By Mike London

Salisbury Post

SALISBURY — There were 257 players chosen in the NFL Draft, a drama that played out in Green Bay, Wisconsin over the weekend.

Former West Rowan star Zeek Biggers, a massive 21-year-old at almost 6-foot-6 and 321 pounds, had to endure a wait almost to the very end of it, but he did get to hear his name called. The Miami Dolphins made him the 253rd pick.

“I was nervous for sure,” Biggers said during a conference call. “I was with my family a little bit, and I had a party on Saturday, but it was definitely just calm. We waited patiently, we have faith in God and we knew that something was gonna happen. He brought me this far.”

On social media after the draft, Biggers said he’s “thankful for the opportunity.”

Biggers possesses first-round size and length. He has a powerful upper body and long arms. He actually has similar dimensions to Kenneth Grant, the celebrated Michigan defensive tackle who was chosen by the Dolphins with the 13th pick of the first round.

The difference between Biggers and Grant is that Grant is viewed as a problem for offenses on pass plays in addition to being a run-stuffer. Biggers has basically been limited to run-stuffing. That’s what he was asked to do for Georgia Tech, so he did it. He sacrificed pass-rush stats playing the “3” technique in a 4-2-5 defense. He only had only two sacks in a four-year career, but he was a major reason Georgia Tech was a top 30 team nationally against the run his senior season.

But you don’t get a lot of accolades for being a roadblock against the run. Biggers was Honorable-mention All-ACC as a senior.

Biggers played in 47 games for the Yellow Jackets, becoming more impactful each season. He started 26 straight games as a junior and senior. He finished his career with 104 tackles, nine for loss. He did manage to make some impact against the pass by batting down nine passing attempts.

He also blocked four field goals.

That unusually prolific pass-rejecting and field-goal blocking provides a hint that he’s a lot more athletic than he’s getting credit for.

Among other Biggers highlights, there’s one of him chasing down a Louisville receiver 15 yards downfield.

While he was ranked as roughly the 30th-best interior defensive lineman available in what was considered a deep draft for DLs, he tested extremely well at the NFL Combine, where he posted a stunning vertical jump (34.5 inches) and solid numbers for the critical first 10-yards interval of his 40-yard dash and for the broad jump.

Biggers’ Relative Athletic Score at the Combine, which factors in size, strength and athleticism, ranked him 37th out of 1,812 defensive tackles scored since 1987.

That testing took place in late February.

Biggers also boosted his draft stock playing against potential draft picks in the East-West Shrine Game in late January, just a few weeks after he had an emergency appendectomy.

Biggers, who earned a degree in business administration, also is younger than you might think, and that’s a plus. While he enjoyed a full college career, he won’t turn 22 until October.

Biggers was rated as a 3-star recruit in high school, graduating from West Rowan, where he also was a basketball standout, in 2021 during the COVID period.