National Football League

2017 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Jourdan Lewis, Michigan

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 2:07 a.m. ET

Fansided, Russell Brown/FanSided via NFL Mocks

Most of the hype regarding the Michigan Wolverine defense has been around Jabrill Peppers. However, what about Jourdan Lewis? Could their most consistent defensive player be someone named Lewis and not Peppers?

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to make this all about Jabrill Peppers because I know he’s great and will be a sure first rounder in the 2017 NFL Draft. However, Peppers gets a lot of hype and other guys like Channing Stribling and Jourdan Lewis suffer from it. Nobody will deny any of these players talents but at times, Jourdan Lewis gets overlooked.

Most of this could be of how Jourdan Lewis started his senior season. He missed the first 3 games on the schedule because of lingering issues. Those injuries were listed from his back to his legs so with proper precaution, he missed some time. Lewis seems to be recovering fine though. He’s played in nine straight games and his opponents know how talented he is. This season alone, he’s only allowed 10 receptions on 34 passing targets. As a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, it’s clear he’s one of the nations best defensive backs.

Last year, Lewis set a school record with 22 pass deflections. If you ever get a chance, go back and watch that tape. It’s unbelievable. Certainly he doesn’t seem as good with only 9 games played this year but he did finish the season with a total of 25 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions and 8 pass deflections.

During the last few days, I’ve sat and taken a lot of notes on Lewis. I’ve watched his games from last year to what he did this year. Games against Penn State, Michigan State and Wisconsin really stand out. Of course, nobody can forget the one handed interception he had against Wisconsin this season, but what about his game against Penn State? He only finished with two tackles but allowed just one reception the entire game. The list could go on and on about what I don’t like or do like, however, here’s what I see from Jourdan Lewis in a nutshell: