Monthly Archives: April 2020

Name	Position	School	Grade
Grant Delpit	S	LSU	82.92
Xavier McKinney	S	Alabama	80.7
Antoine Winfield Jr.	S	Minnesota	78.63
Kyle Dugger	S	Lenoir-Rhyne	73.63
Ashtyn Davis	S	California	71.6
Jeremy Chinn	S	Southern Illinois	68.84
Brandon Jones	S	Texas	62.24

This is a strong and athletic safety class. We’ll see how much teams value polish vs. raw athleticism.

Grant Delpit: Can play centerfield or in the slot. Solid man and zone coverage skills. Elite range and athleticism. Plays a physical brand of football. Perhaps too physical. He played through numerous ailments and it clearly hampered his performance. There’s also the issue of his tackling technique. He goes for the knockout hit, with inconsistent results. His ceiling makes him my favorite safety in the class. However, it’s McKinney who is the consensus first safety off the board. Delpit will need to learn how to play without taking so much punishment. I expect he’ll be a tremendous value to whomever drafts him, especially if he falls to the second round as expected.

Xavier McKinney: Excellent coverage skills either deep or near the line-of-scrimmage. His reaction speed and football intelligence are elite. Solid ballhawk traits, although his hands are a concern. He could have had an absurd number of interceptions over the past two years. On the plus side he’s learned how to punch the ball out when tackling. I can see why the NFL is so infatuated with him. One concern: He doesn’t have NFL prototype size, so he may have to model his game off of Marcus Williams. That’s a pretty good outcome if he equals Williams’ performance.

Antione Winfield Jr.: A pure free safety. Winfield excels in zone coverage. Winfield is short and thick in a way few safeties are. His athleticism is mediocre at best by NFL standards. What will earn him a place in the league is his ballhawk skills. He had seven interceptions last season and that wasn’t a fluke. Winfield isn’t afraid to gamble. He doesn’t go for deflections when he thinks he has a chance to make the catch. There’s some risk to that play style. If he doesn’t make the play, he’s out of position and could be toast. I love his recognition skills, but his athleticism might not allow him to play the way he wants to play at the next level. He’ll go off the board around the middle of day two. I’d be wary of taking him that high.

Kyle Dugger: It’s easy to find game film for FBS programs. It’s tougher to find FCS film, outside of the top programs such as North Dakota State. Finding division II film isn’t a challenge I regularly face. I took what I could get. All I was looking for was to ensure he was on a different level than his competition or teammates. He was. My projections for Dugger are pretty much entirely based on his combine as I have no real measurement for DII stats. He’s 6’1, 217 pounds, and ran a 4.49 40. He might be used as a strong safety or perhaps as a nickel linebacker. The jump from DII to the NFL is enormous, so he may have a longer than normal adjustment period. The NFL needs gifted athletes though. I expect Dugger to come off the board in the second round.

Ashtyn Davis: Man, his range is phenomenal. Quick reaction to the quarterback and then boom, he’s gone. His man coverage skills are only so-so. I figure given his athleticism, he’ll be able to improve quite a bit in this area with experience. Another area of improvement will be his ball recognition skills. He makes a ton of plays on the ball as is, but he also leaves a ton on the field due to spotty awareness. Davis is still a work in progress so I expect he’ll be available round three.

Jeremy Chinn: 6’3, 221 pounds, 4.45 40-time. That alone punches his ticket to the second round of the NFL draft. Chinn is an aggressive ballhawk. Like Winfield, he’s a gambler. Chinn feasted on the weaker competition Southern Illinois faced. His coverage skills will need refinement, particularly in terms of his footwork. His play recognition skills will need to be upgraded as well. That’ll come with practice and experience. Chinn’s a manimal and I expect great things from him in the pros.

Brandon Jones: Played both corner and safety. At his best when playing off of the line of scrimmage. He didn’t quite have the agility to excel in man coverage. He has the speed to play well in zone, but needs to improve his recognition skills and reaction times. He’s also a bit undersized. I figure he’ll be around day three for a team looking for defensive backfield depth.

