#91 Justin Tuck – New York Giants

6’5”, 274
School: Notre Dame

Career Transactions:
Justin Tuck was selected in the 3rd round (#74 overall) by the New York Giants in the 2005 NFL Draft

Career Statistics:
TCK: 119 / SCK: 14 / FF: 2 / FR: 0

General Traits:
Justin Tuck has the blend of size, power, strength, speed, and quickness that every defensive end desires to possess someday. He has the power to play inside and control the line of scrimmage and the speed to rush the passer off the edge. Tuck has overcome a couple of major injuries to his lower half to become one of the game’s elite defensive talents thanks to a rigorous offseason training program. He was Mr. Alabama in high school basketball his senior year, thus Tuck is much more than mauling defensive end. His impeccable technique that has been developed under the likes of Michael Strahan and Giants’ defensive line coach Mike Waufle has taken this incredible physical talent to another level.

Position Traits:
Quickness: Tuck is often the one initiating contact on the lineman that lines up across from him. He anticipates the snap count well and explodes out of his stance as good as anybody.

Strength: Tuck is country strong and weight room strong. Put those two together and you have a player that can toss around even the biggest of offensive linemen. The most impressive part about his game is probably the strength in his hips and rear which allows him to stay as low as possible while maintining balance and speed. One would think that playing defensive tackle at 275 pounds would be near impossible, but Tuck does it with ease because of his playing strength.

Pass Rush: Tuck is used as a pass rushing defensive tackle often and it is a role he absolutely thrives in. He is quicker than most guards and simply cannot be overpowered. The low man wins in the trenches and Tuck is consistently playing lower than the man trying to block him. He uses his strong hands very well to get a blocker’s hands off of him while moving towards the passer. He does not have a great speed rush to the outside and can be beat if he is up against a good, physical right tackle.

Pursuit: The speed Tuck possesses often goes unnoticed. Once in full gear, he has proven that he can run with a lot of running backs and tight ends. He gets lost in the trash when trying to run down a back who is headed towards the other side of the line however. His angles towards the ball carrier in open space are sometimes off as he may think he is faster than he really is.

Run Defending: Tuck holds his ground against the run no matter who he is up against. Why? Because he stays lower than his man almost every play and has the strength to plant his feet in the ground and not give up an inch. He will sometimes have trouble keeping one of his shoulders open to make a tackle because he takes too long to diagnose the runner’s intended lane.

Tackling: When Tuck is able to free himself up and reach the ball carrier, it’s over. His strength is simply too great for backs to get away from. He will sometimes be juked in the open field because he gets over aggressive.

Technique/Leverage: There is not a defensive lineman in the game that plays with better technique and leverage than Tuck. He plays with picture perfect form every time contact is made and that is what separates him from good and great defensive linemen. His thick, strong base allows him to get extra low while maintaining the balance he would have standing up. His hand placement is always at or beneath the offensive lineman’s numbers which gives him control at the point of attack.