Jonathan Garvin was four-star recruit from Lake Worth, Florida who enrolled early at Miami and turned heads from the time he hit the practice field. Recruited by former DL coach, Craig Kuligowski, Garvin came to Miami over offers from Brent Venables at Clemson and Larry Scott at Tennessee.
Garvin had two sacks as a true freshman and then played in 25 games over the next two seasons, amassing a total of 12.5 sacks, 29 tackles for loss, and a touchdown his sophomore year against North Carolina.
Pre-Draft Measurables
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 263
Arm: 34”
Hand: 9 5/8”
Wingspan: 80.5”
225 LB. Bench Reps: 23
Vertical Jump: 36”
Broad Jump: 10’5”
Strengths
Stack-and-Shed
Garvin is able to use his length to lock his arms out and control blockers while still having the athleticism and strength to shed the blocker and make the tackle on ball carriers on the edges. A team that use controlled rush schemes will value his ability to set the edge and use power when rushing the passer. Teams that employ more of a “Wide-9” scheme and ask the edge player to run the arc and get to the passer will value Garvin lower. Teams like the Patriots, Dolphins, Dolphins, Titans will value Garvin’s skillset in this regard highly.
Intelligence
Earlier in the year, Louisville hit a big play to Garvin’s side with Tutu Atwell on a jet sweep where Garvin bit too far inside and gave up the edge. Later in the same game Louisville tried this play again, only this time Garvin diagnosed the play and made a TFL. You saw many examples of Garvin learning in-game from what the opponent was trying to do against him and then adjusting to make big plays.
Versatility
Garvin has the ability to play from both a stand-up position as an OLB in a 3-4 scheme and as a weakside DE with his hand in the ground in a 4-3. He has a powerful bull rush, which is a prerequisite for a pass rusher to have versatility, as if an OT is not scared of your ability to go through his chest, he will just set deep on you every play confident in his ability to re-anchor and hold you out with power. Garvin has the versatility to beat OT’s with power if they expose their chest, or the ability to use his athleticism to get around the edge.
Weaknesses
Athleticism
When projecting edge defenders from the college level to the professional level, one of the biggest reasons for misses is the player just doesn’t have the requisite athleticism to defeat OT’s with a speed rush. While Garvin has explosive qualities, he didn’t show the fluidity this year needed to be a premium pass rusher.
Motor
Many within NFL circles are convinced that Garvin was “protecting” himself during his draft year and not playing with a high motor. The result is that Garvin lacked the finishing qualities of a top-level NFL player this year. In the NFL, more than half of the sacks league-wide are a result of a defender’s effort, rather than the player simply defeating the OT around the edge quickly. If Garvin does not display more effort, he will lack value to an NFL roster.
Draft Projection: 5th round
In the end, I believe Garvin ends up being the highest draft selection for Miami this year. He has potential as a versatile edge defender who will do dirty work in setting the edge and has some pass rush ability. Questions remain about his passion for the game after a Junior season that saw him regress statistically and put out some film that showed a lack of motor. Was Garvin protecting himself, or did he peak early in college and lack further upside?
I’m betting on Garvin exceeding his draft position and making a nice find for an NFL team on the third day of the draft.
Garvin had two sacks as a true freshman and then played in 25 games over the next two seasons, amassing a total of 12.5 sacks, 29 tackles for loss, and a touchdown his sophomore year against North Carolina.
Pre-Draft Measurables
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 263
Arm: 34”
Hand: 9 5/8”
Wingspan: 80.5”
225 LB. Bench Reps: 23
Vertical Jump: 36”
Broad Jump: 10’5”
Strengths
Stack-and-Shed
Garvin is able to use his length to lock his arms out and control blockers while still having the athleticism and strength to shed the blocker and make the tackle on ball carriers on the edges. A team that use controlled rush schemes will value his ability to set the edge and use power when rushing the passer. Teams that employ more of a “Wide-9” scheme and ask the edge player to run the arc and get to the passer will value Garvin lower. Teams like the Patriots, Dolphins, Dolphins, Titans will value Garvin’s skillset in this regard highly.
Intelligence
Earlier in the year, Louisville hit a big play to Garvin’s side with Tutu Atwell on a jet sweep where Garvin bit too far inside and gave up the edge. Later in the same game Louisville tried this play again, only this time Garvin diagnosed the play and made a TFL. You saw many examples of Garvin learning in-game from what the opponent was trying to do against him and then adjusting to make big plays.
Versatility
Garvin has the ability to play from both a stand-up position as an OLB in a 3-4 scheme and as a weakside DE with his hand in the ground in a 4-3. He has a powerful bull rush, which is a prerequisite for a pass rusher to have versatility, as if an OT is not scared of your ability to go through his chest, he will just set deep on you every play confident in his ability to re-anchor and hold you out with power. Garvin has the versatility to beat OT’s with power if they expose their chest, or the ability to use his athleticism to get around the edge.
Weaknesses
Athleticism
When projecting edge defenders from the college level to the professional level, one of the biggest reasons for misses is the player just doesn’t have the requisite athleticism to defeat OT’s with a speed rush. While Garvin has explosive qualities, he didn’t show the fluidity this year needed to be a premium pass rusher.
Motor
Many within NFL circles are convinced that Garvin was “protecting” himself during his draft year and not playing with a high motor. The result is that Garvin lacked the finishing qualities of a top-level NFL player this year. In the NFL, more than half of the sacks league-wide are a result of a defender’s effort, rather than the player simply defeating the OT around the edge quickly. If Garvin does not display more effort, he will lack value to an NFL roster.
Draft Projection: 5th round
In the end, I believe Garvin ends up being the highest draft selection for Miami this year. He has potential as a versatile edge defender who will do dirty work in setting the edge and has some pass rush ability. Questions remain about his passion for the game after a Junior season that saw him regress statistically and put out some film that showed a lack of motor. Was Garvin protecting himself, or did he peak early in college and lack further upside?
I’m betting on Garvin exceeding his draft position and making a nice find for an NFL team on the third day of the draft.