2020 NFL Draft: Cornerbacks

April 20, 2020

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Name	Position	School	Grade
Jeff Okudah	CB	Ohio State	92.39
C.J. Henderson	CB	Florida	84.09
Trevon Diggs	CB	Alabama	80.06
Kristian Fulton	CB	LSU	76.33
A.J. Terrell	CB	Clemson	75.57
Jaylon Johnson	CB	Utah	75.19
Jeff Gladney	CB	TCU	74.7
Damon Arnette	CB	Ohio State	73.91
Noah Igbinoghene	CB	Auburn	69.33
Cameron Dantzler	CB	Mississippi State	68.37
Bryce Hall	CB	Virginia	66.81
A.J. Green	CB	Oklahoma State	65.01
Amik Robertson	CB	Louisiana Tech	64.86
Troy Pride Jr.	CB	Notre Dame	61.22

This is a deep cornerback class, with a solid high end. They’ll come off the board early and often.

Jeff Okudah: The best college cornerback I’ve ever scouted. Can play man or zone. He matches up well against larger receivers with the speed and agility to handle smaller speedsters. Cornerbacks have a tough transition to the NFL and it usually takes a year for them to get up to speed. I expect Okudah to be an elite #1CB by the time his rookie contract is finished. Would be my second non-quarterback off the board, trailing only his teammate Chris Young. Please note, I covered the tension involved in selecting between the two here.

C.J. Henderson: Excellent athlete. Moves beautifully well on film. Familiar with both man and zone responsibilities. I have some concerns though. He doesn’t like getting physical. I don’t expect my cornerbacks to play a big role against the run, but Henderson takes it to the extreme. There’s also the issue that opponents had decent success targeting Henderson in 2019. The fact that he dropped a pair of interceptions didn’t help. Henderson will come off the board early, but I’m not nearly as confident in him as I am Okudah.

Trevon Diggs: I think Diggs gets a bit of a bad rap. He was somewhat undisciplined for most of his college career. He was dominant last season. His technique needs significant refinement. He’s gotten away with some flaws due to his strength, athleticism, and great reaction speed. He can play man or zone, potentially at an elite level. His ceiling is higher than Henderson’s and I’d be happy taking Diggs in the first round.

Kristian Fulton: Fulton’s film was surprisingly irritating. The dude should have had more interceptions. It’s not just an issue of drops. He focuses on breaking passes when he has a decent shout of picking them off. And then there’s his tackling. Ugh. I love his pure cover skills and if he fixes some of the flaws in his game he could be an All-Pro. Having said that, there are two other issues here. The first is he’s already suffered multiple season-ending injuries in college. The second is he got caught attempting to cheat a drug test and was suspended for it. His coverage skills say he’s a top 40 prospect. I wouldn’t take him that high though.

A.J. Terrell: I love his zone-skills. Excellent vision and reaction time. His ball skills aren’t great though. Has the size and speed NFL teams are looking for. His man coverage skills need refinement. He had real difficulty turning and staying with his man. Overall his coverage numbers were solid, but it’s clear he’s much stronger in zone than man. He’ll need to go to an NFL team that can maximize his strengths. I expect him to come off the board in the first round.

Jaylon Johnson: Targeted a ton at Utah, but more than held his own. Played both inside and outside. Excellent at tracking the ball and getting his hands on it. Not afraid to play physical and deliver a hit in run support. Medical red flag due to repeated shoulder injuries. He has first-round talent but might fallif teams aren’t sure about his long term health prognosis.

Jeff Gladney: Small but tough. Gambles in coverage, especially in zone. Will jump routes in the hope of breaking up or intercepting the pass and risk letting the wide receiver get behind him. They’ll punish that tendency in the pros until he learns to be more judicious. Another concern is that in man coverage he’ll play the man as often as the ball. He’ll have to learn how to do so without drawing flags. He’s talented enough to work his way up to a #1CB role in the NFL. Solid 2^nd round value.

Damon Arnette: Coming off of a very good senior season with the Buckeyes. Before this year he was “just a guy” out there in the defensive backfield. He’s very physical, aggressive in his press coverage. He can also get a bid handsy down the field, which will draw scrutiny from the officials. Arnette can play outside or in the slot. He’s not athletic enough to stick with the true speedsters. I figure he’ll come off the board around the middle of day two. One concern: He’ll turn 24 before the season starts.

