2023 NFL Draft Player Profiles: LSU DT Jaquelin Roy

From now until the 2023 NFL Draft takes place, we hope to scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top 10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections and priority undrafted free agents. Today, I will be profiling a defensive tackle from LSU.

#99 Jaquelin Roy, DL, LSU (JR) — 6026, 315 lbs.

Combine/Pro Day

Measurements

The Good

— Size to play inside
— Good upper body and hand strength
— Heavy handed punch
— Can push the pocket with good pad level
— Holds his ground in one-on-one blocks
— Strength to stack and shed to make plays withing his gaps
— Solid overall athleticism

The Bad

— Slow off the ball
— Pops up rather than out exposing his chest
— Has false steps in his pass rush
— Limited pass rush plan
— Doesn’t always counter well with his hands
— Gave up ground easily versus double teams
— Doesn’t make a lot of plays outside of his gaps
— Will lose sight of the ball through the mesh point

Bio

— 2022 – 49 tackles, 25 solo, 3.5 TFL, .5 sack, 1 FR
— Career – 97 tackles, 46 solo, 13.5 TFL, 4 sacks, 3 FR, 1 FF
— 35 games, 14 starts
— 4-star prospect out of high school
— Prepped at University High School on the LSU campus
— Had offers from Alabama, Georgia, Texas and many others
— Birthday 10/22/2000 (age 22)

Tape Breakdown

Jaquelin Roy is and early entry into the NFL Draft. The junior set a career high in tackles this past season. He has experience lining up from the 0 tech defensive tackle over the center out to the 3 tech shaded outside the guard.

As a pass rusher, he shows good hand placement and punch strength to stun offensive lineman. When he plays with good pad level he was able to get a solid push on power rushes to collapse the pocket. He has good upper body strength to yank blockers out of his way. Also in his pass rush list he used a rip move as well as a club/swim and showed some better effectiveness later in the season. He makes the effort to get his hands up in throwing lanes.

Vs Mississippi, Roy (99) over the center will use his hand and upper body strength to get off the block and trip up the quarterback.

Vs Alabama, with good pad level he uses his strength to drive the center back in the pocket.

Against the run, when facing Down, Base and Drive blocks he shows solid pad level and play strength to hold his ground. With a good punch and hand strength the can engage to control the blocker He displays good play strength to stack and make tackles withing his gaps. Against Zone blocks to the outside he was solid trying to prevent the Reach block with solid lateral agility.

At Auburn, he stands up the center and sheds the block to make the tackle in his gap.

Vs Tennessee, he is late getting his hand down but he’s able to hold off the block of the left guard keeping his left arm clean to make the tackle.

Vs Georgia, in the SEC championship game was the best he played in the games watched which may hold hope for continued improvement. Here he splits a combo block to make the tackle at the LOS. Then he swims over the center to nearly make a tackle in the backfield.

He aligns way off the ball and is often late getting ready. Some of that can probably be attributed to how he is coached and the defensive call coming in late versus up tempo offenses but some was on him. His snap quickness is marginal, and he has false steps in his approach often with his first step being backward. He pops up out of his stance rather than out toward the blocker. This leaves his chest open allowing blockers an advantage. His pass rush plan and use of hand counters is very limited. If a rush doesn’t work, he will often stop his feet.

Vs Mississippi, on the pass rush he’s late with his hands allowing the center into his chest. While the other pass rushers get depth, he gets stonewalled.

Vs Alabama, he is lined up over the center. At the snap, he will take a step back with his right foot leaving him well behind the other pass rushers.

Against double team blocks he displayed marginal technique and gave up ground easily. His overall aggressiveness is marginal and rarely chases the play with intent. Snap quickness keeps him from being consistently able to shoot gaps. He does not make a lot of plays outside the tackle box and will lose sight of the ball through the mesh point.

Vs Tennessee, he gets folded by the double team block.

Conclusion

Overall, Roy has good upper body and hand strength showing a good punch and the ability to shed blockers in the pass and run game. When he plays with good pad level he is solid collapsing the pocket and showed some effectiveness late in the year with pass rushes. He is solid in one-on-one blocking scenarios and can make plays within his gap.

Areas to improve include his snap quickness, pad level consistency and aggressiveness. He needs to continue to improve his pass rush plan and eliminate false steps. His techniques versus double team blocks need to be much better.

There are some attributes to like and some building blocks to work with here. There are also some things that need a lot of work. Can he be coached up to improve where he needs to be a better all-around defender? Right now, I see a two down rotational player who is best as a 0/1 tech who can also fill in at the 3 tech. Depending on how long he measures he may be able to fill in at the 5 tech as well. I don’t like to use the term “flashes” but Roy does show some plays that make you take notice, but he can go multiple series with limited contributions as well.

For a player comp I am going with Davon Godchaux who also played at LSU. They are of comparable size, have a good punch and handle single blockers well but have issues with their pass rush and neutralizing double team blocks.

Projection: Mid-Day Three

Depot Draft Grade:  6.6 End of Roster/Practice Squad (5th Round)

Games Watched: 2022 – At Auburn, vs Tennessee, Vs Mississippi, Vs Alabama, Vs Georgia