UNC’s Jason Strowbridge taken in 5th round by Miami Dolphins

Former North Carolina defensive lineman Jason Strowbridge was drafted No. 154th overall, in the 5th round by the the Miami Dolphins.

He is the second UNC player to be picked in the 2020 draft.

Strowbridge was a three-year starter at UNC. He finished his career with 122 tackles, 22 for loss and 11.5 sacks and four blocked kicks. During his senior season, he racked up 45 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. He earned third-team All-ACC honors, and helped turn a 2-9 team in 2018, to a 7-6 team in 2019.

“When we first got to Carolina, we had heard about Jason and his talents, but what really impressed me was the way he carried himself,” UNC coach Mack Brown said in a statement. “He was very conscientious about his work and approached everything with a professional mentality.”

“Jason was also very unselfish. We were playing him inside and he could have easily pouted or been worried about showing the NFL what he could do on the outside, but he was a true team player and did what we needed him to to help our defense be as good as it could possibly be.

Strowbridge was invited to the NFL Combine, where he ran a 4.89 in the 40-yard dash and put up 26 reps in the bench press.

Jordan Reid, a senior draft analyst for The Draft Network said Strowbridge really impressed some NFL teams with his performance at the senior bowl in January. In the one-on-one matchups against offensive lineman, Strowbridge was dominant, Reid said.

“He won every single matchup I saw,” Reid said in a phone interview with The News & Observer earlier this week. “That’s what you want to see from these guys. He has really good hands. Fantastic power. He’ll be a steal for somebody in the mid rounds.”

NFL teams see Strowbridge primarily as a defensive end, who can play inside on passing downs, Strowbridge said in an interview earlier this week.

According to draft analyst Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, he writes that Strowbridge has NFL starter potential.

“Strowbridge will give opponents a physical challenge with good length, toughness and hand usage at the point of attack, but he lacks the suddenness and short-area directional change to be a consistent disruptor,” he wrote.

Strowbridge is from Deerfield Beach, Fla., about 45 minutes north of Miami.

This story was originally published April 25, 2020 at 2:35 PM.