Noah Igbinoghene: Superb athlete. Not afraid of getting physical, either with receivers, or attacking the running game. Elite special teams performer. Igbinoghene would be a first-round lock if his route recognition skills weren’t a work in progress. Receivers were generally able to create some space with their cuts, and it was a question of whether Igbinoghene could make up the ground before the ball arrived. His mediocre coverage stats last season should be a warning to NFL teams that he needs some polish. Between his upside and special teams value, I’d be fine taking him in the second round. Just know that this is a high risk, high reward pick.

Cameron Dantzler: Good zone coverage skills. Nice vision and reaction time. Plays faster on the field than his combine would suggest. The problem with Dantzler is he doesn’t have much play strength. I don’t ask a lot from my cornerbacks in this area, but with Dantzler it’s a real concern. Wide receivers can bully him, and Dantzler is the one who will pick up flags when he fights back. I expect he’ll come off the board day two, but I wouldn’t take him that high unless I ran zone and I desperately needed CB depth.

Bryce Hall: Hall has the size and athleticism teams are looking for. Showed improvement every year at Virginia. Broke up an absurd number of passes in 2018. Was playing very well his senior year before a left ankle injury ended his season. It required surgery and I don’t know what his medical prognosis is. If it’s not an issue, he’s a day two value. I have to figure teams will be wary, especially given their inability to bring him in for testing. I expect he’ll be available day three.

A.J. Green: I feel for Green. He started for the past three years at Oklahoma State, facing some very tough receivers. As for Green’s numbers, they were… um… fine. That’s before taking the penalty yardage he surrendered into account. It’s an ever bigger concern in the NFL where pass interference yardage isn’t capped at 15 yards. His athleticism is pedestrian by NFL standards. Teams won’t start looking seriously at green until the fifth round.

Amik Robertson: Absolutely dominant last year at Louisiana Tech. 14 interceptions over the past three seasons. His coverage skills were elite, at least by Conference USA standards. There are two concerns though. The first is his level of competition wasn’t close to what he’ll face in the NFL. The second is that he’s only 5’8. It will be tough for him to match up with bigger receivers. That may limit his role to the slot. It’s hard not to love his film but his limitations suggest he shouldn’t come off the board until late day two.

Troy Pride Jr.: Has the athleticism to be an elite cornerback, but the light hasn’t come on yet. His coverage numbers plateaued the past three seasons. His ball tracking skills are remarkably poor. Even if he can get good position on the receiver, he’ll still struggle to make a play. And then there’s his tackling. It’s clearly not his favorite part of playing football. The fact that we’ve seen so little development from Pride at Notre Dame makes me concerned that he may already be at his peak. I wouldn’t take him until day three.

2020 NFL Draft: Inside Linebackers

April 20, 2020

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Name	Position	School	Grade
Kenneth Murray	ILB	Oklahoma	81.78
Patrick Queen	ILB	LSU	79.2
Jordyn Brooks	ILB	Texas Tech	63.84
Logan Wilson	ILB	Wyoming	62.73
Malik Harrison	ILB	Ohio State	60.44

Kenneth Murray and Patrick Queen present teams with a very strong interior defensive options. Both have their pluses:

Kenneth Murray: There’s a tradeoff between making quick decisions and waiting for more information to ensure you’re making the right decision. Murray errs on the side of quick decisions. When he’s right he gets to the spot faster than any other linebacker in the draft. His range is exceptional. His enormous wingspan allows him to wrap up ballcarriers from tough angles. It blows my mind that he made 28 tackles in a single game against Army. His pass coverage skills are a work in progress. The speed and agility are there. He just needs to learn proper angles and technique. I see a player who could eventually be the best MLB in the NFL. Solid first round selection.

Patrick Queen: Similar to Murray in some ways. Both fly around the field. Queen’s pass coverage skills are more refined. Queen also looks to deliver big hits more often, while Murray prefers to wrap up. The biggest issue for Queen is that he doesn’t have the size and power that teams look for inside. As such, he may be asked to develop into a safety-linebacker hybrid. He has speed and athleticism to play off the ball, and there his size would be less of an issue. We’ll see. I like Queen quite a bit and would be happy taking him in the first round if Murray was already off the board.

Jordyn Brooks: Flourished after moving inside his senior year at Texas Tech. Moved well, but wasn’t as fast as he thought. Some of the angles he took would only make sense if he was much faster than his target. It didn’t always play out that way. Has plenty of experience in coverage. Good range. Despite his size, showed some issues fighting for position against tight ends. Much better at avoiding blocks than defeating them. There’s a pretty big gap between Brooks and the top two. Round three prospect for me.

