Zach
Durfee.
Zach
Durfee.
Washington· 6'5"· 247 lb· 4.62s 40
R7 · #233 · Jacksonville Jaguars"A late-blooming, length-and-burst edge in the Carl Granderson mold: an undersized-frame rusher who arrives raw and unproven in volume, and whose career depends on staying healthy long enough for a pro strength program to add the mass and the counter he never needed in college."Pre-draft read
A long, high-cut edge defender, he wins with launch angle and length. Best from wide alignments with a clear track to the corner, he times the snap well, plants his outside foot quickly, and covers ground efficiently. His active, long hands keep tackles off his frame, and he uses a long-arm to stack and shed on early downs.
The counters reveal rawness. He often rushes with one plan; when the arc is closed, he lacks a reliable inside counter or spin. His pad level rises late in reps. He plays lighter than listed against down blocks, yielding ground when two-gapping. Against pullers, he's a spiller, not a setter. Pursuit is genuine; he finishes plays away from him.
This scheme prioritizes attacking the OC and pulling guards with speed, which is a hallmark of Wide-9 fronts that want to defeat tackles with burst and run their inside players through the resulting gaps.
He can contribute immediately as a sub-package rusher, playing on passing downs and developing into a starting Wide-9 defensive end by his third season.
He would be marginalized in a two-gap 3-4 defense that relies on its defensive ends to hold up against downhill runs.
Durfee projects as a situational pass rusher with explosive traits and the ability to convert speed to power at the NFL level if he lands in an attacking front.
Zach Durfee Career Highlights: Washington Football
School-produced career cut-up: the cleanest look at his get-off, length and the long-strider chase speed that shows up on backside pursuit.
Jaguars Select Zach Durfee With No. 233 Pick in 2026 Draft
Team package on the 233rd pick, framing the traits Jacksonville bought into on a developmental edge.
Zach Durfee Heads to Jacksonville From Washington
Post-draft breakdown of the fit and of the availability questions that pushed a Division II sack leader to round seven.
Durfee projects as a developmental edge rusher, banking on his athletic traits and growth potential despite limited experience at the position. Teams are buying into his high ceiling, anticipating further technical refinement as he gains more reps. His frame provides natural leverage and a base for a future sub-package rush role.
His journey began as a high-school quarterback who walked on at Division II Sioux Falls, converting to defensive end. A breakout 2022 season at that level, where he recorded 13.5 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks, put him on Washington's radar. Transfers and injuries limited him to 17 FBS games across two seasons, producing 6.5 sacks for Washington. The NCAA's multiple-transfer residency rule cost him all of 2023.
Evaluators noted his frame, burst, and trajectory, but concerns centered on his limited FBS production base and inconsistent availability. There was no consensus on his true value, and he was ultimately drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round, 233rd overall, as a futures pick.
- 01
Steep development curve
only four seasons at the position after converting from high-school quarterback, with visible technical growth every healthy year.
- 02
Frame and length
6-4⅞, 247 pounds, 31½-inch arms and a 76⅜-inch wingspan, and he long-arms to stack blockers rather than absorb them.
- 03
Explosive first step
an observed 1.64 ten-yard split and 4.62 forty at 247 pounds at Washington's pro day.
- 04
Disruption at every level
registered 22.0 career tackles for loss and 18.0 sacks in just 28 games played.
- 05
Backside effort
the 21 assisted tackles in 2025 come from finishing plays that started away from him.
- 01
Availability is the file
17 career FBS games across two seasons, with injuries in both and all of 2023 lost to the NCAA transfer-residency rule.
- 02
Thin FBS production base
6.5 sacks in two Power Four seasons, with the eye-catching numbers coming from Division II in 2022.
- 03
One-plan pass rusher
no reliable inside counter or spin when the arc gets closed, and pad level rises late in reps.
- 04
Plays lighter than his weight
gives ground against down blocks when asked to hold a gap in reduced alignments.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.62sp50
- Vertical
- —in
- Broad jump
- —in
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Washington | 6 | 16 | 2.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | Washington | 11 | 37 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | — | 17 | 53 | 6.5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Honors
- NSIC Defensive Player of the Week (October 2022, three sacks vs. No. 11 Augustana)
- Led Sioux Falls in tackles for loss (13.5) and sacks (11.5) in 2022
- Subject of ESPN's 2026 'Prospect X' draft-weekend feature
A late-round edge with one loud college season who lives on practice squads and game-day elevations, earning snaps on special teams and in obvious rush situations.
The ceiling if the rush plan catches up to the frame: a small-school developmental end who becomes a real rotational starter and a double-digit-pressure player.
The floor if availability stays the story: a camp body with tools who never assembles a healthy season long enough to hold a 53-man spot.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Jacksonville took him at No. 233, the seventh round, which is exactly where the market prices a player whose best season came in Division II four years before the draft. The Jaguars' bet is on the arrow rather than the résumé: an edge with 31 1/2-inch arms and a 1.64 ten-yard split who has only been rushing the passer since 2021 has more room left than most 24-year-olds.
The path to a roster spot runs through special teams and through a defined sub-package rush role, not through early-down run defense, where his anchor still lags. The question that has followed him since Seattle has not changed either: he has never finished a full, healthy season at the FBS level, and a seventh-round pick does not get many chances to prove availability.
If the pro-day burst translates and he adds one credible inside counter, there is a rotational starter in here. If it does not, the Sioux Falls tape stays the best football he ever played.