2010 Draft: Prospect Watch- Clemson’s Ricky Sapp

One of the biggest problems with the Jets last season, specifically in the AFC Championship Game, was the inability to get pressure off the edge without sending 6-8 guys. Rex Ryan was able to get pressure from his creative blitzing schemes, but this left his secondary players out on an island, allowing Peyton Manning to have a field day. In 2008, the Jets drafted Vernon Gholston for his pass rushing abilities, but Vernon doesn’t appear to possess the skills required to be successful at the NFL level.

In the 3-4 defensive scheme, the pressure is designed to come from the outside linebackers and not so much the defensive ends.  Calvin Pace is the team’s best edge rusher and Bryan Thomas is a serviceable player, but the Jets could definitely benefit by adding another OLB with pass rushing abilities.

Ricky Sapp, a defensive end out of Clemson, is a great fit for a 3-4 outside linebacker at the NFL level. Sapp possesses great pass rushing abilities and could develop into a great edge rusher. In his senior season, Sapp finished with 60 tackles, 15 tackles-for- loss, and 5 sacks. Ricky Sapp has a wide range of pass rushing moves, and uses them all in his relentless pursuit of the quarterback. Sapp seems to play his best in pressure situations and big games. His best game as a senior came in the ACC Championship Game, where Sapp recorded 6 solo tackles and 1 tackle-for-loss.

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Last year the Clemson defense was often overshadowed by the offense, no matter how disappointing it ended up being. Ricky Sapp has continued to produce for the Tigers. In 2006, the 6-4 defensive end ranked second on the team in sacks behind Gaines Adams; that was as a freshman with limited playing time. In 2007, Sapp continued to develop into a solid pass rusher from Clemson’s bandit end position. During the 2008 campaign Sapp tallied ten tackles-for-loss, two sacks and 28 total tackles.Those lackluster numbers kept Sapp in college for his senior season despite early indications that he would be ready for the NFL after his junior campaign. There were some injury issues last year that kept his numbers down and he is already proving to be more productive during the 2009 season. Through five games he has already nearly equaled his tackles and tackles-for-loss numbers and has matched his two sacks of a season ago

3/1 Update: Sapp is one of those defensive ends that projects quite well as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme. As an outside linebacker, he is quickly moving up draft boards after proving to scouts that he has the skills to play that position. His instincts and relative quickness make him an intriguing option as an outside linebacker and he has snuck into the first round for now.

Ricky Sapp is great fit for a 3-4 outside linebacker, but is probably best used as a pass rushing specialist rather than an every down linebacker. Sapp is a good tackler, but he doesn’t have enough power to disengage from blockers in run situations. Also, since Sapp is overly aggressive in the pass rush, he leaves himself open to be run at (see this in the video below). He needs to become more disciplined and learn to control himself better.  Sapp was projected to be taken in the 2nd or 3rd rounds, but is quickly shooting up the boards- some even have him as a late 1st rounder now. If the Jets are interested in Sapp, he will most likely be there at 29 when the Jets are on the board in the first. It might be a bit of a reach to take him at 29, so the Jets could trade back into the early 2nd and acquire another pick in the process.

Here is a video of Ricky Sapp at Clemson:

Tags: 2010 draft, Ricky Sapp