Logan Wilson: Lacks premier athleticism. That’s probably why he ended up at Wyoming. He accumulated 400+ tackles in his four years there. That’s a lot of f***ing tackles. There are a lot of good football players who don’t have the athleticism to hack it in the NFL. Why do I like Wilson? His vision. He intercepted 10% of the passes sent his way. Yeah, that was mostly against Mountain West competition. His zone coverage skills are elite. He was a cornerback in high school and it shows. I’d be happy taking him in the third round.

Malik Harrison: I trust him attacking the line of scrimmage. Good mix of athleticism and power. I do not trust him in coverage. At all. His change-of-direction skills are terrible. I’m fine with him blitzing, patrolling the middle, or spying the quarterback. Put him up against an NFL tight end and you’re gonna have a bad time. It’s not just a man coverage issue. His vision hurts him in zone coverage. I wouldn’t take Harrison until day three.

2020 NFL Draft: Defensive Tackles

April 20, 2020

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Name	Position	School	Grade
Derrick Brown	DT	Auburn	92.48
Javon Kinlaw	DT	South Carolina	86.27
Ross Blacklock	DT	TCU	77.09
Raekwon Davis	DT	Alabama	76.46
Neville Gallimore	DT	Oklahoma	72.76
Justin Madubuike	DT	Texas A&M	70.05
Jason Strowbridge	DT	North Carolina	68.24
Marlon Davidson	DT	Auburn	66.78
Jordan Elliott	DT	Missouri	65.06
Leki Fotu	DT	Utah	63.5
James Lynch	DT	Baylor	62.42

Defensive tackles that aren’t disruptive have seen their value decrease as stopping opposing running games has become less important. There was an era where Derrick Brown would have been a more important piece of the defense than Jeff Okudah. Mind you, neither Brown nor Okudah were alive during that era.

Derrick Brown: Brown is an elite defender who doesn’t get much credit in the stat sheet. He’ll push the pocket and move the quarterback off the spot while rarely getting a sack. It’s very hard to run at him, so opposing running games generally look elsewhere. His power is exceptional. Does a good job of getting his hands up in the passing lane when blocked. Even with the step up in difficulty, he’s going to be tough to block 1-on-1 in the NFL. He’ll come off the board in the top 10 and provide good value to the team that drafts him.

Javon Kinlaw: Kinlaw provided a solid interior pass rush for South Carolina, nabbing seven sacks. He’s not quite as disruptive as Brown, especially when double-teamed. That was despite a limited pass-rush repertoire. There’s definite room for improvement in that regard. The ceiling here is fairly high. He doesn’t provide the power of an elite run-stuffer. That can be overlooked when you’re looking at a defensive tackle who can bring the quarterback down. I’d be fine taking him outside of the top ten.

Ross Blacklock: Very athletic on film. Exploded off the line. Moves well in space. You watch him and he looks great, but somehow it doesn’t show up in the stat sheet. I’d see a guy disrupting the offense, and yet he’d finish with three tackles and no sacks. I genuinely have no explanation for this. He fought well against double teams. His pass-rush moves were solid. His power is legit. Some of it might be opposing offenses knowing they had to account for him. Even so, I’d be leery of grabbing him in the first round with this level of production. Day two choice for me.

Raekwon Davis: Davis had a monster sophomore season with 8.5 sacks, but pretty much in that department the last two years. Were injuries the culprit? Or is this just variance? My guess is the latter. He was fairly disruptive in 2018 and 2019, just with fewer highlights. What bugs me is that the dude is 6’6 and yet he doesn’t disrupt passing lanes. Maybe Davis will become a complete player in the pros. He’s not athletic enough to coast off his talent.

Neville Gallimore: Surprisingly deep pass-rush skill set. Excellent swim move. Moves very well in the open field. Alas, he ended up on his back a lot. Whoever drafts him is going to have to teach him how to play aggressively with a lower pad level. His mix of size and athleticism with ensure he comes off the board day two.

Justin Madubuike: Plays balls out football. Yeah, sometimes that backfires and he gets beat with traps or misdirection. No matter, he more than makes up for it with a fierce pass-rush. He’s proven to be an asset on special teams as well. There are plenty of issues with his game. It’s not refined. He doesn’t blow you away with raw athleticism. I’ll accept that. He’s an excellent football player and I’d love him to end up with the Jets in the second round.

