Top Defensive Linemen in NFL Draft: Jordan Elliott

Missouri’s Jordan Elliott ranks No. 4 among this year’s defensive line prospects.

Missouri’s Jordan Elliott ranks No. 4 among this year’s defensive line prospects.

For Jordan Elliott, less is more.

As a true freshman at Texas in 2016, Elliott weighed as much as 343 pounds. He left Texas after that season, redshirted in 2017 and played in 13 games off the bench in 2018. Between the 2018 and 2019 seasons, he dropped 30 pounds.

“I thought he was a little bit overweight at times when he first got here, maybe even his first year, and he’s transformed his body,” Missouri coach Barry Odom said in October. “He’s transformed, more than anything, his motor and his willingness to do it. He’s a talented guy that’s gonna play ball for a long time.”

Video: The SI.com mock draft

Elliott started 12 games in 2019 and recorded three sacks and 10 tackles for losses to earn second-team All-American. Going inside the numbers, Elliott’s season was more impressive. Of our top 25 defensive line prospects, Elliott ranked eighth with a pressure rate of 10 percent, according to Sports Info Solutions. Against the run, he was eighth in ProFootballFocus.com’s run-stop percentage, a metric that measures impact tackles.

“I’m a balanced D-lineman who has above-average speed but really aggressive. I can rush the passer and also can play the run,” Elliott said at the Scouting Combine.

Speaking of the Scouting Combine, Elliott carried 302 pounds on his 6-foot-3 7/8 frame. He ran his 40 in 5.02 seconds, including an exceptional 10-yard time of 1.71 seconds.

Elliott didn’t only learn about the need to get his weight under control during that lone year in Texas. He also learned a lesson about responsibility. One night, he forgot to hang his parking pass on his car and it was towed away. Because he didn’t really need the car to get around campus, he didn’t act urgently to get it back. Eventually, it was auctioned off. “I didn’t know where they were towing it, and they would never answer the phone,” he told The Athletic. “Two weeks go by, and I’m still trying to find it, and I go to this lot where they towed my car. And the car’s gone.”

What we like

Elliott played from tackle to tackle on Missouri’s defensive line. Wherever he lined up, and whatever the down-and-distance situation, Elliott won with regularity. He did it with the explosion that showed up in that 10-yard time, which was the fourth-fastest among the defensive linemen at the Combine, and excellent hand usage to discard blockers. In the NFL, defensive linemen who can stop the run or rush the passer get their foot in the door. Defensive linemen who can do both get paid. Elliott has a chance to be a true three-down threat.

What we don’t like

Elliott was a one-year wonder. He’s worked hard to put himself in position to be a first-round pick. Will he continue to do the right things once he gets paid? As noted with previous prospects, pad level is something he’ll have to focus on – especially late in games and the snap count is up.

Bill Huber’s Defensive Line Profiles

No. 1: Auburn’s Derrick Brown

No. 2: South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw

No. 3: TCU’s Ross Blacklock

No. 4: Missouri’s Jordan Elliott

No. 5: Auburn’s Marlon Davidson

No. 6: Texas A&M’s Justin Madubuike

No. 7: Alabama’s Raekwon Davis

No. 8: Oklahoma’s Neville Gallimore

Nos. 9-20: Best of the Rest