2023 NFL Draft Profile: Boise State DE George Tarlas
Despite spending just one season with the Broncos, the defensive end is an interesting NFL Draft prospect.
Contact/Follow @MattK_FS & @MWCwire
A wild card among Mountain West prospects.
The Boise State Broncos boasted a strong defense in 2022, but one contributor who flew under the radar is defensive end George Tarlas.
A native of Chalkida, Greece, Tarlas played high school football in Idaho before committing to FCS Weber State in 2017. After taking a redshirt that year and playing only sparingly the following season, 2019 marked the first of three straight years in which he’d be named an all-Big Sky performer. Before 2022, however, he elected to transfer to Boise State and found a way to make a splash until an injury cut his final season short.
While he’s not the biggest name coming from the blue this year, NFL teams will need to measure Tarlas’s pass rushing bonafides against that relatively recent hip injury.
Measurables (taken from Dane Brugler)
Height – 6′ and 3″
Weight – 253 pounds
40-yard time – 4.84 seconds
10-yard split time – 1.62 seconds
Arm length – 32 1/8″
Hand size – 9 7/8″
Wingspan – 78 1/8″
Vertical jump – 27 1/2″
Broad jump – 9′ and 3″ (or 111″)
Shuttle time – 4.53 seconds
3-cone drill time – 6.97 seconds
Bench press – 22 reps
Highlights
Coming back even better…@george_tarlas 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/MUDnXZsCyI
— Emily Staker (@Emilystaker) February 4, 2023
Former #BoiseState DL George Tarlas (@george_tarlas) had hip surgery back in October. Dude is already back competing at Pro Day.
40 time: 4.80u
A fearless worker.#BSUProDay23 pic.twitter.com/ebBLijFRfU
— Jay Tust (@KTVBSportsGuy) March 27, 2023
The next highlight it’s going to be NFL games‼️#grateful pic.twitter.com/8F4zd7ITD3
— GEORGE TARLAS (@george_tarlas) March 8, 2023
Strengths
Tarlas’s calling card is an ability to get after quarterbacks and he did plenty of that at both Weber State and Boise State. According to Pro Football Focus, he managed a pass-rushing grade of 78.8 or better in three of his four seasons as a starter and racked up 66 hurries between the two FCS seasons he played in 2021 and 2022.
To do that, Tarlas utilizes what NFL Draft Buzz describes as “violent hands” and a deep well of tenacity. Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network, meanwhile, thinks that Tarlas has the bend to be an effective contributor at the next level.
Weaknesses
The big question that most draft analysts don’t have a definitive answer for: Does Tarlas have a carrying tool? Using Kent Lee Platte’s Relative Athletic Score, he’s either average or slightly below average by every measure, which could give front offices pause as to whether the ceiling is worth pursuing.
NFL Comparison
Kamalei Correa
Draft Prediction
There’s no doubt Tarlas has been a productive college player, but I get the sense most NFL teams may determine that he’s mostly maxed out as an athlete at this point. As a result, I think it’s most likely that he’ll earn his shot somewhere by signing as an undrafted free agent.