Jason Strowbridge: I don’t know what to make of Strowbridge. He’s undersized to play tackle, but doesn’t have the skills to play end. He plays smart football, making the most of his talent. I’d rate him as a third-round value except that I have no idea what his role in the pros will be. Given that, I expect him to fall to day three. Hopefully he lands with a team that has a good idea how to use him.

Marlon Davidson: I’m not sure if Davidson will end up at end or tackle, or perhaps split time between them. Regardless, he was massively disruptive at Auburn. He read plays well, blowing them up when possible. More powerful than athletic. He’s developed good hand-fighting skills to win the battles off the edge. I acknowledge that he’s not a traditional defensive end and might not be able to win 1-on-1 battles with NFL tackles. So be it. I can live with him working inside. Solid day two value.

Jordan Elliott: I’m seeing mocks with Elliot going in the top 50. That blows my mind. His reaction off the snap was glacial. His athleticism allowed him to get pressure despite poor technique. He’s agile enough to put himself in position to make plays. His lack of field awareness meant he couldn’t cash in, registering a measly 2.5 sacks last season. I view Elliot as a raw talent and a project. I wouldn’t touch him in the first two rounds.

Leki Fotu: An old-school space eater. He soaks up blockers while his teammates make plays. Fotu was more agile in space than I was expecting. That might be due to his experience playing rugby. He received a medical red flag at the Senior Bowl, so his draft stock might have fallen to day three. He’s not a pass-rusher, so the upside here is limited. If you have a gaping hole in your defensive line, and are willing to take a bit of a risk, Fotu’s your man.

James Lynch: It took me a while to figure Lynch out. I wasn’t impressed with his ability to win 1-on-1 battles with blockers. I wasn’t sure if he was better playing inside on the end. I was going to write him off as a mediocre prospect, but the fact that he had 13.5 sacks and five passes deflected at the line meant there was something I was missing. A lot of defenders get praised for having a good motor. Lynch really does. He never gave up on a play. If he was blocked, he did what he could to make life hard for the quarterback. If the quarterback had to move to his second or third read, Lynch would be in the backfield, making his life miserable. Lynch ended up with elite pass-rush stats, beyond just the sacks. It’s difficult to teach on-field awareness and Lynch has it. Solid day two selection for me.

2020 NFL Draft: Outside Linebackers

April 20, 2020

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Name	Position	School	Grade
Isaiah Simmons	OLB	Clemson	91.75
Terrell Lewis	OLB	Alabama	77.66
Zack Baun	OLB	Wisconsin	76.67
Josh Uche	OLB	Michigan	70.65
Akeem Davis-Gaither	OLB	Appalachian State	66.4
Anfernee Jennings	OLB	Alabama	60.54

It’s a tough draft to find elite pass-rushers. The scouts and coaches will have to earn there money here.

Isaiah Simmons: Not a true edge. Actually, he’s closer to a safety. Extraordinary range. Showed strong pass-rush skills last season, with excellent results. He’s the best nickel linebacker I’ve ever seen coming out of college. The fact that he can excel in coverage or blitz effectively pushes him into the elite class. Normally I don’t like non-edge linebackers in the top five because they don’t influence opposing passing games enough. I’d make an exception for Simmons. He’ll noticeably improve whatever defense he goes to.

Terrell Lewis: Tricky call here. He’s had numerous injuries, including a torn ACL and a surgically repaired elbow. When healthy, he’s a quality rusher with a diverse set of moves. He has the size and power teams are looking for. His athleticism is elite, although I have to wonder how long that will remain true if his body keeps breaking down. High risk high reward pick. Look for someone to take the gamble in the second round.

Zach Baun: Coming off of an absolutely monster season for the Badgers, with 12.5 sacks and a plethora of highlights. Played fast, which had a ton of pluses, but some minuses too. He’d often arrive at the ball carrier off balance, leading to missed tackles. I’m a little concerned that if speed moves fail, he won’t have the power to battle NFL tackles. If he can’t be a pure rusher, then he’ll have to develop better coverage skills. Those are currently a work in progress. Baun’s an intriguing prospect, but without knowing how I’d use him on my roster, I don’t think I’d take him in the top 40.

