The Minnesota Vikings took LSU defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy in the fifth round (No. 141 overall) in this year’s draft. Roy joins a defensive line group that lacks clarity after starter Harrison Phillips departed. New addition Dean Lowry figures to see playing time, and Khyiris Tonga, Jonathan Bullard, James Lynch, and Ross Blacklock were all rotational pieces for the team last year, with Esezi Otomewo entering his second year. No one in that group has made the case they should be an every day player. Therefore, Roy should have an opportunity to earn immediate snaps if he performs well in the lead-up to the season.
A four-star recruit out of high school, Roy was the No. 2 recruit in the state of Louisiana. He chose his hometown team, LSU, and saw immediate action as a rotational player in 2020 before getting a starter’s share of the snaps in 2021 and 2022. Roy earned accolades from PFF after the 2021 season, where they graded him as their third-best pass rusher on the defensive interior, with a 89.6 pass rush grade. They even mocked Roy in the top 10 in May 2022. Roy was not able to match that performance in 2022. However, he put up a respectable 71.4-overall grade and record 27 pressures, only five fewer than his impressive 2021 total.
Despite an impressive performance in PFF’s grading and metrics, Roy’s athletic testing leaves a lot to be desired. He has good size for a potential 3-technique at 6’3″ and 305 lbs., but did not hit any of the testing benchmarks you’d like to see from a potential pass rusher. He ran over five seconds in the 40-yard dash, jumped just 26″ in the vertical jump, and clocked a five-second short shuttle and over eight-second 3-cone. Roy tested like a nose tackle. However, the problem with that is while his size is good for a 3-tech, most 0- or 1-techs are significantly heavier. Khyiris Tonga, a true nose, measured in at 6’2″, 325 lbs. during his pro day.
Here is Roy’s testing data:
Roy’s PFF charting numbers show a proficient pass rusher, but his testing numbers present a concern about whether that performance will translate to the NFL level. I scouted Roy’s 2022 season to see what role he might be able to earn on the Vikings’ defense. Brian Flores uses a variety of personnel on the defensive line and will strategize around his players’ strengths.
In scouting Roy, I watched six of his 2022 games: again Mississippi State, Tennessee, Florida, Ole Miss, Alabama, and Georgia. Where does Roy fit in the Vikings’ defensive line rotation? Let’s take a look.
RUN DEFENSE
As a run defender, Roy (No. 99 in the clips below) will successfully control gaps in a one-gap defensive structure. He showcases the ability to control opposing linemen, lock them out with his arms, and shed blocks using both a club/swim and a swipe to disengage and then make the tackle.
In the play below, Roy is lined up at 1t, and his responsibility is the A gap opposite the RB. The A is an important gap because running-back footwork from shotgun typically dictates that the run go to that side. Roy does a good job of attacking vertically while controlling the blocker. Watch how his feet go from the 42-yard line at the snap to the 40 when he engages the blocker, and the way he gets inside hand position to controll the center’s chest. This allows him to peek into the backfield and control the blocker, shedding him across his body to tackle the running back.
Roy locked out and controlled individual offensive linemen on a consistent basis in run defense. Look at the compilation of plays below, where he lines up at either 2i (inside shoulder of the guard) or 0t (head up on the C). The exception is the final snap, where he is playing 3t (outside shoulder of the guard). He regularly resets the line of scrimmage, holds his ground against the blocker, locks the opposing lineman out to control the gap, and sheds the blocker to help make the tackle:
As a tackler, Roy’s efficiency numbers aren’t great. PFF has him charted with seven missed tackles in 2022, one of the highest numbers among IDL. His 15.2% missed-tackle rate looks a little better because he had more attempts, and I didn’t see many things that truly concern me from a tackling perspective on tape. Roy has a big miss in the compilation above, but some of the other misses I saw were situations where he was trying to reach-tackle through blocks. He has shown that he has the arm/hand strength to bring RBs down in that situation, like in the play below where he lines up at a 1t:
Roy showcased balance and the ability to take on blocks while moving laterally and stunting. Stunts are a hallmark of Flores’ defense, so seeing a DL execute them on tape is nice. On the play below, Roy starts out as the 3t over the LG and stunts into the A gap. His quickness lets him get entirely around the OL, and he has the balance to stay up and get in on the tackle:
Roy also flashed some of the quickness needed to get into the backfield that does not show up on his athletic profile. Check out the play at 1t below where he bursts past the RG to get into the backfield cleanly.
