Matt Judon Could Be Intriguing Prospect For New York Giants In Middle Rounds

The 2016 NFL Draft is less than two weeks away and the New York Giants need this draft to be one of the best of the Jerry Reese era.

They own the 10th pick of the draft and while they need to draft a player who can make an immediate impact there, they must also come away with prospects in the later rounds. It is those later rounds that have been Reese’s biggest issue in years past and he will need to come away with players with loads of potential. One player who could intrigue Reese is Grand Valley State defensive end Matt Judon.

Judon is far from a finished product despite recording 20 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss last year. He did win the Gene Upshaw Trophy as Division II’s top lineman. He also was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s Defensive Lineman of the Year. He has talent and upside as a pass rusher, but it is a long way from DII to the NFL.

As a pass rusher, Judon has decent speed and acceleration off the line for a player who is 6-foot-3 and 275 pounds. He took advantage of lesser talent and the rough edges of his game didn’t show as prominently. He can get tied up by blockers and didn’t show much consistency in disengaging by using his hands. He appeared to use his natural talent to take over and offensive tackles in DII were not very good competition. He will need to learn to use his hands to disengage blockers when he can’t beat them off the edge.

Against the run, Judon needs the most work. He had trouble at times engaging and finishing solo tackles against running backs. He will need to couple his speed with his size and develop some consistency.

The Giants spent a ton of money to upgrade their defense this offseason. They should continue to upgrade through the draft. Judon would be an intriguing prospect in the middle rounds with a lot of upside, especially as a pass rusher. You can never have too many pass rushers these days. There isn’t much film on Judon, but what film there is shows a prospect who could turn into a solid defensive end. He does need a bit of work, but there is a natural talent there that can’t be taught. He might not develop into a Pro Bowl-caliber defensive end in the NFL, but he could certainly become a solid member of a defensive line rotation.