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| Jadaveon Clowney, Jason Verret, C.J. Mosley & Anthony Barr |
With offense in the books at the NFL Scouting Combine it’s time to turn our attention to the defensive side of the ball. I’ll have some upcoming material regarding the performance of the offensive players, but suffice it to say that there will be some shake-ups in the rankings, but there weren’t too many mind-boggling surprises.
I’d advise everyone—especially those who haven’t yet read it, or those who question my opinions on draft matters—to read through my methodology when it comes to at-home scouting.
Defenders will start the on-field drills tomorrow. All rankings in this post were made prior to official height-weight measurements made at the Combine. There will be minor or drastic changes made to the positional and overall rankings after the Combine’s closure.
Please note that the “defensive big board” below is incomplete and therefore semi-pointless. Only players listed in my positional rankings make an appearance on the big board. The rankings are, for current purposes, much more important.
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| Repeat: defensive big board (above) = Less important than positional rankings |
I’m not going to hit on every individual listed, but here are some pressing thoughts before the defenders hit the turf:
Jadaveon Clowney is the No. 1 prospect until he shows that he isn’t. He’s expected to run somewhere between the 4.5s and the 4.7s. If he scrapes out a 4.9, he’s still at the top of my board. He’s got the tape to show he’s explosive. If he blows up the Combine it merely confirms that explosion for the number-crunchers.
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| from sportstalkflorida.com
Kony Ealy
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I personally put more stock into the measurables of pass-rushers than any other position. Raw athletes have shown that they can provide immediate impact, and long-term development into dominant edge-rushers, with little technique and superior athletic tools. Aldon Smith, Jason Pierre-Paul and Ezekiel Ansah have proven that in recent drafts.
With that said, I’m particularly high on Kony Ealy. He is more Pierre-Paul and Ansah in that his weight probably limits him to being a 4-3 end, but his Missouri ties and his SEC roots and production mimic Aldon Smith a little more. At this point in the process I have him ranked very highly, and I expect him to generate more buzz after the Combine. I don’t think missing out on Clowney and “settling” for Ealy is a huge problem for teams needing an impact defensive end.
As far as edge rushers go though, he’s only fourth in my rankings. Anthony Barr and Khalil Mack can both bring heat off the edge, and both have all-pro potential. Barr’s length gives him an added bump over Mack in my estimation, and he might have the size to play as a down-lineman as well as an OLB in a 3-4 and a 4-3.
This class is loaded.
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| from cbssports.com
Louis Nix III
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At the top of my defensive tackle rankings right now I have Timmy Jernigan over Louis Nix III, mostly due to Jernigan being the better penetrator of the two. I’ve also watched a good amount of Jernigan and I just think he’s a ball player, so he gets the nod as my top DT. Dominique Easley would give him a run for his money otherwise, but he gets knocked back a couple pegs because he’s coming off an ACL injury.
Stephon Tuitt is one of the more interesting prospects at the top of the draft. After the 2012 season he seemed to be in the running as a top-10 pick, but he bulked up considerably and had a fairly disappointing year. With his length he seems to have a frame best suited to being an edge player, but with the added weight (I believe he was playing at 320 pounds this past season), he might be limited to the interior of the line. What is his position? The Combine is going to give us a good indication where he belongs on the field, and on draft boards.
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| from cardinalconnect.com
Calvin Pryor
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The defensive backs in the blue-chip and red-chip area are tremendous. Calvin Pryor is gaining a lot of steam as the top safety in the class, but HaHa Clinton-Dix is still the top guy for me at that position. It’s a close call though, and a great Combine by either player could give them the necessary boost to solidify the top spot.
I like three cornerbacks in this draft more than I liked Dee Milliner and D.J. Hayden in last year’s draft. Justin Gilbert is probably the best athlete to enter the draft at the cornerback position since Patrick Peterson, and Darqueze Dennard is probably the most technically sound and competitive to enter since Morris Claiborne. Both guys are deserving a top-15 selection in most drafts, even this one, but the sheer depth of this class might push on (or both) further down the board than would be normal for corners of their quality.
Like Brandin Cooks at receiver, a guy I absolutely love is Jason Verrett. He’s undersized, and so he’s not quite in the class of Gilbert and Dennard, but he’s a true competitor and he plays the game with the quickness and toughness you want to see from smaller players. Verrett is a guy probably would have been picked in the top-20 of last year’s draft (I would have argued he should be taken over Milliner even), but because of the depth this year will probably be swooped up near the end of Day 1. Love him as a prospect though. Definitely a guy the Niners could target, as he’s the premier slot cornerback in this draft as far as I’m concerned.
Another guy I want to talk up is Lamarcus Joyner. He’s a “tweener” in that he is a bit too short to be a corner on the outside, and a bit too light to be an in the box safety, but I don’t care where you put him, Joyner is going to make plays. He’s just a baller, pure and simple. He shouldn’t make it out of the first round, but I feel like he will, unless he generates buzz at the Combine. He’s similar to Tyrann Matthieu except instead of carrying baggage he’s carrying football savvy and leadership.
After Verrett the CB rankings are fuzzy. The Combine should shed a lot on who the elite athletes are, and will probably lead to some rearranging of the position in players 4-10 and beyond.
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| from football.com
Pierre Desir
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Two guys to watch closely are Louichiez Purifoy of Florida and Pierre Desir of Lindenwood. Both are ideal athletes that have prototype height/weight/speed for the position. Purifoy has some top-10 buzz prior to this season. He’s a special teams maven, and while his film isn’t his strongest suit, he has all the tools to work with.
Desir is one of my favorite players in the draft. I discovered him watching the Senior Bowl practices and a strong draft crush was developed at first sight. He was competitive with the D-1 guys and he played with fairly good technique. He’s got great size at 6’ 1” 195 pounds, and after watching him for only a little while, I expect him to show great speed at that size, probably in the low 4.4 range. He’s a guy that can push himself from a mid-round prospect to an early Day 2 pick with a great Combine.
I like small school guys at the skill positions, because they generally come in with a chip on their shoulder, and that extra competitive edge helps them to maximize their athletic potential, and Desir seems to have an incredible amount of athletic potential.
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| from ncaa.com
Ryan Shazier
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C.J. Mosley is, and will almost assuredly stay, the top "standard" (as in non-edge-rushing) linebacker prospect in this draft. His Combine performance is merely going to decide where he goes in relation to the other positions, and how much farther ahead of Borland or Smallwood or Shazier he’s selected.
Ryan Shazier is an interesting player because his size pretty much limits him to being a 4-3 OLB. That lack of versatility really hurts his stock, but it’s difficult to place him because he has the potential to be a dominant OLB in a 4-3. He’s very reminiscent of Lavonte David who fell into the second round but has been a hugely impactful player for the Buccaneers.
There’s so much more to say about all these players, but I’ll let the rankings finish my thoughts for me from here. After the Combine I’ll have more time to fully flesh out my opinions of each of the position groups and the major prospects.
Enjoy the Combine. Go Niners.
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