Chargers meet with Florida OT Jean DeLance at Shrine Bowl

This past week, all of the buzz and hype of draft season was centered around the Senior Bowl taking place in Mobile, Alabama. However, the East-West Shrine Game was competing right along side them with their own fair share of the nation’s top collegiate talent.

One of those talented players at the Shrine Bowl was Florida right tackle Jean DeLance. who also happened to meet with the Chargers among the 25+ teams who got the chance to speak with him. According to Justin Melo of The Draft Network, DeLance’s meeting with the Chargers was “especially productive.”

DeLance started 12 games at right tackle for the Gators as a fifth-year senior where he played a key role in Florida’s run game being ranked in the top-five all season long while also allowing just five sacks all year. As a Junior, Delance all 12 games once again and had 13 starts in 2019, as well.

Initially starting his career at Texas, DeLance played in just two games for the Longhorns before transferring to Florida. He sat out the 2017 season due to transfer rules before playing in four games as a redshirt sophomore.

At 6’5 and 307 pounds, DeLance is a well-built and lean tackle with plenty of room to continue growing once in the NFL. He’s got a quick set in pass pro and active hands, but he’s due for a lapse in judgement every once in awhile which are issues he’ll have to work out if he hopes to land a starting job at the next level. The work ethic is there, as well as the important habit of finishing his opponent into the ground.

In the video below, he take caution to not overset to the outside as the defensive end attempts to stunt in, but DeLance is able to pivot back to wall off the defender and push him into the interior lineman which quickly stymies his momentum to the quarterback. Storm Norton struggled quite a bit when it came to dissecting the stunts and games being played by opposing defensive lines so I’d expect the Chargers to find a lineman who isn’t so easily fooled.

As of now, DeLance is rated as the 16th-best offensive tackle in the class and their 174th overall prospect. That roughly sets his value somewhere in the fifth or sixth round. After a strong performance at the Shrine Bowl, you could expect DeLance’s stock to rise a bit but I don’t think he’ll hear his name called until day three, regardless.