Josh Uche: Used sparingly at Michigan. A fairly pure pass-rusher, Uche hasn’t developed a diverse skillset. As such, if you’re taking him, his baseline is that of a nickel rush linebacker. That’s a pretty narrow role for a player expected to come off the board in the first two rounds. He had 15.5 sacks over the past two seasons at Michigan, so we know he can produce. I’m just not sold that it’s worth taking him this early.

Akeem Davis-Gaither: The film is good. The stats are solid. Davis-Gaither looks like a quality weakside linebacker. The catch is that the film is from Appalachian State, and it’s a big step up. The competition wasn’t good enough to give us an accurate gauge. Additionally, he didn’t run at the combine, to it’s tough to measure his athleticism. I wouldn’t look to take him until the third round.

Anfernee Jennings: Jennings doesn’t impress on film. He’s not explosive or powerful. He makes his fair share of plays though. He attacks the line of scrimmage well enough despite not having refined techniques. He’ll be available day three. I expect him to provide value to whomever selects him.

I apologize, but this is about to get a bit complicated. I need to talk about play states.

On every play there are multiple battles being waged. Let’s talk about a basic four man rush where four receivers run patterns and a running back is in the backfield available to block or release. In this example the #1WR and #2WR’s are matched up against their #1CB and #2CB counterparts. The slot WR is up against the nickel cornerback. The tight end is up against the free safety. The defensive ends are matched up against their offensive tackles. The center is helping out the right guard, while the left guard is mono y mono. Let’s presume the quarterback is operating out of the shotgun.

On one Mississippi we have three man-to-man battles on the line. If the left guard whiffs, the quarterback or running back better react quickly. Thankfully, that’s a rare fail state for the left guard. Similarly the tackles will have varying levels of success against the ends. Here’s where I’d like to introduce the concept of Pythag. It’s not as clean as it is when we have sports where you either win or lose. In pass protection it’s not that binary. How long you can hold a block (and how much space you surrender against a bull rush) matters a great deal. For our purposes I’m going to define a win for the pass-rusher if they affect the play such that plan A isn’t available. They move the quarterback off the spot such that he has to take his eyes off of the second level.

Remember how the longer a quarterback has to hold the ball, the better it is for the defensive line? That goes the other way too. The longer an offensive line can protect the quarterback, the more coverage breaks down. Both defensive backs and offensive lineman know that their job is to buy as much time as possible. Elite cornerbacks buy their linemen time to get to the quarterback. Elite edge rushers limit the amount of time

2020 NFL Draft: Defensive Ends (& Pass Rush vs. Coverage)

April 20, 2020

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Name	Position	School	Grade
Chase Young	DE	Ohio State	96.6
K’Lavon Chaisson	DE	LSU	82.39
A.J. Epenesa	DE	Iowa	81.43
Yetur Gross-Matos	DE	Penn State	81.31
Julian Okwara	DE	Notre Dame	73.79
Bradlee Anae	DE	Utah	70.77
Curtis Weaver	DE	Boise State	69.51
Jabari Zuniga	DE	Florida	68.63
Jonathan Greenard	DE	Florida	64.05
Darrell Taylor	DE	Tennessee	64.02

As with the quarterback class, the defensive end class is fairly top-heavy, with the premium prospect effectively unavailable. Note: Defensive positions are fluid. Some defensive ends can play defensive tackle. Others can play outside linebacker.

Note that I cover pass rush vs. coverage vis-à-vis Chase Young vs. Jeff Okudah with the #2 overall pick.

Chase Young: One of my models has Young as the next Lawrence Taylor. Young projects to be even better than his former teammate and defensive rookie of the year Nick Bosa. I rewatched the Clemson game to see what a bad game from Young looks like. Instead what I found was an offense building their entire gameplan around shutting Young down. That’s respect. His combination of size, athleticism, and reaction time is unique. His teammate cornerback Jeff Okudah is the most likely #3 pick. Given that, now seems like a good time to talk about the coverage vs. pass rush debate.

When game-planning if you feel like a cornerback is truly elite, you can simply not throw at him and play 10-10. That’s a bigger handicap than it sounds like as it reduces the space on the field you can attack.

If you’re facing an elite edge, you’d better have one of the best tackles in the game, or build your gameplan around shutting him down. That includes blocking help from tight ends, running backs (see, they matter!), and possibly guards. Even with that, they’ll still make some plays. This is a containment strategy, and one that the great pass-rushers get used to on a weekly basis.

