New York Jets Draft Profile: DT Sharrif Floyd

Feb 25, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Florida Gators defensive lineman Shariff Floyd participates in a defensive drill during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

As draft day rapidly approaches, we begin to ramp up the coverage at the Jet Press. We will continue to evaluate mock drafts, bring you our own, and take a look at some players worth highlighting as the days go by.

Over the last few days, we have been looking at some interior defensive linemen, with the departures of Sione Po’uha and Mike DeVito. First was Star Lotulelei, and then we talked about Sheldon Richardson.

Today, I wanted to take a look at another highly touted lineman, one ranked highly, especially by our buddy from the Flight 5 Live show, Nick Spano.  The Friday evening co-host had this guy ranked as his number one defensive tackle on the draft board, and that is who we look at today.  Spotlight is on Sharrif Floyd, DT from the University of Florida.

MEASURABLES:

He comes in at 6’3″, 297 pounds.  He ran an impressive 4.92 in the 40 yard dash as the NFL Combine last month.  He jumped 30 inches vertical, and a broad jump of 106 inches.

Here is some video on Floyd, first in a generic highlight package:

And now, from a game vs. rival Florida State:

PROS: The first thing that jumps off the screen to me is his work with his hands on the line of scrimmage. Right off the snap, he gets those hands up into his man quickly, and gets the upper hand almost every time. Once he gets those hands up, he basically throws his opponent out of the way like a rag doll. He also has an unbelievable first step off the line. Watch the tape, there are a couple of plays where he gets one step, and the lineman is already out of position. Pretty amazing. He always has his eyes in the backfield, looking for that ball, which is a great trait to have.

CONS: Like with other guys, I am nitpicking here. On a couple of plays, it seemed that he could get muscled out of the way. I know that can happen to anyone on any given play, but in his case, it was a balance issue. He is paying attention in the backfield, which is good, but he lets the lineman get him off-balance, which he has to be careful of. He also has a bit of a tough time getting to the backfield if he doesn’t get that lightning fast first step.

The bottom line for me, is that the Jets could do a lot worse than choosing this guy. He has a great deal of ability.