to be getting rave reviews and because of that, if he's drafted as a pure DT, I could see him being drafted somewhere between 12 and 22 overall. I think that would be a huge jump for a player few pundits even knew about at the start of the season.
Final Analysis: There are some highs and lows to Jordan's game from the sample of games I saw. He's not a great pass rusher mainly because he doesn't have that elite field speed to get off the edge. He's got the build to be a pass rusher, so if he can get coached up he could expand his role wherever he lands. But for the most part I think a 3 technique tackle or a 5 technique end is where his future lies. One final note. You can never discount a high character, quality young man who is very bright. His father played in the NFL so he's got an inside track on what NFL coaches will expect of him. With his skills, where he sort of does everything well but nothing really stands out, a good NFL coach will make use of that and put him in the best position within their scheme to let him make plays.
Reminds me of: Corey Redding DE/DT Baltiore Ravens-Physically they're almost clones and in terms of what they do well, I can see a lot of Redding in Jordan's game. Good tackler, disruptive, helps others make plays, sneaks in for the occasional sack, and knows where to be on any given play.
Red Flags: None
Scouting Report written by Curt Popejoy |
