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Jeff Owens
6-1/304
Georgia Senior

PROS: Has good strength and shows good ability to hold the point of attack. Will fight through double teams. Shows good power.
CONS: Lacks burst and quickness to get upfield and offers little as a pass rusher. Needs to improve his hand use and technique. Will fight through them, but doesn't have the ability to beat or split double teams. Doesn't always show great conditioning on the field, and may take a play or two off.
OVERVIEW: A nice widebody that is a fairly one-dimensional run stopper. Missed all of 2008 after suffering a knee injury in the first quarter of the season opener. A three-year starter. For his career only had 5 sacks and 12.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage.
NFL FORECAST: His production indicates what you see on tape, in that Owens is a run-stuffer. But he doesn't play behind the line of scrimmage. But he won't really have to in the pros, because he's a very good fit to play the nose tackle spot in a 3-4 scheme. He isn't classically big like most 3-4 nose tackles, but is strong and powerful, and shows good potential in playing in a two-gap scheme. He isn't going to give you much as a pass rusher. I'm not sure he is going to be a disruptive 3-4 guy like a Jamal Williams, but more of a Casey Hampton-type. He has a similar build as Hampton, and is a guy that is better keeping blockers off linebackers than disrupting and pushing the pocket. But that works for a lot of teams like the Steelers that 3-4 schemes are built more for the linebackers than defensive linemen.
ATL FORECAST: Owens could add depth to a 4-3 team like the Falcons and be a nice fit in the rotation. But he would only be effective on run downs and would give you little in passing situations. BUt he would be a nice addition to the Falcons rotation that would definitely beef up the run defense, and free up Lofton and the linebackers to be more rangy and make plays sideline to sideline. He would basically be like adding a younger Grady Jackson.
VALUE: For a 3-4 team looking for a solid nose tackle, he would merit a mid-to-late second round pick. For a 4-3 team looking to beef up their rotation, they are better off waiting until the fourth round.

SKILLS
1-poor, 2-weak, 3-above average, 4-very good, 5-elite

STRENGTH: 4.5
POINT OF ATTACK: 4.0
QUICKNESS: 1.0
PASS RUSH: 1.5
MOTOR: 2.5

Pros- Is a strong player and is thick and hard to move in the trenches. Plays with natural leverage because of his height, and consistently drives his man into the backfield when blocked with only one man. Flashes some burst off of the line of scrimmage, but it is inconsistent. Is an alright tackler but doesn’t do a great job of breaking down in space. Sheds blocks well at times, and has an ok motor.

Cons- He does not have much quickness. If he doesn’t beat his man with an initial move his ability to create pressure or penetration in the backfield is very limited. He flashes a swim move as a pass rush move, but other than that he can only collapse the pocket by driving his blocker back. Does not shed blocks as well as you would like to see, and needs to improve his hand usage to help him do so. Will take a play off every now and then, and isn’t great in space or in pursuit. Also needs to learn to get his arms out in front of him to defend himself from cut blocks better.

Overall: He is a shorter, squatty player with limited quickness but good strength. He is hard to move but won’t offer much as a pass rusher. He can get upfield and surprise you at times if he times the snap out correctly and gets a good initial move, but otherwise he will only collapse the pocket or drive his man off the ball in the run game. He projects well to the 3-4 NT spot even though he isn’t the typical behemoth you imagine when you think of such a player. However he will still offer some effectiveness and with some technique work and maybe a little conditioning he could be a solid starter in the NFL. If he is drafted by a 4-3 team he will be asked just to stop the run, but will probably not be an every down defensive tackle. His upside is higher in a 3-4 where he will be asked to defend two gaps, clog the middle and occasionally threaten with a bull rush or a quick move upfield. His effectiveness will be limited asking him to penetrate consistently because he just doesn’t have that kind of quickness.

Projection: 4th round: He has the potential to go a little earlier because there is going to be a lot of demand for potential 3-4 NT prospects, but I think the 4th round is where he will land. He could play NT in a 4-3 though he wouldn’t offer much as a pass rusher aside from a bull-rush to collapse the pocket or a surprise burst off the snap though, which is why he has more value as a 3-4 NT.

SKILLS
1-poor, 2-weak, 3-above average, 4-very good, 5-elite

STRENGTH: 4.0
POINT OF ATTACK: 4.0
QUICKNESS: 2.0
PASS RUSH: 2.0
MOTOR: 2.5