NFL Draft Profile: Jowon Briggs, Defensive Lineman, Cincinnati Bearcats

Jowon Briggs
Cincinnati Bearcats

#18
Pos: iDL
Ht: 6010
Wt: 310
Hand: 978
Arm: 3168
Wing: 9000
40: 5.25
DOB: 9/1/2001
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
High School: Walnut Hills
Eligibility: 2023

One Liner:

Briggs possesses a thick, strong frame to cause problems in the run and passing games, but he lacks ideal athletic traits and technical development as a pass rusher.

Evaluation:

In 2021, the Bearcats played Briggs everywhere from 5-tech to 0-tech, but most of his snaps came lined up between the C and B gaps. His role changed in 2022 as he now takes most of his snaps lined up between the 3-tech and 0-tech positions along the defensive interior. Briggs won’t be able to sustain a high snap count lined up over the center at the next level because of his size. He deploys his hands early to engage linemen and keep them out of his pads. Briggs plays with natural leverage and strong leg drive. He’s also strong in his upper body as he rarely misses tackles, displays good grip strength, and keeps the lineman at bay with a one-armed long-arm technique when setting the edge against the run. Briggs uses this technique to lift the tackle out of his stance while maintaining enough separation from the lineman to turn back any outside rush attempts. Briggs is easily able to create displacement with a combination of his strong upper body and leg drive when he gets into the offensive lineman’s pads. His motor runs hot, and his hand placement is generally good, although it can get a bit high and has the potential to draw penalties. Briggs’ best pass rushing move involves latching onto and pulling the lineman before immediately executing a swim move. While he’s a capable pass rusher, Briggs is more of a pocket pusher than a pocket collapser. He lacks counters after his initial rush dies and doesn’t offer a diverse pass rushing arsenal. Briggs doesn’t have the bend to play a full-time edge role in the NFL. He’s not a dynamic athlete and lacks ideal pursuit speed, explosiveness, twitch, and change of direction skills. Briggs has good but not elite arm length, which showed up against Houston’s Patrick Paul in the 2021 conference championship. His anchor in the run game is inconsistent, and there are instances of him being displaced five or more yards downfield by linemen. He struggled with duo blocks in the run game against Arkansas in 2022. Briggs has a strong upper body, but his hands lack pop on first contact. Sometimes he’ll surrender gap integrity by trying to make a play on the ball instead of holding his assignment. Briggs’ former teammate Curtis Brooks was a more dynamic, explosive, and productive interior lineman, but he only went in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Grade:

6th Round

Quotes:

“He was multi-talented, first of all. I mean, Jowon could've probably picked a number of different things besides football and went and done that and been really good at that. Just an all-around great kid, great leader.” -- Former Walnut Hills HS Coach Gerry Beauchamp on IDL Jowon Briggs

Background:

Briggs was a four-star recruit from Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati, Ohio in the class of 2019. He was the No. 75 recruit according to 247Sports, No. 73 for Rivals, and No. 84 for On3.com. ESPN ranked him 75th in the nation with an 84 grade out of 100. As a high school senior, Briggs recorded 54 tackles and six sacks and was a First-Team All-State selection. As a junior, he tallied 47 tackles and three sacks. Briggs also threw on the track and field team. He already squatted 700 pounds entering college. Briggs was selected for the 2019 Under Armour All-America Game. He has five siblings. Briggs transferred from Virginia to Cincinnati before the 2021 season. He is married and has two kids.