Scouting Jeremy Faulk
The Jets made some roster moves over the last two days and we're going to look at each of the new additions over the weekend. We looked at Devon Still yesterday and now we're moving on to look at rookie defensive lineman Jeremy Faulk.
Faulk is listed at 6'2" and 295 pounds and played college football for Garden City Community College at the junior college level. He also spent time at Florida Atlantic and Baylor but left each school before he played. He was with the Jets at their rookie mini-camp on a tryout basis.
Background
Faulk was initially recruited to Florida Atlantic in 2013, but redshirted his freshman year. In 2014, he was going to be a reserve lineman, but he did not get to play and had to leave the program due to issues with his grades.
He transferred to Garden City, which is one of the higher profile junior college programs in the country having produced the likes of Tyreek Hill, Nick Marshall and Phil Loadholt.
In 2015, Faulk was the NJCAA defensive player of the year, recording 87 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
After the season, he transferred to Baylor where he was initially expected to play alongside Andrew Billings who he has drawn comparisons to, but Billings opted to enter the draft early and then Faulk was kicked off the program before the season due to an off-field controversy.
He transferred back to GCCC and played a second season for them last year. While his numbers were slightly down, he was still dominant with 75 tackles, six sacks, 15 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He led GCCC to the championship game and was presented with the defensive MVP award after recording four tackles and a sack in the Broncbusters' 25-22 win.
After posting good workout numbers, Faulk attended the Jets' rookie mini-camp on a tryout basis and worked out for them one more time since then before finally getting signed on Friday.
Let's take a closer look at what Faulk brings to the table, divided into categories.
Measurables
Despite being listed at 295, Faulk weighed 304 when he worked out at his pro day and Todd Bowles has praised his size. He ran 5.03 in his 40-yard dash and lifted the bar 38 times in the bench press, although officially he was only given credit for 33 reps because he supposedly didn't lock out his arms on five of them.
His explosiveness numbers were slightly above average but his agility numbers were below average.
Faulk was actually disappointed with the 40-time, having reportedly run 4.8 in the past.
Usage
Faulk has the ability to move around on the defensive line, playing some nose tackle and defensive end in the Broncbusters' 3-4 system.
Faulk also saw some action as a ball carrier late in the 2015 season, carrying 19 times for 46 yards and two touchdowns.
Motor
Scouting reports describe Faulk as having a high motor. He didn't seem to come off the field very often and had to deal with a lot of double and triple teams. He perhaps didn't consistently chase plays down when they went away from him, but would consistently battle hard in the trenches.
Run defense
As you'd expect, Faulk stood out at this level. He was bigger and more athletic than most of the people trying to block him, enabling him to either overpower them or shoot into the backfield.
Here, Faulk (#99) shows an example of his quickness as he shoots the gap to get into the backfield:
On this play, he showcases his power, driving his man back and then throwing him aside for a big run stuff:
This play shows off some good balance and agility as he rides a cut block to stay on his feet and recover back to the ball:
Faulk holds up well at the point of attack and can move laterally and control his blocker to leverage himself into the path of the ball carrier.
In 2016, GCCC were so dominant that opposing teams were constantly being put into passing situations. A lot of the running game production they did surrender came during garbage time with Faulk on the bench.
Pass rush
Faulk had 13.5 sacks in two years, primarily rushing from the nose, but that doesn't do justice to how dominant he was as a pass rusher. He generated constant pressure, including on several plays where the quarterback threw an interception. There was also a play in 2016 where he burst into the backfield and was held in the end zone, leading to a safety.
Faulk is an effective bull rusher, doing an excellent job of keeping his hands active to prevent his blocker from engaging with him. However, he is able to use his quickness to penetrate into the backfield and also flashes a nifty spin move:
Here's a play where he lined up at defensive end and used his quickness to get into the backfield for a sack:
Tackling
Faulk was an extremely productive tackler with 162 tackles in two seasons, including 33.5 for loss. He's capable of making some hard hits and forced four fumbles in two years.
Faulk closes explosively over short distances but didn't really show much in terms of pursuing over long distances or across the field.
Here's a rare example of him failing to make a tackle, after generating pressure with another nasty spin move:
Batting passes
Faulk will constantly get his hands up as he gets in the face of the quarterback, causing several bad passes even when he didn't get his hands on the ball. He was credited with four passes defensed over his two years with Garden City.
He will drop off rather than rushing from time to time.
Special teams
Faulk would contribute on the field goal rush and punt rush unit, but didn't seem to generate much pressure on either unit.
On this play he gets nowhere near on the rush and then makes little effort to involve himself in the play, but actually ends up making a key block to spring a punt return touchdown just by being in the way:
Instincts/Intelligence
Faulk usually seems to keep his head up and sees the action well as it develops in front of him.
However, on this play, he continues to fight with his blocker long after the quarterback has taken off running, perhaps losing focus on the play:
Attitude/Demeanor
The nature of Faulk's departute from both FAU and Baylor has been the source of controversy and definitely seems to have affected his draft stock.
At FAU, he got into trouble during his freshman year following an incident which he describes as a dorm room prank although he cites his academic issues as the reason for his departure the following year. In that incident he was apparently reported for harassment by a female student after threatening to pull the covers off his friend's bed.
At Baylor he was connected to the rape scandal, but it's important to note that he maintains his innocence, no charges against him were ever made and text messages apparently exist that completely exonerate him. Moreover, Baylor's official reason for kicking him off the program is that they investigated the FAU dorm room incident and decided to withdraw his scholarship offer based on that.
Regardless of the facts from these matters, Faulk's maturity is going to be a concern and he'll be closely watched so he will need to prove he can dedicate himself to football and stay out of trouble.
Injuries
Faulk doesn't seem to have had any major injury issues in college. He missed a game near the end of the season that his team won 35-0 anyway. Otherwise, he played in all of the other 22 games over his two seasons.
Scheme Fit
As noted, Faulk played both nose tackle and defensive end in the Broncbusters' 3-4 system. He would probably project best to a 3-technique or 5-technique role at the NFL level.
Conclusions
It should be a massive jump in standard from junior college football to the NFL for Faulk, even though he had a taste of Division I football and reportedly contributed well on the scout teams at FAU.
He looks like more of a long-term project, so it's up to him to show enough during what's left of camp and preseason to inspire the team to carry him on the practice squad.
UP NEXT: We'll take a look at fullback Algie Brown soon.