Dear Old Gold
Fansided

Iowa football: Nelson to form tallest DE duo in league with Nassib

By Andrew Wade

IOWA CITY, IOWA- NOVEMBER 23: Running back Devine Ozigbo #22 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers runs up the field in the second half against defensive end Anthony Nelson #98 of the Iowa Hawkeyes, on November 23, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
IOWA CITY, IOWA- NOVEMBER 23: Running back Devine Ozigbo #22 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers runs up the field in the second half against defensive end Anthony Nelson #98 of the Iowa Hawkeyes, on November 23, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Iowa football player Anthony Nelson had to wait until day three to know his NFL home, but he is now heading to Tampa to join another tall DE, Carl Nassib.

Heading into the 2019 NFL Draft, I thought there could be a chance former Iowa football player Anthony Nelson had to wait until day three to hear his name called. The defensive end class was simply so good at the top that it could cause a few of the second tier defensive ends to drop, and that’s exactly how it played out.

After things were said and done though, the 6’7” Iowa native will be heading to the beautiful city of Tampa Bay where he played his final collegiate football game in the 2019 Outback Bowl.

In joining Bruce Arian’s Buccaneers, Nelson will be forming one of the tallest defensive end tandems in the NFL as he is set to back up former Penn State end Carl Nassib who stands 6’7” as well. For contet, only San Francisco’s duo of Erik Armstead and DeForest Buckner have similar size, but they primarily play inside.

For those of you who have watched Hard Knocks, you realize how cerebral of a player Nassib is and how great of a pairing that could be for Nelson. Both defensive ends are former Big Ten players, and Nassib has three years of NFL experience to teach to the former Iowa football player.

In Nelson, the Bucs are getting a player who may be similar in size to Nassib, but is somewhat surprisingly much more athletic. Nelson posted a ridiculous 6.95 3-cone drill and a 4.23 20-yard shuttle while also hitting 35.5 inches in his vertical jump.

It’ll be interesting though to see how Nelson fits in Buccaneers Defensive Coordinator Todd Bowle’s scheme. The Iowa football program has traditionally run a 4-3 defense with Nelson serving as a defensive end who can stop the run and rush the passer while Bowle’s is planning to run a 3-4 defense in Tampa.

Next. Draft disrespect continues for Iowa Hawkeye DBs. dark

Nelson’s size will help him with the transition, but he will need to improve at the point of attack in run defense as his primary responsibility now will be to free the linebackers up to make a play instead of making the play himself.