Defensive Line / Pass Rushing OLB Capsules
This class is interesting. There’s elite upside for a long list of potentials, but each player has at least one major issue that leaves me wondering whether he’ll translate his potential to the NFL game. It’s also a class where every player is a little different. Draft position may not be that instructive, i.e. a player may drop to the second round not because they don’t have first round talent, but because a good match didn’t happen until then.
Depth chart opportunity will affect where I’ll slot these players on my Combined Draft Board, but I thought I’d try to provide an idea of where each player loosely fits into my thinking before the draft.
There are links to the increasingly more extensive and invaluable cut up videos at Draft Breakdown if you're interested in reviewing these players for yourself.
Cornellius “Tank” Carradine | Florida State | 6-4, 276
http://draftbreakdown.com/players/cornellius-carradine
Scouting Notes: Used primarily as 4-3 RDE, but moved around in subpackages. Very good hand placement and leverage. Shed well against the run, pursued to sideline and secondary. Elite motor and extremely quick feet. Not explosive off snap, but hand technique, quick feet and recognition skills keep him from getting engaged. Seems to shed effortlessly at times. Average first step keeps him from elite edge rushing skill, but flattens and finishes well. Shows some counter moves. Rarely dropped into coverage in zone blitz, but was fluid and decent in open field. Not much playing time until last season. Tore ACL in November.
Fantasy Line: Carradine had the look of an elite all-around end before his injury. Unlikely to go in the top ten now and may not be capable of 600+ snaps until 2014. Could get looks as 3-4 OLB, but could be T20 fantasy player in 4-3 scheme.
Pre-Draft Fantasy DL Rookie Tier ~ 1
Scheme Fits: 4-3 RDE, 3-4 OLB, 4-3 LDE
Ezekiel Ansah | BYU | 6-5, 271
http://draftbreakdown.com/players/ezekiel-ansah
Scouting Notes: Moved around formation. Played nearly every technique along line and standup pass rusher. Extremely athletic, with quick feet, elite change of direction ability. Excelled in pursuit. Was very good when moving forward at the snap and delivering a blow. Hand technique and leverage inconsistent between the tackles, maddening habit of using spin move inside when engaged on run downs. Can be explosive finisher, but inconsistent off the ball. Has elite edge rushing upside, though not used in that situation much last year. Recognition very good despite lack of experience and improved during the year. Struggled against a good group of tackles at the Senior Bowl in 1v1 drills, but was better as week progressed and impressed during game.
Fantasy Line: Athletic and inexperienced, but looks as much football player as athlete. May take a year to develop, but has the highest fantasy upside in this class if he’s drafted by a 4-3 team and hits.
Pre-Draft Fantasy DL Rookie Tier ~ 1
Scheme Fits: 4-3 RDE, 3-4 OLB, 4-3 LDE, 3-4 RDE
Dion Jordan | Oregon | 6-6, 248
http://draftbreakdown.com/players/dion-jordan
Scouting Notes: Mostly a standup rusher, but did see snaps in three point stance and over a slot receiver in coverage. Lanky, but moves well, eats up ground quickly. Flattens and finishes well, quick/strong hands if engaged on first move. Usually good recognition, able to run with receivers, quickly drop into zone coverage, but struggles to change direction on route breaks. Pursues well to sideline, recognizes run and moves through trash well. Played through torn labrum in second half of season.
Fantasy Line: Jordan is scheme diverse. He probably ends up in a 3-4 OLB role, but could play either 4-3 RDE or 4-3 SLB. Should be worth rostering as a 700+ snap player in any role, but upside depends on fit.
Pre-Draft Fantasy DL Rookie Tier ~ 1 / Fantasy LB Rookie Tier ~ 2-3
Scheme Fits: 3-4 OLB, 4-3 RDE, 4-3 OLB
Bjoern Werner | Florida State | 6-3, 266
http://draftbreakdown.com/players/bjoern-werner
Scouting Notes: 4-3 strong side end mostly, but a few snaps in two point stance as nickel rusher. Flashes of elite edge rush talent, but rarely explodes off snap and doesn’t disengage or counter well. Plays high, but seems to work for him more than it should. Has good feet and closes well. Always moving forward, but motor inconsistent on plays to opposite side of field.
