Justin Shaffer

Tagovailoa-Amos (6’2/270) comes from NFL bloodlines as the cousin of Tua Tagovailoa. For his first four years on campus, he was utilized as a 290-pound three tech. He broke out in 2019, logging 443 snaps with 24 pressures, 22 tackles, and 18 stops while earning a very respectable 77.8 PFF defensive grade. In 2021, Tagovailoa-Amos was asked to transition to edge defender, dropping 20 pounds and posting his best statistical season with 34 pressures, 25 tackles, 18 stops, six TFL, and two sacks in addition to a 70-yard fumble return for a touchdown. He didn’t distinguish himself during testing, combining for a lowly 4.09 relative athletic score. He is viewed as a tweener between three-tech and edge. His middling athleticism, stubby frame, and average production make Tagovailoa-Amos a reserve lineman candidate in the NFL.

Shaffer (6’4/314) was a two-year starter, culminating in second-team All-SEC honors for the national champs last year. He’s a fight-fire-with-fire brawler on the field with more than enough play strength for any skirmish. He drops a cruise ship anchor against bull-rushers. Although his pre-draft size-adjusted athletic composite finished in the 75th-percentile, Shaffer’s shoes can fill with cement against quick-twitch movers. That manifested in his testing with 43rd-percentile or worse showings in both the three cone and shuttle. He’s not a fit for zone teams because of his sluggishness out of his stance and because he labors to hit moving targets, but Shaffer brings home run power to the phone booth that will play in a downhill running game. He evokes Raiders 2020 fourth-round pick John Simpson.