NFL Draft picks 2015: Lorenzo Mauldin taken by Jets in 3rd round

A tall edge rusher with long arms, Mauldin was one of the key figures on a Louisville defense that finished each of the last two seasons ranked inside the top 25 in the nation. Mauldin’s individual numbers dipped last season, but he remained as a productive in terms of disruption.

Mauldin has one of the best motors among the edge rushers in his draft class. He’s always active, never quitting on plays when many others would. When he can’t get to the quarterback, he’ll throw an arm up to try to bat down the pass.

As a result, he has eight deflections during his Louisville career. He’s also a capable run defender despite being a little light for a defensive lineman.

That motor and approach is important, because Mauldin isn’t a great athlete by NFL standards. He possesses only functional change of direction speed and is mechanical in his movement. As a result, offensive linemen have more success than they should getting underneath his pads and pushing him out of plays.

Mauldin will have to add weight to become a full-time defensive lineman at the next level, though that could sacrifice more speed and quickness. He might be better suited as a 3-4 rush linebacker.

Mauldin’s combine results were middle of the range for his position. He ran a 4.85 second 40-yard dash to go with his 7.47 second 3-cone drill. His jumps were also just satisfactory, with a 32” jump in the vertical leap along with a 112” showing in the broad jump.

Mauldin finished his college career with 113 tackles, 31.5 tackles for loss, 20.5 sacks, eight batted passes and five forced fumbles. He earned All-ACC honors this past season as well as second-team All-AAC honors the year before.