Missouri Tiger Potential Draftees #2: Markus Golden, Edge Rusher

Although Shane Ray is a top first round pick, Markus Golden is not that far off from his edge-rushing counterpart in 2014. Ray had 22 TFLs, Golden had 20. Ray had 14.5 Sacks, Golden had 10. While it seemed like he was always in Ray’s shadow, Golden most definitely was no slouch.

Golden hails from Affton, MO where in high school he stared as a running back and linebacker. After high school Golden went to junior college for a year at Hutchinson Community College.

Oct 18, 2014; Gainesville, FL, USA; Missouri Tigers defensive lineman Markus Golden (33) rushes against the Florida Gators during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Missouri Tigers defeated the Florida Gators 42-13. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Once he joined the Tigers in 2012, Golden was a standout on special teams however did not get much playing time on defense. The following year in 2013 Golden played about 40% of the defensive snaps playing behind Kony Ealy and Michael Sam as well as splitting time with Shane Ray. He finished the year with 55 tackles, 13 TFLs, 6.5 sacks and 8 passes broken up.

In 2014 both him and Ray broke out and although Shane Ray was the one getting most of the attention, Golden actually saw the majority of double teams over the course of the year. He finished his senior season with 78 tackles even while missing 3 games.

POSITIVES:

Has good weight and thickness
Big hands
Talented at timing snap counts
Above average first step
Has a refined arsenal of moves and great hand placement technique
High pass rushing as well as football IQ
Can mesh his use of power and speed, especially on initial punch
Above average strength and explosion
Extremely good motor, will not give up on plays
Great at flattening edge in order to get up field and into the pocket
Will do, “dirty work”
Statistically dominant, Racks up tackles even as an end in a 4-3

NEEGATIVES:

Lacks length even though core is solid
Goes to the ground easily and too much, needs better balance
Will disappear for stretches throughout game
Needs to add upper body strength
Needs to be better at shedding blocks, big tackles especially will, “latch on”
Almost no history in coverage, played strictly as 4-3 End
Unknown if he can transition to standing up 3-4 linebacker
Has injury history

Conclusion:

Markus Golden had an extremely solid year for the Tigers. That being said he spent most of the season going up against freshman and sophomore talent, which he should be dominating. The difference is he was also going against a double team fairly consistently consisting of a running back or tight end to help the right tackle on the edge. So considering that he faired pretty well. He isn’t Shane Ray though, he doesn’t have the ceiling, he isn’t as athletic, he doesn’t have a, “quick twitch”, he isn’t as vicious, but he will do the dirty work. He’s solid, steady and a good team player.

The biggest thing going against Golden is his unknown ability in coverage as well as his tendency to disappear for long stretches however sometimes this is due to his doing the, “dirty work” to make the defensive schemes effective while using him as a scapegoat. He could drop in the draft however if he hasn’t shown teams that he’s able to stand up in coverage. If that were the case he’d need to go to a team that runs strictly a 4-3. He also could fall because of the glut of edge rushers in this draft, which may make teams who have already drafted one, stay away from them in the middle rounds.

DRAFT EXPECTATION: Mid 2^nd – Late 4^th

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