Mike Mayock: Tuitt’s Future Is 4-3 Tackle, 3-4 End
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell
WalterFootball.com was able to catch up to NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock at the East-West Shrine practices this past week. While Mayock was beginning to get to know the 2014 NFL Draft prospects, the players he’s very familiar with are the Notre Dame athletes he has seen for years as the Irish’s TV color analyst.
One of the most interesting prospects from Notre Dame is defensive end Stephon Tuitt. The 6-foot-6, 320-pound Tuitt took college football by storm in 2012 when he was 20 pounds lighter. He recorded 12 sacks, 47 tackles and three forced fumbles as a sophomore. After offseason surgery, Tuitt’s weight rose and he lost some of his explosiveness off the edge. Still, he amassed 49 tackles with nine tackles for a loss, 7.5 sacks, two passes batted and a pick-six in 2013. Mayock thinks that Tuitt is unlikely to return to being the kind of player he was the year before.
“I just think he’s a young man that is just growing into an awfully large body,” said Mayock. “Typically we see these guys get heavier and not lighter as they get older. I think he’s going to struggle to get under 315 or 320.”
Mayock feels that Tuitt’s best fit could come as a 3-4 defensive end, but he still could play in a 4-3.
“If he’s 320 pounds he’s going to be inside,” said Mayock. “I think really his value for a 4-3 team is just the ability to move him around in sub situations on third downs and be disruptive in other ways. I think it’ll be up to a defensive coordinator to be creative with him. He’s long, he has some edge rush ability at 320 pounds, and I think in this day and age the more pressure you can get up the middle on quarterbacks the better your defense is going to play. Getting guys like Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning or Tom Brady off a spot. I think [Tuitt] is more of an inside guy that can move around.”
The Notre Dame prospect most likely to be selected first is defensive tackle Louis Nix. The heavy defensive tackle is viewed by many to be a prototype 3-4 nose tackle, but Mayock thinks 4-3 teams will like Nix as well.
“I think he could fit either way. He’s got some pass-rush ability as an inside guy,” said Mayock. “Obviously he’s stout against the run. I think the 3-4 teams are going to love him and I think the 4-3 teams are going to say he’s fine as a nose.”
A potential third-day sleeper who could be a nice value pick is Notre Dame receiver T.J. Jones. As a senior, Jones had 70 receptions for 1,108 yards with nine touchdowns. Jones (5-11, 195) impressed Mayock in 2013.
“I thought he had a breakout year this year,” said Mayock. “I thought he grew up a lot. I thought he was very serious about his craft and I thought he had a really good year. I think he can be a punt returner. I don’t know if he can be a core special teams player because of his size, but I think he can be a slot receiver, and I agree he could be a late-round value.”
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