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Can slimmer, motivated Mario Edwards Jr. convince NFL he's first-round material?
The morning of the NFL draft,
Mario Edwards Jr. will look at himself in the mirror, just as he’s done every morning since declaring for the draft. He’ll pose a question to his reflection, knowing he doesn’t have a satisfying answer.
“Why did I take so long?”
The former Florida State defensive lineman, who entered the draft after his junior season, is 6-foot-3 and weighs 279 pounds and is in such good shape he spent pro day wearing the football equivalent of spandex. It’s a stark contrast to where he was less than a year ago.
The last draft-eligible No. 1 high school prospect was
Jadeveon Clowney, who was drafted first overall in 2014. Edwards, who succeeded Clowney as ESPN RecruitingNation’s No. 1 recruit, isn’t following the same trajectory. Instead, Edwards’ name draws varying opinions. There’s talk of him sneaking into the second half of the first round or falling all the way to the end of the second day.
“I was an all-about-me player and not about the team,” Edwards said, “and I had to learn it wasn’t about me and support my teammates. I’m the guy that does my job that you don’t have to worry about.”
Still, NFL teams will worry. In pre-draft workouts, Edwards outperformed most other linemen and was one of the biggest risers to come from the combine. But central to the pre-draft process is convincing teams the weight will stay off. Edwards weighed 276 pounds at the Rose Bowl and 272 at pro day. He’s at 279 now. That question is put to bed, he said.
Training with EXOS, a health and performance consulting company, Edwards worked with dietician and performance nutritionist Bob Calvin. Calvin said Edwards was motivated to change his eating habits, which consisted of about 80 percent of his calories coming from poor food choices.
Calvin heard all the right things from Edwards, but he still had to see whether Edwards was applying it. One of the ways Calvin gauges a player's level of sincerity is if they're eating vegetables at breakfast and eschewing sugary drinks for water. That’s exactly what Edwards was doing on a daily basis, and he was ending nights with Caesar salads and sweet potatoes.
“He made upgrades in his habits and saw the rewards and benefits,” Calvin said.
Weekdays at EXOS before the draft have also consisted of four workouts. Edwards was in the top linemen group, joined by potential first-round picks
Dante Fowler Jr., Cam Erving and
D.J. Humphries. Edwards said he wasn’t the quintessential teammate early in his Florida State career, but EXOS performance specialist Stefan Underwood said he has been a valuable asset in group settings during training.
“He elevated the people around him,” Underwood said. “He was there to work and brought a business mentality.”
Because of his size, Edwards is being looked at as a 4-3 defensive end -- he said he’ll play end in either scheme or even stand up as a linebacker -- which means he’ll have to improve his pass rush. For the past month, Edwards has worked with three-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tra Thomas.
Edwards and Thomas worked on the rookie’s stance and spin moves. The two watched film and Thomas offered insight into the tricks that annoy offenses most. There was no lack of motivation, Thomas said.
“He’ll give a lot of O-linemen fits,” Thomas said. “He’s going to be a huge success.”
On draft morning, Edwards might not have an answer for himself when he looks in the mirror, but he knows the person staring back is here to stay.
How does he know?
“I love what I see in the morning now.”