80 Prospects in 80 Days: USC DL Jay Tufele

Each day leading up to the 2021 NFL Draft, we will take a look at prospects that should be on the Carolina Panthers' radar. We will look at roughly eleven prospects per round to give a better idea of potential draftees beyond just the first round.

Here's our schedule for the next 80 days:

1st Round: Feb. 8th - Feb. 21st

2nd Round: Feb. 22nd - Mar. 6th

3rd Round: Mar. 7th - Mar. 18th

4th Round: Mar. 19th - Mar. 29th

5th Round: Mar. 30th - Apr. 8th

6th Round: Apr. 9th - Apr. 18th

7th Round: Apr. 19th - Apr. 28th

Prospect No. 37: DL Jay Tufele

College: USC

Height: 6'3" Weight: 315 lbs

Draft range: Early 3rd round

Analysis: Jay Tufele is one of the several players that decided to opt-out of this past season due to concerns of the pandemic. Had this been a normal year, I believe you would have seen Tufele's stock rise immensely. He's an extremely athletic interior defensive lineman that has a ton of range. Tufele excels in the run game but has some room for growth as an interior pass rusher.

Analysis from the NFL Draft Bible on Sports Illustrated:

Tufele made up a fraction of one of the most talented defensive units in all of college football. Boasting a powerful frame for the position, Tufele is a gifted athlete who moves incredibly well for a man of his size. He makes some plays in pursuit that just shouldn’t be possible for an interior player with his type of size. There is a substantial amount of pass-rush upside here. Tufele can cover a lot of ground and has some notable closing burst to make a nice amount of plays outside his frame. He demonstrates a surprising amount of flexibility for the position, making it a difficult matchup for opposing interior offensive linemen. In the run game, he flashes the ability to shoot gaps and create a variety of chaos in the backfield. When posed with playing offensive linemen down the middle, he lacks the physicality to hold up consistently at the point of attack. His hands can be extremely hit or miss, lacking the pop to assert early leverage. There is a clear argument for Tufele’s best football still being in front of him, but the early returns could leave a lot to be desired. More athlete than a football player now, Tufele does not impact the game to the degree you might imagine from this type of skill set. In the end, NFL teams will ultimately clamor for this type of athletic profile.

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