NFL Draft Watch Week 13
The college football regular season is beginning to wind down but the excitement is not. This week there is a great slate of games, many of which have major implications for the bowl season. This week we are going to take a closer look at defensive end Dion Jordan out of Oregon, who will be playing his final regular season game. Scouts will take advantage of the lull period by going back and watching every snap he took this season. This will be his last chance before the possible Pac 12 championship game and their upcoming bowl game to prove his worth at the next level.
Game to Watch: Oregon at Oregon State
When to Watch: November 24th at 3:00 PM Eastern
Who to Watch: Dion Jordan, DE, Oregon
What to Watch for: This year’s draft class appears to be relatively weak which leaves lots of room for players to prove themselves and move up and down the board. Jordan is having a tremendous season for the Ducks and that could catapult him into the first round. His biggest strength is his ability to pin his ears back and get to the quarterback. Luckily for Jordan this is also the most coveted skill in the NFL, which will skyrocket his draft stock. As Jordan continues to impress scouts his stock will keep rising. He is facing a tough Oregon State team and needs to bring his A game. When watching Jordan pay more attention about how he is getting to the quarterback, rather than if he is or not.
Many players can get sacks in college by simply bull rushing and using their superior size and strength. In the NFL this does not work. All tackles are going to be big and strong and pass rushers need more than one move in order to be effective. Watch to see if Jordan shows off a dazzling combination of size, speed, and strength in a dominate spin move or shows off his quickness with a swim move. Pay attention to his pass rushing moves. Is he a power player, meaning does he use moves like a bull rush? Or is he a finesse player, utilizing a spin move to simply get around the corner before the tackle can block him? Either way is fine, but it will be important to determine his draft stock because some teams have a preference of the type of player that they want. Furthermore, pay attention to see if he is mixing up his moves or using the same one or two moves on every pass rush. The more variety he shows the better. If he does show a variety of moves, see if he is more effective as a power rusher or a finesse rusher. However, pressuring the quarterback is not the only job of a defensive end. They also need to be able to make plays in the run game, either by penetrating the offensive line or by occupying the offensive line to free up the linebackers to make the play. It can be difficult to tell what his job is on a given play without knowing the play call, so even if he is not making tackles, do not just write him off as a poor run defender. He still could be doing his job.
In order to tell if he is effective against the run watch him closely and see if he is getting pushed back or if he is holding his ground. If he is holding the line, he is winning the battle and is an effective player. The last thing to look for when watching Jordan is to see if he can get his hands up and bat any balls down, a skill made famous by former Badger, now with the Texans, J.J. Watt. At 6’7 Jordan has the frame to do this as well. Overall Jordan has put up great numbers this season and is on the NFL radar. As the season is drawing to an end Jordan is running out of time to continue to impress scouts with his film. The more quality tape that a player accumulates the better his stock is so this season is very important for Jordan because he was a relatively unknown prospect before the season began.
Week 13 Football – What to Watch For
