NFL: Jason Pierre-Paul to Enter 2010 NFL Draft
South Florida’s Jason Pierre-Paul announced he will enter the 2010 NFL Draft Wednesday. Pierre-Paul has the right blend of size, speed, and athleticism that make him an attractive prospect to NFL teams.
Jason measures in at just under 6′ 6″ and weighs in at around 260 pounds. He will need to add some strength to his frame to excel at the next level. One of the biggest knocks on him is he does not have enough strength to anchor against the run and tends to rely more on his speed to make plays which will only take one so far as a defensive end in the NFL.
Pierre-Paul is a play maker who led the Bulls with 16.5 tackles-for-loss this past season and some experts believe he has the speed and athleticism to play the rush linebacker position in a 3-4 defense.
The other knock on him is his lack of experience in playing football. He did not start playing until his junior year in high school and has just one year of major college football under his belt. The best situation for him would likely be going to a team that will use him as a rotational/situational player and not expect him to be an every down player right away. He is still very raw and is going to need the opportunity to get stronger and gain some experience before stepping in as an every down end in the NFL.
He is currently considered a mid to late first round prospect and with several teams picking in the teens in need of a pass rusher he is a good bet to go in that range of the draft.
With the defensive overhaul going on in New York he could be a candidate to land with the Giants who are bringing in a new defensive coordinator, defensive line coach, and Justin Tuck is going to be coming off major surgery and Osi Umenyiora believes he will be released this spring.
The Titans biggest need is in the secondary, but, the front seven also lacks a consistent pass rusher and he could land in Tennessee as well.
The Falcons have been looking for someone to place opposite John Abraham for several years now and could be interested in a guy like Pierre-Paul.
