Round Five: Hercules Mata’afa, Edge, Washington State
At this point in the draft, the elite players are no more. There are no guarantees in the draft anyway, but especially on day three. The educating guessing becomes more of a premium as general managers wade their way through the back-end of the draft. Edge pass rusher is definitely a position that falls off after day one.
That being said, the Jets still need to take a shot at one in this draft. Even if that player is a situational pass rusher, the Jets have needed one for the longest time. They never really replaced John Abraham, although they have tried. To play the type of defense thatTodd Bowleswants to play, he has to have the horses to rush the passer. It also helps when trying to close out games and secure leads.
Take a look atHercules Mata’afa:
| Tackles | Def Int | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Solo | Ast | Tot | Loss | Sk | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | Yds | TD | FF |
| *2015 | Washington State | Pac-12 | FR | DE | 11 | 18 | 11 | 29 | 9.5 | 5.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
| *2016 | Washington State | Pac-12 | SO | DL | 12 | 34 | 13 | 47 | 13.5 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| *2017 | Washington State | Pac-12 | JR | DL | 11 | 31 | 14 | 45 | 22.5 | 10.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |||
| Career | Washington State | 83 | 38 | 121 | 45.5 | 21.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
Numbers are numbers, and this guy spent a lot of time in the offensive backfield.
There is technique work to be done here, no doubt. However, this kid has a motor that doesn’t quit. He has one goal, to get to the football. Mata’afa will do whatever it takes to get to the ball carrier. He deserves a shot here in round five.
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