Fantasy Line: Werner bores me and I’m not sure I see the edge rush upside many others do. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have DL1 upside. Should be an 800 snap player in time and compilers are fine fantasy options.
Pre-Draft Fantasy DL Rookie Tier ~ 1
Scheme Fits: 4-3 DE
Barkevious Mingo | LSU | 6-4, 241
http://draftbreakdown.com/players/barkevious-mingo
Scouting Notes: Often played strong side end in edge setting role. Relentless motor. Athletic and explosive, but more often used a bull rush than speed edge rush, possibly due to responsibility of scheme. Can flatten and showed off a successful spin move at times. Bull rush showed good leverage and strong hands, but was rarely successful. Very strong setting the edge for his size. Didn’t see any coverage drops, but should be athletic enough to transition to OLB if asked.
Fantasy Line: If used in Wide-9 and continues to develop as pass rusher, could be elite fantasy end as he adds bulk. If drafted into 3-4 scheme, situational value only until we see how he develops.
Pre-Draft Fantasy DL Rookie Tier ~ 1 / Fantasy LB Rookie Tier ~ 3-4
Scheme Fits: 4-3 DE, 3-4 OLB
Datone Jones | UCLA | 6-4, 283
http://draftbreakdown.com/players/datone-jones
Scouting Notes: Used between the tackles primarily last year in variety of techniques in the guard-tackle gap and over the nose. Explosive off the snap, often first lineman moving but in control. Plays with excellent leverage and controls linemen with hands to shed consistently. Successful in pass rush with first step but has strong bull and rip moves. Closes quickly after beating linemen. Proved his pass rush can translate against a good group of tackles at Senior Bowl, where he more than held his own in 1v1 drills.
Fantasy Line: I really liked Jones at the Senior Bowl. He won’t be explosive, but he could grow into a 700 snap, all-around talent with DL2 value.
Pre-Draft Fantasy DL Rookie Tier ~ 2
Scheme Fits: 4-3 DE, 3-4 RDE, subpackage DT
Margus Hunt | SMU | 6-8, 277
http://draftbreakdown.com/players/margus-hunt
Scouting Notes: Primarily played 4-3 LDE, some snaps over nose in subpackages. Literally and figuratively, a huge enigma. Unexpectedly low stance, explosive off the ball and acceleration for a man his size. Shows very good speed off edge, flattens well, counters with good rip/swim move. When plays with good leverage and uses his hands well, easily controls blockers and is force in run game. Plays high too often. At times, looks dominant on tape. Much too high and stiff against Sr. Bowl competition.
Fantasy Line: Jumps off screen in linked cutups v TCU and Fresno, which made his Sr. Bowl 1v1 and team drill play that much more disappointing to me. With development and a role in a 4-3 front, could be a dominant fantasy player. Could bust given his play against all-star competition and/or if drafted into 2-gap scheme.
Pre-Draft Fantasy DL Rookie Tier ~ 2
Scheme Fits: 4-3 DE, 3-4 DE, 3-tech
Alex Okafor | Texas | 6-5, 264
http://draftbreakdown.com/players/alex-okafor
Scouting Notes: Mix of 4-3 DE and stand up snaps around the formation. Can be explosive off the snap, but not true edge rusher. Better bull rush and uses hands well. Sets edge against the run, but instincts are average and doesn’t make as many plays as he could. Dropped into space at times, but didn’t look athletic doing so.
Fantasy Line: Combination of bull and speed rush upside intriguing, but may not translate well to the box score.
Pre-Draft Fantasy DL Rookie Tier ~ 2
Scheme Fits: 4-3 LDE, 4-3 RDE, 3-4 OLB
Damontre Moore | Texas A&M | 6-5, 250
http://draftbreakdown.com/players/damontre-moore
Scouting Notes: Played mix of RDE/LDE in 4-3. Seemed noticeably less explosive later in the season. Some question of whether multiple nicks and conditioning began to add up. When on, is explosive in pursuit with good array of pass rush moves, an ability to flatten and a quick finish. When not, his first step is average and his finish is inconsistent. Shows good hand placement and leverage at times, gets ridden out of plays due to his poor leverage at others. Usually good motor, pursues to sideline. Looked fluid in coverage on rare occasions he dropped into coverage. Combine measurables (4.95, 12 reps) cause for concern given questions on tape.
