2020 NFL Draft: Yetur Gross-Matos suspended by Penn State
One of the top 2020 NFL Draft edge rushers has been suspended by his school.
Penn State’s Yetur Gross-Matos is expected to be one of the top defensive prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft. He is an impressive edge rusher who undoubtedly has the ability to be a top ten pick next April. That being said, a recent suspension may raise some questions about the talented defender.
On Friday, Penn State head coach James Franklin announced that Gross-Matos (along with teammate Journey Brown) is currently suspended from the team. All we know is that he was suspended for a violation of team rules and both players will be allowed to return on August 1st.
As of now, we do not know if there will be any suspensions that will force either player out of action. While this may not seem like a huge deal at the moment, this suspension could certainly raise some concerns about Gross-Matos when the NFL draft rolls around.
He is undoubtedly a talented prospect with an extremely bright future. Last season, as a sophomore, Gross-Matos sacked the quarterback eight times, he also piled up 54 total tackles and 20 tackles for loss.
He is an absolute menace off of the edge, showing impressive initial burst and tremendous athleticism. Gross-Matos bends around the edge with ease and shows fantastic closing speed when attacking the quarterback. He does need to refine his game a bit, but based on his 2018 tape, there is a lot of talent to work with here.
Iowa’s A.J. Epenesa and Ohio State’s Chase Young are commonly considered the top edge rushers in the 2020 NFL Draft, and for good reason. They are both incredibly talented players who have massive upside at the next level. However, do not sleep on Gross-Matos. With a strong junior season, he can put himself in the conversation with guys like Epenesa and Young.
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This suspension just is not a great start. It doesn’t seem likely that Gross-Matos will miss any games for this “violation of team rules”, but this will place doubt in the minds of scouts and NFL decision-makers. He can still overcome this with strong play on the field, but a red flag for character is not something that any draft prospect wants.