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Former Troy outside linebacker Javon Solomon was selected in the fifth round of the NFL draft on Saturday, going to the Buffalo Bills with the No. 168 overall pick.
Solomon (6-foot, 247 pounds) led the country with 16 sacks in 2023, when he added 56 tackles and 18 tackles for loss and was a first-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection. The Tallahassee, Fla., native totaled 33 sacks and 49.5 tackles for loss in five seasons at Troy.
“Solomon doesn’t have prototypical size as an NFL edge rusher, and longer tackles can irritate his play at times, but there is plenty to like in the production and the tape,” Solomon’s NFL.com draft profile read in part. “His frame is chiseled, with extremely powerful hips. It’s tough to sustain blocks against him due to his base strength and low center of gravity, which explains why he’s always around the ball at the whistle.
“He’s an instinctive rusher with a variety of moves and counters that he can string together to put tackles on the ropes. He’s a capable run defender but can be engulfed by size, so he might need to play as a stand-up linebacker. Solomon’s strengths tend to align with what we see from NFL edge defenders with rotational and potential-future-starter value.”
Solomon — who played in the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile in February — is the first Troy defensive player selected in the NFL draft since defensive end Jonathan Massaqoui went in the fifth round to the Atlanta Falcons in 2012. He is the highest-drafted Trojans defender since linebacker Cameron Sheffield was picked by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round (No. 142) in 2010.
