The Lions Draft Prospect of the Day for today was the nation’s leader in sacks in 2023 and hopes to continue finding pass rush success at the next level.
The focus is on players who should hold some appeal to the Lions in the draft, with a focus on the more likely positions the team will be targeting. If you’re looking for quarterbacks or upper-echelon running backs, you’re probably not going to find those here. Outside cornerbacks, defensive linemen, interior offensive linemen, some wide receivers and offensive tackles figure to appear along the path to April’s draft. Not all of the players will be top-100 prospects, either.
Today’s prospect is a middle-round pass rusher with a lot of collegiate productivity.
Javon Solomon, EDGE, Troy
Height: 6-foot and 3/4 inches
Weight: 246 pounds (measured at combine)
A pure pass rusher with the pelts on the wall to prove it, Solomon led the FBS with 16 sacks in 2023. It was his second time hitting double-digits in sacks (11 in 2021) for the Florida native and five-year collegian. Primarily playing over the tackle or aligned wider, Solomon finished 42.5 plays in the backfield in his final three seasons at Troy. He also forced three fumbles, all in 2023, and recovered four of them in his time with the Trojans.
Solomon finished as Troy’s all-time leader in sacks, breaking DeMarcus Ware’s school record by 4.5. After the season, he played in the Senior Bowl.
Solomon turned 23 in January.
What I like
- Polished arsenal of pass rush moves
- Good burst off the snap
- Flattens around the corner to the QB very well
- Explosive athlete with a 37″ vertical and almost 10-foot broad jump
- Really long arms (almost 34″) and big wingspan (80″) for his height and he knows how to use it to his advantage
- Good finisher in the backfield, doesn’t overrun opportunities
- His duck-under-and-up rip move crossing the face of a tackle is as good of a signature pass rush move as anyone in this draft class
- Showed on-the-fly learning and adaptation in Senior Bowl practices; mixed up his approach and adapted to how a blocker faced him earlier
What worries me going into the NFL
- Lack of length overall, notably in the run game on the edge
- Very little production outside of sacks; of his 26 solo tackles in 2023, 16 were sacks in playing 592 snaps
- Can have blinders on in the pass rush
- Doesn’t lack strength but doesn’t always play with strength against length on the edge
- Active with his hands in shedding blocks but doesn’t always sync that with his feet well
Best game I watched: James Madison
Worst game I watched: Duke (bowl game)
Overall
Solomon’s frame and his game both bear some striking similarities to longtime NFL EDGE Elvis Dumervil. Like Dumervil, Solomon lacks height but knows how to use his stature to his advantage, especially when he can get off the snap quickly. But there is work needed in Solomon’s game before he belongs in the same breath as the five-time Pro Bowler. Solomon doesn’t have the playing strength or consistent nose for the ball Dumervil had, and he’s more of a stand-up pass-rush package specialist right now than a 3-down player like Dumervil was in Denver.
The run defense is functional enough to see Solomon’s potential to grow into that, and it’ll likely be from the same realm of the draft; Dumervil was the No. 126 overall player in the 2006 NFL draft, and that’s the general projected range for the Troy standout. He’s the type of prospect Lions GM Brad Holmes might consider packaging lower picks to go and get in the fourth round, if he’s still attainable there.