Pittsburgh senior defensive end Jabaal Sheard hopes teams will overlook a 2010 fighting incident and take a chance on him early in the 2011 NFL Draft.

In 2010, Sheard was involved in 52 total tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and 9.0 sacks. He tallied 10.0 total sacks the two prior seasons for the Panthers. 

Strengths

• Strong bull rusher
• Lateral mobility
• Positional versatility - could be a 4-3 end or a 3-4 rush linebacker

• Closing in on making a big play

  Good flexibility and knee bend coming around the corner
• Instinctual - finds the football quickly
• Speed - 4.68 seconds in the 40-yard dash (1.59-second 10-yard split)
• Helped a woman escape a burning home while in high school; team leader (captain)
• Hard worker, fiery intensity on the field
• Uses leverage well
• Violent hands

Weaknesses

• Suspended two games in 2010 for throwing a man through a glass door in a fight
• Doesn't have an explosive first step
• Just an OK tackler
• Average run defender - gets taken out of plays and overwhelmed at the point of attack
• Inexperienced dropping into coverage

Expected draft placement

Sheard has second-round potential, but we like him as more of a third-round option. There is little to go by that suggests he is a 3-4 outside linebacker other than size, so he would definitely be a work in progress if he has to play standing up. As an undersized end, look for a Tampa 2 team to draft him. The Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are possibilities.