Mario Edwards Jr. Could be the Steal of the Draft

Jan 6, 2014; Pasadena, CA, USA; Florida State Seminoles defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. (15) tries to sack Auburn Tigers quarterback Nick Marshall (14) during the first half of the 2014 BCS National Championship game at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

What Happened at FSU?

Head coach Jack Del Rio described Edwards Jr. as having “senioritis” last year to explain his production. But this is a No. 1 recruit going to school and having only eight sacks to show for his three years. Scouts saw that he had gotten up to 315 pounds at times and that became the explanation.

And Edwards Jr. took that, telling, Raiders.com, “Coming out, No. 1 in the nation and all that stuff, you have people saying you’re this and that, and all you’ve got to do is this and this and that. You kind of relax and take the foot off the pedal a little bit. But now, knowing that was the wrong thing to do, because once you get comfortable, as my dad said, you either get worse or you get better.”

That may be the case but not for all three years and this is a guy that started as a true freshman. He didn’t have more sacks because he didn’t get to what he does best, instead being a two-gap player (3-4 end). He rushed off the edge once in a while but that’s not good for a guy that bulked up to 315 pounds to play 3-4 end, the real reason why he got so heavy.

Edwards Jr. told Raiders.com, “If they really understood that coming into FSU there was never a set weight for me to be at…the whole motto or the whole goal was as long as you can run and do what we ask you to do I don’t care what your weight is. And I’ve even asked [Florida State Head] Coach Jimbo [Fisher] to what was just too high of a weight and he replied, if you’re 310, 312 then they have to deal with you being at 310, 312. Don’t worry about the weight just play. It was never a structured weight for me to be at.”

Next: What the Raiders do With Him