Roy will occasionally get himself in trouble with pad level. He can get too high off the snap, and it will lead to him being washed out of the play. The below play, lined up at 3t over the RG, is a good example:
Another concern for Roy is that while he is very effective against single blockers, he struggles against double teams. He is slightly undersized to take on multiple blockers, and his tendency to play high contribute to his failures in this area. On the play below, he is the 3t over the RG, and the RG/RT combo pushes him back easily:
Similarly, on this play against Florida he is a 2i and gets walked back easily by the C and LG:
PASS RUSH
As a pass rusher, Roy does not win quickly on a consistent basis. The tendency to play high persists and shows up in the below rep where he tries to swim around the LG but loses because he gives up his chest:
Roy is proficient with his hands in the run game, and can use it to force linemen off their spot. But he lacks the lower body quickness to take advantage of it in the pass rush. In the below play, you can see Roy, lined up at 0t, get in a very active hand battle with the opposing C. The problem is he doesn’t threaten his opponent outside his frame, so the C can just keep replacing his hands and hold his ground.
Lack of burst shows up on tape. The below is an example where he is functionally unblocked as a 3t over the RG, and has a shorter path to the QB than the blitzing DB, also unblocked. Roy is clearly a step behind the DB.
As an interior pass rusher, Roy often found himself facing double teams between the C and late help from a G. He lacked the quickness to split these or make a significant impact on these plays like you would expect from a high-level interior rusher. On the play below, he cannot create pressure as a 0t.
When the wins did come for Roy, they were against single blockers. He showed strong, violent hands like in the run game, and used that to displace blockers, like in the below win from 0t:
Line stunts were a way LSU was able to activate Roy as a pass rusher. He has a quickness that belies his athletic testing to get around opposing centers on stunts. The rep below against Ole Miss is a good example where he runs a loop around the C, helping to flush the QB out of the pocket:
Roy’s best role in the NFL may be as a decoy on pass-rush stunts. His strength shows up, and he can knock opposing blockers back. On the play below, he is lined up at 0t and running a stunt with the LB, No. 40. His bull rush occupies both the C and RG, allowing the LB to surf off his wake and read the play. No. 40 ends up as a spy, and because Roy kept him clean he is able to chase QB Bryce Young down outside of the pocket.
It’s certainly possible that I’m missing something with Roy and there is more to his game as a pass rusher than I have represented above. Given his 2021 PFF grade, I expected more consistent wins. However, he show flashes of the quickness needed to be a dominant pass rusher, like in the rush below from 3t against the LG:
Mentally, Roy processes the game well when pass rushing like he does in run defense. He understands timing and will get his hands up to disrupt throwing lanes when he knows he’s not going to make it to the QB. The play below, where he starts at 0t, is a good example where he almost gets his hands on the ball to deflect the pass:
Roy also did a good job of sniffing out misdirection and screens. On the play below, starts at 1t and has his eyes on the backfield, then goes to address the C. Even though he can see the QB holding the ball, he can feel something is wrong because the C is trying to work past him rather than block him. This allows him to sniff out the screen, and he flows with the C to end up near the ball when the receiver is tackled.
Summary
Jaquelin Roy is a stout player with a good frame for the interior of the defensive line. In run defense, he is able to firmly hold his ground and maintain his gap against individual blockers. He has strong hands that allow him to disengage consistently to help get in on tackles. He can play gap and a half, where he locks out a primary gap before shedding and returning to the secondary gap. Roy has the strength to make arm tackles while being blocked and the balance to hold up to indirect blocks when stunting. He has the quickness to exploit missed assignments and get in the backfield. But he can sometimes play too high and will get pushed back to easily when double teamed, limiting his two-gap utility.
As a pass rusher, Roy lacks the quickness to consistently beat blockers. Against double teams, he gets stymied and fails to push the pocket. He generally uses good hand technique, but he doesn’t have the lower body bend to make it consistently effective. His best role is on stunts, where he can play quick enough to exploit uncoordinated offensive lines. There are rare flashes of that quickness showing up with his ability to swim past opponents, so there may be more to unlock as a pass rusher.
Roy is an instinctive player who reads RB intentions well in the run game and finds the gap the run is intended for. He will get his hand up to muddy passing lanes when he can’t get to the QB. He sniffs out screens and misdirection plays on a regular basis.
FIT WITH THE VIKINGS
Roy’s profile suggests somewhat of an in-between player at the NFL level. He doesn’t quite have the athletic juice of dominant pass rushers, but he also lacks the size of typical run-stuffers. However, that body type and profile has precedence in Brian Flores’ defense, particularly in their 5-0 fronts. Under Flores, the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins used Adam Butler in this role, and Butler has a similar athletic profile to Roy:
Roy’s sturdy play against single blockers in the run game will lend itself well to the one-gap structure of the 5-0 run defense. Roy is effective on stunts in the run game, and stunts are where he showed his best as a pass rusher. At the very least, he was an effective decoy in those situations, opening up space for more explosive athletes. Butler did a similar thing playing 0t in those fronts for the New England Patriots.
Roy’s combination of stout run defense and quickness on stunts could see him earn a similar role to what Butler had with the Patriots and Dolphins, where he averaged 479 snaps per season across five seasons from 2017 to 2021.
