Whether or not the Cowboys have the interior defensive linemen they need for Monte Kiffin’s scheme to work, there’s no doubt that his 4-3 defense requires a play-making, one-gap defensive tackle. Florida defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd is a one-gap player, but does he have what it takes to start for the ‘Boys should they let Jay Ratliff walk?
Scouting Report
At 6’3’’, 305 pounds, Sharrif Floyd has good size to play either defensive tackle position in a 4-3 or defensive end in a 3-4. He’s a high-motor player that rarely gives up on plays; I watched over 100 snaps and saw consistent hustle. By all accounts, Floyd seems to be a very hard worker.
Floyd isn’t an overwhelmingly strong player and he’s not going to consistently maintain his ground. That means he’ll need to go to a team that will allow him to shoot gaps and make plays in the backfield, which he can do. Although he’s not overly stout at the point, Floyd still does a pretty good job of extending in traffic to shed blocks and make tackles.
As a pass-rusher, Floyd’s burst off of the line is good but not great; as someone without elite power, you’d like to see a little more explosiveness. Floyd has some problems consistently playing with leverage, too. He gets upright at times and he’s not strong enough to get off of blocks when that occurs.
When Floyd stays low, he’s a different player. He has good swim and rip moves and he can beat interior linemen with some regularity if he plays with proper positioning. You can see Floyd use his athleticism to get to the quarterback, but then fail to break down. Although he won’t regularly face that same type of mobility, Floyd has some trouble bringing down the passer once he’s there, as his three total sacks in the past two years show.
Overall, there are just too many times that Floyd doesn’t get any sort of penetration, both as a run defender and a rusher. He can still be a productive NFL player, but I don’t see an enormously high ceiling here.
Projection
Floyd will probably go in the mid- to late-first round. Because of the quality of the defensive tackles, Floyd’s range is pretty wide. He could get selected as high as the second defensive tackle off of the board, but there’s a chance he could fall into the second round, too.
Fit In Dallas
Floyd would theoretically be a good fit in Kiffin’s scheme, but it really all depends on what the team does with Jay Ratliff. Further, Floyd isn’t good value anywhere in the first round, in my view. He plays like a second-round pick but doesn’t have first-round upside.
Scouting Report
At 6’3’’, 305 pounds, Sharrif Floyd has good size to play either defensive tackle position in a 4-3 or defensive end in a 3-4. He’s a high-motor player that rarely gives up on plays; I watched over 100 snaps and saw consistent hustle. By all accounts, Floyd seems to be a very hard worker.
Floyd isn’t an overwhelmingly strong player and he’s not going to consistently maintain his ground. That means he’ll need to go to a team that will allow him to shoot gaps and make plays in the backfield, which he can do. Although he’s not overly stout at the point, Floyd still does a pretty good job of extending in traffic to shed blocks and make tackles.
As a pass-rusher, Floyd’s burst off of the line is good but not great; as someone without elite power, you’d like to see a little more explosiveness. Floyd has some problems consistently playing with leverage, too. He gets upright at times and he’s not strong enough to get off of blocks when that occurs.
When Floyd stays low, he’s a different player. He has good swim and rip moves and he can beat interior linemen with some regularity if he plays with proper positioning. You can see Floyd use his athleticism to get to the quarterback, but then fail to break down. Although he won’t regularly face that same type of mobility, Floyd has some trouble bringing down the passer once he’s there, as his three total sacks in the past two years show.
Overall, there are just too many times that Floyd doesn’t get any sort of penetration, both as a run defender and a rusher. He can still be a productive NFL player, but I don’t see an enormously high ceiling here.
Projection
Floyd will probably go in the mid- to late-first round. Because of the quality of the defensive tackles, Floyd’s range is pretty wide. He could get selected as high as the second defensive tackle off of the board, but there’s a chance he could fall into the second round, too.
Fit In Dallas
Floyd would theoretically be a good fit in Kiffin’s scheme, but it really all depends on what the team does with Jay Ratliff. Further, Floyd isn’t good value anywhere in the first round, in my view. He plays like a second-round pick but doesn’t have first-round upside.