Tashawn Bower is looking to follow the footsteps of his former college teammate Danielle Hunter as the defensive ends share similar paths as unknown prospects coming out of college.
Despite playing for a school known for churning out legitimate NFL talent, both Bower and Hunter were not highly productive players at LSU, getting lost in the rotation of a loaded defensive line group.
Hunter, however, possessed the raw skill set head coach Mike Zimmer covets and has already solidified himself as one of the best young pass rushers in the game after just two full seasons.
While Bower may not possess the same exact attributes of Hunter, he is another long and lanky rusher who has the strength to help in the run and pass game. He will likely need to work his way on the team through special teams first and will need a great training camp to have a chance at making what is now a roster stocked with young talent.
The Minnesota Vikings valued Bower quite a bit and offered him a very high $15,000 bonus as well as guaranteeing $30,000 of his salary.
Here’s what Nolan Nawrocki had to say about him in his draft guide:
STRENGTHS: Functional size and strength with good arm length/ Very good weight-room worker. Plays hard and competes. Chases hard and pursues to ball. Very determined achiever. The game is important to him.
WEAKNESSES: Limited athlete. Extremely tight-hipped and plays too tall with limited knee bend. Was the only defensive linemen to measure a single-digit (6 percent) body-fat percentage at the Combine and appears overly lean and muscular for the position and more prone to injury, with very marginal hip flexibility or armor to help protect from injury. Was never a full-time starter. Marginal career sack production (5 1/2 sacks) Appeared too stiff in LB drills at the Combine to play on his feet.
FUTURE: Stiff base end who filled an early-down, run-plugging role in seven career starts and lacks flexibility and bend to be cut loose to rush the passer. Appears to be more of a body-builder than football player. Teased scouts with three-sack performance in the Citrus Bowl against Louisville in his final game and has the work ethic and love of the game for a patient, veteran coaching staff to attempt bringing along slowly on a practice squad for a role as a base left end.
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