Maponga is one of the lesser known prospects the Falcons added for 2013, and he might be the biggest surprise/potential reach pick of this Falcons draft class. He typically wasn't all that highly rated. His college coach advised him against leaving early for the draft, but he did anyway - he has a family to support. He probably would have gone in an earlier round next year, but the immediate $400k income is a life-changer. As a sophomore, he had 55 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, and 9 sacks. As a junior in 2012, he broke a bone in his foot in TCU's game against Baylor on Oct. 13. He only missed two weeks of action, but his stats suffered - he finished the 2012 season with only 4 sacks. He was invited to the Combine but did not do the running events, though he racked up 30 reps in the bench press. At his pro day, he did run - and did reasonably well. He put up a 4.83 in the 40, 4.37 in the short shuttle, and 7.37 in the 3-cone drill. But in the interviews he said he felt that surgery on his foot would probably be necessary. He did have the surgery done in March. He did not take reps at the rookie minicamp, and he'll be a no-go for OTAs as well. The team believes he'll be ready for training camp. But then, we heard the same thing about Lamar Holmes and Corey Peters last year, Kerry Meier in 2011, Harry Douglas and Peria Jerry in 2010, etc, etc. So take that one with a grain of salt. Bottom line is the team sees a lot of potential in him. Dimitroff describes him as a prototypical pass rush defensive end - very strong, nice speed, nice ability to turn the corner. He projects Maponga on the right side at DE, along with Osi and Massaquoi. Scouting reports on him also note the good upper body strength, good use of leverage, and good use of his hands - both in taking on blockers and forcing fumbles when he gets to the quarterback. He had seven forced fumbles in his last two years at TCU. But he's missing reps early because of the foot injury, and considering he came out as a junior, he needs all the reps he can get. He's probably a year away from really being a factor on defense. Expect him to be a developmental project in 2013, and possibly the invisible man - like Massaquoi last year or Lawrence Sidbury throughout his four year Falcon career.
