| 2011 NFL Draft Watch #39: Jared Crick | ||||
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The countdown continues and our number thirty-nine prospect in college football is... Defensive Tackle Jared Crick, Nebraska (Junior):
Players Profiled To Date: 1. Andrew Luck, Quarterback, Stanford 2. Jake Locker, Quarterback, Washington 3. A.J. Green, Wide Receiver, Georgia 4. Marcel Dareus, Defensive Lineman, Alabama 5. Patrick Peterson, Cornerback, LSU 6. Robert Quinn, Defensive End, North Carolina 7. Cameron Heyward, Defensive End, Ohio State 8. Ryan Williams, Running Back, Virginia Tech 9. Adrian Clayborn, Defensive End, Iowa 10. Mark Ingram, Running Back, Alabama 11. Anthony Castonzo, Offensive Tackle, Boston College 12. Julio Jones, Wide Receiver, Alabama 13. Allen Bailey, Defensive Lineman, Miami 14. Greg Romeus, Defensive End, Pittsburgh 15. Prince Amukamara, Cornerback, Nebraska 16. Gabe Carimi, Offensive Tackle, Wisconsin 17. Ryan Mallett, Quarterback, Arkansas 18. Marvin Austin, Defensive Tackle, North Carolina 19. Michael Floyd, Wide Receiver, Notre Dame 20. Bruce Carter, Outside Linebacker, North Carolina 21. Aaron Williams, Cornerback, Texas 22. DeAndre McDaniel, Safety, Clemson 23. Stephen Paea, Defensive Tackle, Oregon State 24. Jonathan Baldwin, Wide Receiver, Pittsburgh 25. Matt Reynolds, Offensive Tackle, BYU 26. Jurrell Casey, Defensive Tackle, USC 27. Ras-I Dowling, Cornerback, Virginia 28. Akeem Ayers, Outside Linebacker UCLA 29. Nate Solder, Offensive Tackle, Colorado 30. Rahim Moore, Free Safety, UCLA 31. Da'Quan Bowers, Defensive End, Clemson 32. Quan Sturdivant, Outside Linebacker, North Carolina 33. Brandon Harris, Cornerback, Miami 34. Von Miller, Outside Linebacker, Texas A&M 35. Jerrod Johnson, Quarterback, Texas A&M 36. Mark Herzlich, Outside Linebacker, Boston College 37. Christian Ponder, Quarterback, Florida State 38. Stefen Wisniewski, Offensive Guard/Center, Penn State * * * * * Available Now: Get your copy of the 2010 Post-Draft Recap & Rookie Fantasy Football Analysis right here. For more exclusive player reports order a copy of our first ever 2011 NFL Draft Prospectus, featuring the stars of tomorrow for '11 and beyond! CLICK HERE Follow us on Twitter @NFLDraftBible Let us know your thoughts, leave a comment below... Photo Courtesy of Dennis Hubbard 
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The Skinny: The first thing that stands out about Crick is his length. At 6’5” the Cornhusker is longer than many of the top interior defensive linemen the NFL has to offer. When he steps on the field you can’t help but be impressed by his awesome penetration power, as his 9.5 sacks (15 tackles for loss) indicate. While it is true that Ndamukong Suh drew a lot of attention away from Crick, the sophomore still had to take advantage of those opportunities. He did just that, and earned himself first team All-Big XII honors along with the Heisman Trophy finalist. The fact is that Crick’s first-step quickness and use of leverage combined with his length made him unblockable in his own right. Nevertheless, many scouts are taking a wait and see approach right now with Crick. The primary reason is that he has undoubtedly been a huge beneficiary of the double and triple teams that Suh drew on every single play. Now that Crick will be the one drawing those double teams many scouts are curious to see how he will hold up. Crick has elite length but his weight is sub par for his frame, particularly for someone who expects to make his living playing on the interior of the line battling against NFL linemen that regularly check in at 330-plus pounds. At his present weight it wouldn’t be unfair to label the Big XII product a ‘tweener—too light to be a defensive tackle and too athletically limited to play end. Even if Crick returns in 2011, this coming season could be the most important of his career in terms of his development as an all-around football player. If Crick ends up maxing out his potential he has every chance of hearing his name called in round one, possibly next April.