Fantasy Line: Inconsistency in all phases worrisome for his statistical upside, especially if he goes to a 3-4 team. May be a player that adds weight and develops DL2 value in his second or third year.
Pre-Draft Fantasy DL Rookie Tier ~ 2
Scheme Fits: 4-3 RDE, 3-4 OLB, 4-3 LDE
Jarvis Jones | Georgia | 6-2, 245
http://draftbreakdown.com/players/jarvis-jones
Scouting Notes: Mostly a standup rusher, but did drop into coverage at times. 40 time was disappointing but looks more explosive and plays faster than time suggests. Shows some edge burst and puts himself in position to use hands well, but doesn’t follow through on pass rush often enough and doesn’t counter well. Inconsistent shedding to play run, not a fundamental tackler. Looks fluid dropping into coverage, but awareness suspect at times. Overall, has tools, but execution and consistency questionable. Also questions about spinal stenosis condition, but seems mostly non-issue.
Fantasy Line: Will be 3-4 OLB, not consistent enough in any phase to be statistically consistent.
Pre-Draft Fantasy LB Rookie Tier ~ 3-4
Scheme Fits: 3-4 OLB
Quanterus Smith | Western Kentucky | 6-5, 250
http://draftbreakdown.com/players/quanterus-smith
Scouting Notes: Bloom favorite. Used as 4-3 end on either side of formation. Impressive strong hands after engaged, strong shed and swim moves. Flashes of edge rush skill and flattens well, though inconsistently explosive off snap. Sometimes gets too high too soon on first pass rush move. Struggles to hold point despite hand technique. Torn ACL in November.
Fantasy Line: There’s some edge rush upside here, but no guarantee he’s more than a situational player in the long term. Climbs draft board if he’s taken early by a team with a depth chart opening.
Pre-Draft Fantasy DL Rookie Tier ~ 3
Scheme Fits: 4-3 RDE, 3-4 OLB
Sam Montgomery | LSU | 6-3, 262
http://draftbreakdown.com/players/sam-montgomery
Scouting notes: Primarily 4-3 DE, rarely moved around formation, handful of snaps as standup rusher. Almost always last player moving after snap, which limits any speed rush ability he might have. Strong for his size, hot motor, flashes good bull rush. Runs bowlegged, which hurts his acceleration after first couple of steps. Good recognition skills, but too stiff to take full advantage.
Fantasy Line: Untapped potential if he can be coached to react to snap, but major worry about bull rush and lack of acceleration translating to NFL in current state. May be situational player, inconsistent fantasy value, especially if team tries him as 3-4 OLB.
Pre-Draft Fantasy DL Rookie Tier ~ 3
Scheme Fits: 4-3 DE, 3-4 OLB
Corey Lemonier | Auburn | 6-3, 255
http://draftbreakdown.com/players/corey-lemonier
Scouting Notes: Played defensive end last year, but getting looks as 3-4 OLB in pre-draft workouts. Flashes edge rush capability, but inconsistent getting off snap. Was consistently a beat slow v Joeckel and completely shut down. When he does get off ball, he’s explosive, gets low with good lean and will flatten. Otherwise, doesn’t disengage and is neutralized. Shows an interest in inside pass rush move and bull rush, but not successful. Can leverage and use hands well, but doesn’t make many plays v run.
Fantasy Line: If goes to 3-4 scheme, will be scoring system dependent. Will need time to develop as 4-3 end, but could grow into DL2 in time.
Pre-Draft Fantasy DL Rookie Tier ~ 3 / Fantasy LB Rookie Tier ~ 4
Scheme Fits: 4-3 RDE, 3-4 OLB
Others that will have my attention on draft weekend: Chase Thomas (Stanford), Brandon Jenkins (Florida State), Michael Buchanan (Illinois), Lavar Edwards (LSU), Cornelius Washington (Georgia), Malliciah Goodman (Clemson), Devin Taylor (South Carolina), Trevardo Williams (UConn)
for this thread in the Forum.
