Is Cameron Jordan Finally Living Up to Billing as 1st-Round Pick?

Cameron Jordan was drafted 24th overall by the New Orleans Saints in the 2011 NFL Draft. Despite playing all 16 games in his rookie year, the defensive end came away with a grand total of one sack. He’s now putting up the numbers to match his paycheck.

New Orleans has an awful overall defense—so Jordan’s numbers may perhaps be taken with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, the Saints have won three of their last four games, and Jordan had five sacks during that stretch. The one game he didn't have a sack resulted in a loss. 

On Monday Night Football, he had three sacks and forced his second career fumble against the Philadelphia Eagles’ woeful offensive line.

Jordan's first came three weeks ago against the San Diego Chargers, a contest that resulted in the Saints’ first win of the year.

Jordan’s career stats still don’t stack up with his first-round pass-rushing contemporaries from the 2011 draft class: the Denver Broncos’ Von Miller (20.5 career sacks), the San Francisco 49ers’ Aldon Smith (21.5), the Washington Redskins’ Ryan Kerrigan (12) and the St. Louis Rams’ Robert Quinn (12).

Jordan just recorded his fifth, sixth and seventh career sacks on Monday night. He was drafted after all of those other guys, but he may still be expected to produce on the same level as the first-round pick of a team that was good before he arrived.

Sacks are how defensive players get paid—just ask Mario Williams.

New Orleans doesn’t play the Philadelphia offensive line for a second time this season, undoubtedly making it more difficult for Jordan to pile up another three-sack game. But if he can double his current sack total in the second half of the season, he will have finished his sophomore year with 12 sacks (13 career).

That sounds more like a former first-round pick.

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