Marshall edge Mike Green.

In a passing league, you can’t have too many beasts making a beeline to the quarterback.

Since the end of the college bowl season, Marshall’s Mike Green has been on Joe’s radar. Why? It’s all about production. Joe doesn’t like this nonsense where cats with two and three sacks project into a stud in the NFL.

If dudes cannot produce playing against children in college, why should Joe trust them against grown arse men in the NFL. To Joe, that’s a recipe for an expensive bust.

(Wasn’t Joe Tryon-Shoyinka something of a projection? He projected himself right out of town.)

This Green had 17 sacks last year. That’s production. Sure, this came largely in Fun Belt play, but Green also got production when he played against bigger schools.

Facing Virginia Tech (ACC) he had two sacks. When playing eventual champion Ohio State, dueling possible first-round pick left tackle Josh Simmons, Green had a sack.

At the Senior Bowl practices, Green worked Oregon tackle Josh Conerly, launching Conerly in the air and pancaking him.

Now on the flip side, as a junior, Green was largely meh with just 4.5 sacks. That’s not great in the SEC or the B1G. Even worse in the Fun Belt.

A guy Joe respects the hell out of, Bob McGinn, the long-time Packers beat writer now in semi-retirement typing for the “Go Long” substack, revived his annual draft report. McGinn was famous for that report that quotes NFL scouts and suits on the top prospects at each position.

McGinn pulls no punches. He has intel on the positive traits for each player and a negative outlook. Often, McGinn’s intel makes waves because stuff only whispered between scouts and suits is aired in public by McGinn.

So below is his breakdown of Green. It seems Green’s people have done an excellent job burying some hassle Green had with a woman when he was at Virginia and was “dismissed” as a result.

Green is McGinn’s sixth-best edge rusher in the draft.

6. MIKE GREEN, Marshall (6-3, 248, no 40, 1-2): His 17 sacks in 2024 led FBS. “He’s my No. 2 edge,” said one scout. “I wouldn’t want him as a D-end but he could be a difference-maker as a 3-4 linebacker. Hell of a player. He’s probably got the best pass-rush arsenal of all these guys. He’s a menace. Former high-school wrestler, and you see that the way he can use his hands and get off things. He uses leverage and angles. That (short arms) will hurt him.” Arms were 32. Smallest hands (8 ½) among the top 12 at the position. Bench-press reps of 28 led the position. His 3-cone time of 6.79 was superb. “The guy has twitch and he’s quick,” said a second scout. “He’s slippery. He can go underneath blocks. He has a long arm. He can rip. He can dip. He has all the qualities you want as an outside guy. Doesn’t have a lot of bulk and strength but because he’s so quick and has the speed he’ll catch you off-balance and go by you. He can go around and circle behind the quarterback. The effort’s there, too. But he had a couple Title IX’s in his lifetime.” Was dismissed in September 2022 after his freshman year at Virginia and played at Marshall in 2023-’24. At the combine, Green said there have been two allegations of sexual assault against him, both of which he denied. The other occurred during his high school years in Williamsburg, Va. “He’s got the character issue,” said a third scout. “Nothing ever came of it legally but there’s a lot of smoke. He’s got some problems. Just a natural pass rusher. Has lower-body tightness. Struggles against the run. He’s like a backup-third down rusher.” Finished with 131 tackles (33 for loss), 22 ½ sacks and two passes defensed. “We didn’t have him in the first round,” said a fourth scout. “There are people who do. If he goes first round it’s more later because of that (character). He might be the next just pure rusher after Carter.” Three-star recruit. Voted Marshall’s most valuable player in 2024. “Really a violent player,” a fifth scout said. “Little undisciplined, but he’s a quick-twitch athlete with really good speed and can disrupt all over the field. Not the biggest guy, but plays the run with effort and toughness.”

Well, Joe thinks that’s enough strikes on Green being a Bucs outside linebacker. Joe didn’t like one scout telling McGinn, “He’s got some problems,” on his off-field issues.

Another disparaged Green’s run defense. Todd Bowles won’t like that.

Would Joe be upset if the Bucs drafted Green? No. Does Joe think the Bucs will draft Green? Joe wouldn’t bet on it.

Enjoy an edge rushers breakdown from JoeBucsFan.com draft guru Sean Sullivan.

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