Miami Dolphins take hometown kid Jason Strowbridge in fifth round of NFL Draft
Jason Strowbridge’s college career was nearly derailed before it even began. The defensive lineman’s freshman season with the North Carolina Tar Heels hadn’t even begun when he suffered fractures in both his feet. The injuries weren’t career-threatening, but they did present a significant hiccup early in Strowbridge’s career.
Once he was healthy, Strowbridge became a fixture on North Carolina’s defensive front, starting for his final three seasons, and piling up 22 tackles for loss and 10 1/2 sacks in his four years in Chapel Hill. On Saturday, the Miami Dolphins selected Strowbridge with the 154th pick in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound defensive end is the second Deerfield Beach graduate taken this weekend, joining wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, whom the Denver Broncos picked 15th overall in the first round Thursday. Strowbridge is also sixth Buck in history to be drafted into the NFL and this is the first ever NFL Draft with multiple Deerfield Beach graduates selected.
The Bucks also have a chance to have a third player selected Saturday. FAU Owls cornerback James Pierre is a potential late-round pick in the Draft.
Strowbridge emerged as a legitimate Draft prospect as a redshirt junior in 2018, when he recorded eight tackles for loss and five sacks while primarily playing defensive tackle.
As a redshirt senior in 2019, Strowbridge’s production dropped off a little bit, but the Tar Heels started to experiment with him as a defensive end. His versatility added an extra layer to his appeal and NFL teams feel as if he can be a defensive end on early downs, with the ability to kick inside and play defensive tackle in obvious passing situations.
His stock really took off in January, though, when he went to Alabama for the 2020 Senior Bowl. Strowbridge was one of the most impressive defensive linemen in Mobile and he climbed into contention to be taken on the second day of the Draft.
Strowbridge, who was not a top-500 prospect in the 247Sports.com composite rankings for the Class of 2015 and flipped from the Kentucky Wildcats to North Carolina late in the 2015 recruiting cycle, has a chance to be at his best at the highest level.
“He won every single matchup I saw,” TheDraftNetwork.com’s Jordan Reid told The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina. “That’s what you want to see from these guys. He has really good hands. Fantastic power. He’ll be a steal for somebody in the mid rounds.”
