New York Jets Draft Profile: DE Ezekiel “Ziggy” Ansah

Feb 25, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Brigham Young Cougars defensive lineman Ezekiel Ansah participates in a defensive drill during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

As the draft gets closer and closer by the day, we are going to keep the coverage going by the day. We will look at mock drafts, do our own mock drafts, and do some profiles of players that might be a good fit for the New York Jets.

We know that the Jets are looking to ramp up the pass rush. Could you imagine? We have a top 10 defense, and we can’t get to the quarterback EVER. Imagine what it would be like if we could get to the QB with any bit of consistency. The Jets defense would just about be unstoppable with a pass rush.

The NFL Combine doesn’t always yield a lot of useful information. However, this year, we saw a young man that many were already high on, just kill it at the Combine, and that is who we are going to talk about today. We are talking about Ezekiel Ansah, or “Ziggy”, from BYU.

MEASURABLES

He comes in at 6’5″ tall, weighing in at 271 pounds. It doesn’t hurt that he has 35 1/8″ long arms when you make your living trying to run down guys carrying a football.

At the aforementioned Combine, Ansah ran the 6th best forty yard dash out of all defensive lineman, with a 4.63. His explosion is clear, when he posted a 118″ broad jump. To top it all off, his Combine performance was enhanced by the fact that he didn’t even train for the sessions!  Now that is impressive.

In his one year as a full time starter, Ansah posted 62 tackles, 13 for a loss, and including 4.5 sacks. This type of player could be just what the doctor ordered, or in this case, what the Rexy ordered.

Let’s take a look at some video:

PROS: The first thing that jumps off the screen is sheer speed. When this guy has the ball carrier in his sights, he is like a heat seeking missile and closes on the player like nobody’s business. Even if has been kept out of the play a bit by the lineman, Ansah can make up for it my shaking loose and closing on the QB. It’s also exciting to see a guy that can play with a hand in the dirt, or can stand up to rush the passer. We all know how Rex Ryan loves versatile players, and Ziggy fits that bill. Ziggy also has great “vision”, his head always in the backfield, looking for and seeking out that football.

CONS: The first thing is experience. One season, eighteen games, as a starter, is not a lot. We have seen the lurch that has left us in, haven’t we Mark? They have to handle Ziggy correctly if they were to take him. I also don’t notice a wide variety of moves in Ansah’s arsenal to beat a blocker. If he can’t get by with his speed, you can see that he gets help up a little at the line. He makes up for it, at times, with that great speed, but he won’t be able to rely on that forever.

The bottom line is this…he’s a terrific player. Are some of his skills a little bit raw? Sure. But they will get better, and the Jets would have one fine football player if they bring this guy in.