Overview

Position: EDGE

College: Ohio State

Class: Senior

Age: 22

 

Measurables

Height: 6’4 1/4″

Weight: 260 lbs.

Arm length: 31 3/4″

Hand size: 9 3/4″

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: N/A

10-yard split: N/A

Vertical jump: N/A

Broad jump: N/A

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

 

Strengths

Plays extremely hard. Exceptional overall strength. Great instincts and reaction time. Extremely quick to find the ball. Very strong and reliable tackler. Aggressive as a tackler. Strong and active hands to shed. Terrific overall play recognition and intelligence. Excellent technique staying square and reading the play as a backside defender. Tremendous effort and good speed in backside pursuit. Will chase the ball to the opposite sideline. Very good quickness and feel to defeat reach blocks. Quick skipping inside to avoid a blocker playing the run. Very strong holding his ground on the edge. Does a great job extending to hold his positioning. Strong and physical taking on pullers. Outstanding effort to work through double teams. Will overpower tight ends. Aggressive scraping down the line of scrimmage to create traffic in short-yardage situations. Impressive strength when he gets to the frame of offensive tackles on power rushes. Very accurate attacking the chest of blockers. Flashes serious power on the bull rush. Uses his hands to fight off the reach of blockers. Quick hands on swipe moves. Has shown he can win with a shallower speed rush. Good ability to flatten. Very quick inside move. Has shown an inside spin move. Natural feel for tracking a scrambling quarterback. Hits into the quarterback with force. Quick and accurate reaching for deflections on the edge. Mostly played the left edge but has experience on both sides. Comfortable standing up or with his hand in the dirt. Has seen snaps rushing from the interior. Good athleticism in zone drops. Sealed College Football Playoff win over Texas with strip sack and fumble returned for a touchdown in the red zone (2024).

 

Weaknesses

Below-average length. Could have more speed to convert at the top of rushes. Hasn’t shown an ability to consistently win on the speed rush. Can stall out as a rusher when blockers attach. Rip move lacks effectiveness. Would like to see more rush counters. Average fluidity and acceleration to capitalize on inside moves and stunts. Some stiffness and trouble breaking down to tackle.

 

NFL comparison

George Karlaftis

 

Conclusion

Overall, Sawyer is a strong, instinctive edge defender with great play recognition and impressive quickness. The lack of speed/burst and length could limit his appeal for some teams, but he’s a solid target in the third round.

 

Big Board ranking: #88 | Positional ranking: #14