Big Blue View
Can Sawyer be an impact player in the NFL?
The defensive line is a commonly cited need for the New York Giants, with the need for run defense as the primary complaint.
Defensive end and EDGE Jack Sawyer has been a mainstay for the Ohio State defense, appearing in (or starting) 54 games for the Buckeyes. He’s a tough and powerful edge defender who can set the edge as well as constrict the pocket.
Could he be a target if the Giants don’t select a lineman at the top of the draft?
Prospect: Jack Sawyer (33)
Games Watched: vs. Iowa (2024), vs. Oregon (2024), vs. Penn State (2024), vs. Indiana (2024)
Best traits
Jack Sawyer is a good-sized, powerful, and highly competitive edge defender.
Sawyer has good size for the position at 6-foot-4, 260 pounds, with great thickness in his upper and lower halves. He’s a powerful defender with the size and play strength to routinely line up as a down defensive end and could move inside to defensive tackle on occasion in the NFL.
He has adequate burst and initial quickness, timing the snap well and wasting little energy or motion in his first step. Sawyer gains good ground into the backfield and generally plays with good hip and pad level to maximize his play strength.
Sawyer is a pure power rusher with little subtlety to his game and a blue-collar mentality. He has truly impressive play strength and is able to overpower offensive tackles despite giving up considerable size. He’s able to hold a firm edge – outright collapse it – in the run game, as well as constrict the pocket as a pass rusher. Likewise, he has enough strength to shake off tackles’ grip to disengage and make a play on the ball, or get in pursuit. He offers great effort as a pursuit player and is also willing to fight through multiple blocks on his way into the backfield.
Worst traits
Sawyer’s most notable weakness is his lack of length. He has solid overall size for the position, but his arms are very short at 31 ¾ inches. That’s in the 4th percentile for NFL edge defenders and absolutely shows up on tape.
Sawyer has solid hand usage and could have an impact as a power rusher, however he’s subject to significant drag due to blocker’s hands. He’s skilled enough to deal with most collegiate tackles’ hands before they can lock in their blocks, however long-levered or technically sound tackles give him fits.
He also lacks elite athletic traits, which further exacerbate his issues with length. He struggles to get very low when bending the edge, nor can he fire off the ball with extreme acceleration to make up for his lack of length. His rushes often stall if he doesn’t initially win the hand battle, and he lacks the ability to consistently...
