Jack Sawyer, Edge Defender

Height/Weight: 6-5, 260 lbs

Age: 22

School: Ohio State Buckeyes

Season	Pass Rush Pressures	Sacks	Total Tackles
2021	11	4	9
2022	22	3	22
2023	37	8	51
2024	42	5	33
Career Totals	112	20	115

Pros:

• Incredible Strength and Bull Rush
  Jack Sawyer's entire game is built around his phenomenal strength. That shows up in every facet, but especially in how he rushes the passer. His bull rush, regardless of how he sets it up, is ferocious. If Sawyer wins the initial point of contact the opposing blocker is usually in their quarterback's lap immediately.
• Gap Discipline and Leverage Control
  Some edge defenders get lost in the run game, pursuing sacks so hard that they find themselves out of place. Sawyer does a great job controlling offensive lineman rather than the other way around. He stays committed to his assignment and wins with leverage thanks (again) to his strength.
• Strong Block Shedding and Physicality in Run Defense
  There's a theme here, but Sawyer quite often sheds blocks with ease thanks to his ridiculous strength. Even if he doesn't completely shed contact, Sawyer's go-to move is to violently rip one arm free, somehow hold his ground, and then dive into the fray attempting to impede runners' progress any way that he can. It's a bit of a wild style, but it works more often than not.

On the second play of the game, Ohio State DE Jack Sawyer gets a hand on Northwestern QB Jack Lausch. LB Sonny Styles finishes the play, recording a 2nd-and-6 sack. pic.twitter.com/2hBn86G4mZ

— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) November 16, 2024

Cons

• Limited Pass Rush Moves
  Sawyer does many things well, but winning with a wide variety of pass rush moves is not one of them. He wins with his bull rush, tries to throw in a spin and swim here and there, but there's some real room for refinement.
• Arm Tackle Habit
  This issue is partially influenced by his go-to leverage moves in run defense, but Sawyer misses tackles relying a bit too much on his arms. When he does get clear path to a tackle he wraps up and drives into the ground with force, but he needs to clean his typical technique up. He's missing nearly 20% of his tackle attempts in his final season.
• Questionable Agility and Flexibility
  Sawyer is rather laughably inflexible for an edge rusher. He still finds great success as a pass rusher, but often stands up straight and leans into his bull rush by default because he lacks the bend to get around the edge fast enough or at the optimal angle. This could be a problem at the next level.

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Player Evaluation:

Jack Sawyer is never going to lack for natural athleticism, strength, and length. He is a monstrous force to be reckoned with in both the run and pass games. However, he could use some refinement and increased agility as a pass rusher paired with some improved tackle consistency in the run game.

It's the little improvements that will make Sawyer reach his true potential. His strength and gap discipline should earn him early snaps for any NFL team. But he'll need to add some layers to his game, otherwise offenses will adjust and scheme his impact out of the game.

Player Comparison:

Arden Key
Just like Arden Key, Jack Sawyer destroys offensive lines with his strength. Key also struggles with stereotypical flexibility and agility, but offsets that by tweaking his attack with small pulls and swim moves mid-pass-rush to bring consistent pressure. Sawyer should be able to make small changes with his hands work that yield similarly great results.

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A to Z Rankings:

A to Z Big Board Ranking: 80

A to Z Draft Grade: 7.19 (out of 10)

Draft projection: Day Two (7.01-8.00)

2025 NFL Draft Top 50 Big Board: Surprising QB depth and edge rushers likely dominate early rounds

Maybe the 2025 NFL Draft is deeper than we thought

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