2013 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Jon Bostic, LB, Florida Gators

I know, I know, why must I continue to profile linebackers when the Giants will never draft one in the first three rounds. Well, they have to eventually. This year, to me is one of the best 43 linebacker classes I've seen in awhile and I like a lot of options. One option who has not been discussed much at Big Blue View is Florida Gators linebacker Jon Bostic, but he's an appealing mid round option who could plus a major hole in the Giants defense.

[Complete SB Nation Draft Coverage]

Pros

If I was to take a guess at what the archetype Giants linebacker would look like it would be Jon Bostic. Bostic is a very chiseled 6'1 245 pounds with pretty good arm length (33 inch long arms). Bostic tested well at the combine running one of the fastest forty yard dashes 4.61, while also excelling at the 3 cone drill and 20 yard shuttle. Bostic is at his best when he plays downhill to fill in run lanes and can deliver powerful punishing blows. Bostic does a pretty good job of fighting off blockers and making a play.

[Big Blue View 2013 NFL Draft Big Board]

Cons

Bostic's testing was a bit surprising because on the field he looked like a guy who lacked the range to play sideline to sideline in the NFL and he didn't look like an extremely quick player, my take is that he's a good athlete, but that he does not possess great instincts. His production in terms of tackles was only modest (67) though he did have 6.5 for loss and 3 sacks.

[Follow Big Blue View on Twitter | 'Like' Big Blue View on Facebook.]

Player comparison: Andra Davis

Does He Fit With The Giants?

I actually think Bostic fits what the Giants will look for in a linebacker because he is a good down hill player who possess the kind of athletic upside that the Giants like. Bostic also played well on special teams when asked to do so for the Gators and could find an immediate niche int he NFL. Bostic could even be an option for the Giants as the SAM linebacker.

Prospect Video

This is @jmpasq at draftbreakdown.com

Big Board Rankings

CBS Sports-121st

National Football Post-around 250

Mocking the Draft-90th

Sports Illustrated-Outside top 40

Big Blue View Board-82nd

Final Thought

I'm not sure what National Football Post is seeing (I just saw they have Okafor around the 290th best player in the draft), but for the more part I think people would agree that Bostic has a ceiling of a third round pick, and likely will be off the board before the end of the fifth round. He's not a perfect prospect, but he is well built, can play downhill and showed at the combine that he has the straight line speed to get sideline to sideline. He doesn't play explosive, say like a Luke Kuechly (Brown, Ogletree etc) in this class, but I'd rather have Bostic in the 3rd or fourth than Te'o in the 1st or 2nd in most scenarios. I think Bostic is a possible New York Giants target, and he should be because the linebacker corps is still filled with question marks.

Follow me on twitter @NFLmocks