Bjoern Werner 2013 NFL Draft prospect notes

First word: Florida State defensive end Bjoern Werner is somewhat of an enigma. After a strong start to his 2011 season, he faded somewhat down the stretch before a solid bowl game against Notre Dame. His up then down year could be credited to offensives paying more attention to him. It may also be due to Werner’s general lack of experience. The Berlin native didn’t start playing football until he was 15 and in high school was a standout against average competition in Connecticut. But there are certainly flashes of very good ability with Werner. In 2011, he was a big, strong presence on the defensive line. At FSU, Werner plays on the strong side over the right tackle. Coming into his junior season, Werner is down from 275 pounds to 258. That may be a consequence of offseason shoulder surgery that caused him to miss spring practice. Whether or not he’ll have his power from last season may ultimately determine if he’ll enter the 2013 NFL Draft.

Strengths:

- Possesses a good all-around game. Werner can be stout against the run but has the quickness to get into the backfield after quarterback.

- Is developing more moves than just his bull rush. Likes to use a dip and rip move around offensive tackles. Also uses a spin move to the inside with varying degrees of success.

- Werner has a nice combination of burst and power to get after the ball in the run game.

- Plays with great effort from the beginning of the game until the end.

Weaknesses:

- Although Werner fires off the line of scrimmage quickly, he doesn’t have a good counter move.

- Doesn’t have great speed to work the edge. Is more of a straight-forward rusher.

- Behind on his technique. When linemen engage Werner, he has to get better at using his hand on the inside.

- Won’t always keep his pad level low, especially through contact.