Coming out of Oregon as a senior in 2013, Dion Jordan was one of the most sought after players in the 2013 NFL draft. So much so that the Miami Dolphins had to trade all the way up to number 3 overall to select the athletic freak. This is what NFL draft expert Mike Mayock had to say about the selection when it was made “hes got the potential to be the player that I compare him to which is Jason Taylor… I also think he looks a little bit like an Aldon Smith, and if he puts on 20 pounds on that 6’7 frame, someday he might even be as good as a Demarcus Ware hes got that kind of edge speed.”
Unfortunately Dion did not have the rookie season Dolphin nation was hoping for. He tallied 26 tackles and 2 quarterback sacks, while playing only 28% of the defensive snaps for the 2013 Miami Dolphins. However with information arising just yesterday, fans should appreciate that Dion Jordan even played at all because he was very close to being placed on the injured reserve for the entire 2013 season. “We came very close during the preseason to have to make a decision whether or not we were going to try to red shirt Dion or know we were going to get limited snaps from him” Dolphins defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle said Monday after the Dolphins OTA practice per The Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero. “We had to make a decision whether to have him active for the year,” Coyle said. “We talked about that late in the preseason in camp to make a determination whether we could get enough out of him. As it went, we wish we would have gotten more, but situationally, we knew where his strengths were and where he had not gotten enough work and so we didn’t want to expose him nor the team” Coyle added.
With his underwhelming rookie season in the books, it is now time to leave the past in the past and focus on the present and the future. Dion has done what most people expected him to do entering the NFL and that is bulk up. With one full year under his belt he has added 25 pounds to his 6’7 frame and now is walking around at a vicious 265 pounds compared to his 240 pound total when he was drafted. He is now stronger, fully recovered from the shoulder surgery that hampered his rookie season and not to mention he was able to learn under one of the best pass rushers in the NFL today in Cameron Wake for an entire season. “We have great expectations for Dion Jordan coming into this year. You cannot have enough great pass rushers and we feel with Dion at full speed we have a prime time player that’s going to explode this season.” Coyle said via The Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero. Between the added muscle, shoulder recovery and learning from Cameron Wake, Dion Jordan is primed for a 2014 breakout season.
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