We are breaking down the Notre Dame prospects hoping to hear their names called in the upcoming NFL Draft being held in Detroit from April 25th through the 27th. Today, we’ll focus on a graduate transfer who came over from Ohio State last off-season and made a big impact in South Bend while clearly improving his pro stock.

SPECS

Name: Javontae Jean-Baptiste
Hometown: Spring Valley, New York
Position: DE
Height: 6-5 (per NFL Combine)
Weight: 239 (per NFL Combine)
40: 4.66
Vertical: 34.5
10-Yard Split: 1.65
Broad: 10′ 7″

STRENGTHS:

Excellent length and body-frame for the edge in the NFL. Impressive nose for the ball and hustles behind the play to make an impact. Jean-Baptiste flashes solid pass rushing skills with his long arms and tends to play a lot bigger than listed. Took a big step in 2023 in athleticism and proved his ceiling could be even higher at the next level.

WEAKNESSES:

Not a pure pass-rusher for his size and likely needs to add more weight to play the strong-side where he flourished in 2023 at Notre Dame. Jean-Baptiste isn’t an overly physical edge defender. He will need to develop more quickness and explosive pass-rushing skills in the NFL.

OVERVIEW:

The biggest question NFL scouts and executives will be asking about JJB is whether he’s a late bloomer worthy of a pick or someone who has a defined ceiling in the NFL and was taking advantage of his experience and age at the college level. In only a couple months, he will be turning 24 years old after 6 years in college. Even for NFL standards, that’s pretty old for a rookie.

Nevertheless, there’s no denying JJB opened a lot of eyes this past season. No one was really sure he’d even start at Notre Dame after transferring from Ohio State and he ended up totaling an impressive 10.5 tackles for loss and 5 sacks.

PREDICTION:

Undrafted Free Agent

I’d argue someone in the last 2 rounds should take a flyer on Jean-Baptiste but due to his age I doubt it happens. There’s a case to be made that he was really underutilized at Ohio State, although he was playing behind some really impressive teammates. In another life, JJB would’ve been better off transferring earlier in his career and perhaps his talent could’ve shined brightly somewhere else.

Among the teams who should be looking to add backup depth on the edge, watch out for the Cardinals (226th), Falcons (197th), Ravens (218th, 228th, 250th), Texans (238th, 247th), Colts (234th), Jaguars (212nd, 236th), Patriots (193rd, 231st), and Seahawks (235th) as possible landing spots in the last couple rounds for Jean-Baptiste.