11. Jabari Zuniga, Florida
Height: 6’3″ Weight: 264
40-Yard Dash: 4.64
Bench Press: 29 reps
Vertical Jump: 33.0
Broad Jump: 127.0
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A
60-Yard Shuttle:N/A
Bio: Zuniga didn’t play football until high school; he was a basketball guy before that. He didn’t catch much notice as a 5-foot-11, 210-pound junior, but when the senior growth spurt happened (perhaps inspired by his 6-foot-8 father Carlos, who played basketball at Tulane), colleges started paying attention. Zuniga wanted to attend LSU, committed to NC State, and flipped to Florida after a late recruiting trip. Zuniga added muscle to his newfound height during a redshirt year with the Gators, and he amassed 118 tackles, 34.5 tackles for loss, 18.5 sacks, and one forced fumble over four seasons. Injuries limited Zuniga to six games in 2019, but he still racked up three sacks and seven tackles for loss.
Stat to Know: Zuniga had just 188 snaps in 2019, but he distributed them well with 58 at the B-gap, 43 over the tackle, and 86 outside the tackle.
Strengths: Frenetic rusher off the snap with nice foot fakes and active hands. Gets his mitts into the chests of blockers with authority. Uses his long legs to work quickly through the first half of the pocket. Has the strength and positive velocity to kick inside and work through double teams. Has the upper-body strength to work through blocks even when his leverage is off and he stands too high. Beats blockers with sifts and rip moves, and shows fearsome speed to the ballcarrier at times. When he gets his hands on a blocker’s numbers, can move him where he wants that blocker to go.
Weaknesses: Zuniga needs more of a “see ball-hit ball” mentality — he’s so aggressive into the pocket, he’ll flail at times and wildly miss when the ball goes elsewhere. Needs a better sense of counters and advanced hand movement; when he’s stoned by power at the line of scrimmage, doesn’t really have a Plan B. Has all the ingredients for a definitive bull-rush, but hasn’t put it together yet. Underdeveloped overall, which is why he’ll explode for flashes and then disappear.
Conclusion: It’s easy to imagine NFL coaches and defensive coordinators looking at Zuniga and wondering just how great he could be if he put it all together from a technical and awareness standpoint. Right now, he’s a box of tools nobody’s built a house with yet, but in the right hands, he could be something special.
NFL Comparison: Michael Bennett. Not the Michael Bennett who made three straight Pro Bowls with the Seahawks from 2015 through 2017 and was the most dominant defensive player in Super Bowl XLIX, but the Michael Bennett who came out of Texas A&M and was undrafted in the 2009 class. Back then, there wasn’t the same respect there is now for multi-gap linemen with great speed, raw ability, and the need for good coaching. Bennett helped to change that, and with some work, Zuniga could benefit from the new paradigm.