Born and raised in East Orange, NJ, the Paramus Catholic to Michigan Wolverine pipeline began with LB/Safety Jabrill Peppers. After a very impressive Sophomore and Junior seasons leading arguably the best defense in College Football, Peppers is preparing to take his talents to the NFL.
Peppers came to Ann Arbor as one of the nation’s top recruits and after a fairly quiet freshman year appearing in 3 games and being redshirted due to injury, he exploded on the national scene with 45 tackles, 5.5 tackles for a loss, while playing both sides of the ball as well as special teams in 2015. He was named 1st team All-Big Ten Defense, 2nd team All-Big Ten Special teams and was a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award.
In his last year in Ann Arbor, he racked up 68 tackles, 16 for a loss, 4 sacks and an interception while once again playing both sides of the ball along with special teams duties. Peppers won the Hornung award, was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy and now is ready to make an impact in the NFL.
He entered the combine with quite a bit of buzz. Peppers worked out with both the DB’s and LB’s as he’ll be a jack of all trades in the NFL with the ability to blitz, cover and chase. He possesses the ability to go sideline to sideline unlike most hybrid players and his fluid hips are a huge plus as his game translates nicely to the next level. His numbers ranked at the top in the linebacker drills as he ran a 4.46 second 40 yard dash which ranked 1st, jumped 35.5 inches in the vertical which ranked 4th and was 1st in the broad jump with a 128.0 inch performance.
As a 5’11”, 213 pound LB/Safety, Peppers is all over first round mock drafts and has been rated as high as a top 10 pick to a lower first round selection. Peppers wanted the Combine to be a platform for him to show his ability and versatility by working out with both the defensive backs and the linebackers.
His body of work is undeniable, he’s been described by many NFL scouts as a swiss army knife as he’s shown time and time again his ability to make plays all over the field. Most feel he’ll be playing safety as a pro and his size and speed will allow him to be used in defensive schemes to give quarterbacks fits trying to read where he’ll be in coverage.
Expect to see Peppers go on day 1 and his ability should allow him to be on the field making plays as a rookie on the defensive side of the ball. As a hybrid LB/S, Peppers should be a household name once again with NFL fanbases.