North Dakota State defensive end Derrek Tuszka is one of my favorite mid-late round picks. I love how ferocious of a player he is, though he will likely have to back off a little bit in the NFL.
Tuszka is a strong defensive end, as he benched 24 reps at the NFL Combine. Several defensive linemen had more, with the highest being 33 reps. Still, I personally am impressed.
There has been word out there that Tuszka may fit better as a linebacker, but if he can hit the weight room and become stronger, becoming a solid defensive end at the next level is definitely possible.
Tuszka is also quick off the line of scrimmage and can get to the quarterback at a decent speed. His 4.79-second 40-yard dash ranked eigth at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Tuszka might end up being a backup in the NFL, but I think that he would be able to make quite a few appearances during a lot of games in a rotational role, and that is not uncommon in the league today.