Should the Jets pounce on Gregory Rousseau with an early pick?

By Ian Roddy — 04/27/2021

At this time last year, Miami Hurricanes defensive end Gregory Rousseau was seen as a legitimate top-10 prospect for the 2021 NFL draft class. Coming off a 2019 season that saw him post 15.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss, scouts and fans alike drooled over his obvious potential.

Even more exciting was the fact that he posted insane production as a redshirt freshman. Should Joe Douglas and the New York Jets bite in the 2021 NFL draft? 

Rousseau opted out of the COVID-shortened 2020 season on Aug. 6, announcing he would instead begin preparing for the 2021 NFL draft. At the time, this seemed like a fair decision. Sure, scouts would have liked to see him further develop, but rarely do you see a freshman put up the second-most sacks in the country, so it was hard to argue.

But since that decision to opt-out, we have watched Rousseau’s draft stock slip further and further down the board. And now, with just a few days to go until the draft, there are legitimate questions over whether he will even be selected in round one.

What happened?

Well, the unanimous consensus on Rousseau, even when he was still viewed as a top-10 prospect, is that he’s incredibly raw. After all, he’s still new to the position of edge rusher, seeing as he played wide receiver and safety when he was in high school. 

As scouts and analysts dug more into his tape, it became clear that Rousseau still has a great deal of development ahead of him. He’s a 6-foot-7, 21-year-old with a near-7-foot wingspan, so the raw traits are undoubtedly there. The problem is this: His tape shows a very heavy reliance on those traits rather than technique—something that won’t fly in the NFL.

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