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*Walt taking 2014 and 2018 |
Charlie Campbell, Senior Draft Analyst |
Weight Loss Hurts Mario Edwards' Draft Grade
Updated March 31, 2015By Charlie Campbell. Follow Charlie on Twitter @draftcampbell.
Florida State defensive tackle Mario Edwards has a natural combination of size and speed with a NFL pedigree from his father. However, Edwards never produced up to that skill set as a sophomore or junior with a total of 6.5 sacks and 72 tackles over those two seasons. Still, Edwards had a quality 2014 campaign with disruption at the point of attack. Sources at the All-Star games in January opined that his physical talent had him as a potential late first-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.
However, at the Combine, Edwards checked in at 6-foot-3, 279 pounds. It was believed that Edwards had played in or around 290 pounds in college, and even that weight is undersized for the NFL. It appears that Edwards dropped the weight to run faster at the Combine. and sources say that was a bad idea. While Edwards had a fast 40 at 4.84 seconds, team sources say that Edwards' weight loss caused them to lower his draft grade, as it hurts his fit in the NFL.
At 279 pounds, Edwards doesn't have the weight or the length to have a fit in a 3-4 defense. His weight is too low for a nose tackle, and he isn't tall or long enough to be a five-technique 3-4. That rules out a lot of teams.
The weight limitations also extend to a 4-3. He is too small to play a nose tackle and eat up blockers in the trenches. The sub-290 Edwards' only real fit comes as a three-technique in a 4-3. That limits the number of teams that Edwards could play for, as there aren't a lot of teams running a Tampa 2-type system that is predicated on a fast three-technique. Not all of the other 4-3 defenses that have some flexibility with occasionally inserting a three-technique necessarily have a need for that.
Team sources say that after the weight loss, they lowered Edwards' grade to the late second round. Perhaps Edwards will help himself by checking in heavier at the Florida State pro day and on pre-draft visits in April.
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