2015 NFL Draft: How High Can Louisville’s Lorenzo Mauldin Rise?
Sep 6, 2014; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals defensive end Lorenzo Mauldin (94) greets fans during the Card March before playing Murray State at Papa John
Louisville Cardinals pass rusher Lorenzo Mauldin is a player that is considered one of the best at his craft in all of college football. Even though through four games he only has one sack, he’s racked up 18 tackles, six of them for a loss.
Currently ranked by some outlets as the top senior defensive end in the country, Mauldin is playing more of a hybrid role this season and should start seeing the benefits really soon. He’s already got a knack for making plays behind the line of scrimmage. As a junior, he had 12.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks to go along with three forced fumbles. He had 6.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 tackles for loss the season prior as a sophomore.
This is a player who has been consistently on the rise over the last three years, and is showing signs this year of why he could be considered a first or second round draft pick. At 6’4″ 252 pounds, Mauldin has a leaner frame with long arms and might have to add 10-15 pounds of mass if he’s going to hold up against NFL offensive linemen, but he uses his length to his advantage to disengage from defenders.
One area where it seems he’s behind other top flight pass rushers that I’ve analyzed like Dante Fowler Jr. at Florida is that he is oftentimes over-aggressive, which either leads to a big play for Louisville in the form of a sack or tackle for loss, or it’ll result in the opposing team simply taking what Mauldin is giving them and exploiting his aggressiveness as a weakness.
What I love about his game is the fact that he’s relentless after the quarterback. As an evaluator, I look at whether or not a guy has good instincts getting to the quarterback, a good sense of the timing of the play based on his role in rushing the quarterback (is he delaying the rush? Does he know when to go inside or outside? Does he exploit offensive linemen after learning tendencies).
It seems that Mauldin currently picks and chooses when he uses all of those traits, but he at least understands them. The Louisville coaching staff moves him around the formation a bit, but he’s strongest standing up and rushing off the edge. That’s where I see his NFL fit.
I would love to know what you think about this prospect as well. He has the potential to be an exciting pass rusher at the next level if he continues to progress.