Overview
Position: Defensive tackle
Height:6’3”
Weight:294 pounds
School: Florida State Seminoles
Combine Performance Data
40-yard dash: 5.08 seconds
Bench press: 22 reps
Vertical jump: 25.5 inches
Three-cone drill: 8.13 seconds
20-yard shuttle: 5.07 seconds
Demarcus Christmas 2019 NFL Draft Profile
Demarcus Christmas never quite lived up to his billing coming out of high school. A four-star recruit, Christmas committed to Florida State prior to the start of the 2014 season. Unfortunately, Christmas appeared in just one game as a true freshman before suffering a season-ending injury. Because he was hurt so early into his freshman year, Christmas was able to redshirt the rest of the season.
Christmas spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons as a reserve defensive lineman before earning a starting job in 2017. During his first season as a full-time starter, Christmas recorded 36 tackles, 4.5 tackles-for-loss, and one sack. The Sarasota native wasn’t able to build on his promising Junior season, as the defensive tackle recorded just 28 tackles, three tackles-for-loss, and no sacks as a redshirt Senior.
Throughout the course of his career, Christmas has recorded 106 tackles, 11.5 tackles-for-loss, and 3.5 sacks. His stats don’t tell the whole story, as Christmas was typically asked to eat up space so others could make plays. The ACC coaches recognized his unheralded play, as Christmas earned third-team All-Conference honors as a redshirt senior.
Strengths
- has size and height required for an interior run-stuffer;
- capable of taking on double teams without losing his spot;
- flashed ability to collapse pocket interior;
- serviceable play recognition ability;
- deflected 13 passes during his time in college.
Weaknesses
- a two-down player who offers little to nothing as a pass rusher;
- below-average athlete across the board;
- fundamentals leave a lot to be desired;
- slow first step leaves him vulnerable to quicker offensive linemen;
- eats up space but struggles to shed blocks and make a play on the ball carrier.
NFL Comparison: Kyle Love
Teams With Need at Position: Cincinnati Bengals, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons
Projection: Sixth to seventh round
Bottom Line
Christmas is a two-down run stuffer entering a league where stopping the pass is more important than ever. He’s not an elite run stuffer by any means, but he should be able to fight for a job as a rotational depth piece. He has the size and build required to play on clear running downs, and his college tape shows he’s capable of eating up double teams without losing his ground.
However, Christmas will need to work hard to even make it on an NFL roster. He’s a below-average athlete who doesn’t bring much of anything to the passing game. Players like Christmas need to have elite fundamentals to make up for the lack of athleticism, and Christmas’ technique still has a long way to go. Additionally, he doesn’t shed blocks well and often gets eaten up by faster linemen.
If Christmas does make an NFL team, it’ll be as a reserve option near the bottom of the depth chart. He probably won’t contribute much as a rookie, but he has the ability to develop into a serviceable early-down run stuffer.
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