Given a choice between the two, there aren’t many offensive coordinators that would choose to face the elite edge rusher. So why does some research suggest coverage > pass rush? Because that measures something other than elite cornerback play vs. elite pass rush performance. We’ve all heard the term coverage sacks. In a three step drop you’ll need to break through the line off the snap to get a sack non-coverage sack. In other words, if the initial read is open, it’s very difficult to sack the quarterback. That’s one of the reasons the short passing game has dramatically increased in popularity over the past few decades. In five and seven step drops the defense has a bit more time to get to the quarterback. One of the reasons EPA on downfield passes is greater than EPA on shorter passes is the former requires one thing to have already gone right: The offensive line held their initial blocks.

Last season the Patriots and 49ers defenses started the season on fire. Their pass rush numbers were great, but it wasn’t coming from the defensive line. Quarterbacks were holding the ball unusually long against both defenses, so the linemen had time to clean up. In short, neither defense had any pigeons or holes in the zone. Pass coverage is a holistic thing. If the offense has a good matchup, they can target it. If the defense has a good matchup, the quarterback will look elsewhere. Where things break down for the offense is when there are no weak links. So, would a defense be happy with a bunch of competent, but not-elite defensive backs? I suppose, but there are still darn good reasons to want an elite cornerback.

#1WR’s usually earn that title for a reason (New York Jets excepted). They pressure the defense and generally require a specific plan to handle. Sometimes defenses will shade the safeties towards them. Other times they’ll stick the #1CB on them wherever the #1WR lines up. Having an elite cornerback who can take a #1WR out of the game by themselves takes a lot of stress off the defense and forces the offense to turn to weaker options.

There’s another issue to discuss though. If the offensive line does their job, and the quarterback and wide receiver do theirs, good coverage still loses on the play. That’s part of the reason why “defense doesn’t matter” has seen some discussion. Obviously that’s an oversimplification. The underlying issue is that offensive performance is more determinative of the results than defensive performance. The defense can make the offense’s job harder, but if the throw is in the right place, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Let’s bring this back to the topic at hand. Coverage vs. pass-rush. Good coverage won’t necessarily produce good results, especially when facing elite receivers. Pass coverage numbers fluctuate quite a bit for cornerbacks year-to-year. In fact, defensive performance overall is less predictive than offensive performance. The difference in levels of control over the result of the play is a big reason why.

I am very leery of defining coverage based on the results of a play. If a website were to declare that coverage > pass rush, I’d like their cornerback rankings to make a bit more sense before taking too much stock in their conclusions. Good coverage results are descriptive of good defense. If we want to separate the noise from the signal, I’d suggest we look at defenses that present no easy areas to attack.

To wrap this up, you need quality cornerback depth. Everyone on the field must be able to do their job. Sometimes that job means matching up against an elite receiver, so yes, elite cornerbacks matter a great deal. But elite defensive ends put a bigger strain on the offensive game plan and their resources on any given play. That’s one of the reasons why elite pass rushers break the bank in ways elite cornerbacks do not:

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/rankings/average/defense/

I would suggest that to build an elite defense, solid defensive backfield depth is a must, but that’s not an argument for elite cornerbacks over elite pass rushers. Mind you, Young is special, so this isn’t the general case. He’s the best player in this draft and should be the first non-quarterback off the board.

K’Lavon Chaisson: There’s a pretty big gap between Young and the rest of the edge class. In fact, after Young this class is unusually weak. Chaisson played very fast on film. His athleticism shined. What we haven’t seen from him is power. The ability to detach from blockers is partly based on technique and partly based on raw strength. He needs to work on both. We also don’t know just how much of an athletic freak he is as he skipped the combine workouts and didn’t have a pro day. He didn’t have a long track record in college, so Chaisson is a bit of an unknown. Teams needs pass rushers, he’ll go high. I’d be skeptical here.

A.J. Epenesa: I don’t know what to make of Espensa. His production at Iowa was excellent, but his film was not. He failed to impress with his athleticism, strength, or technique. Despite that, he snagged double-digit sacks the past two seasons. I will say he clearly understood his role and was rarely fooled or out of place. Unfortunately for Epenesa, his terrible combine backed up what we saw on film. He’s not athletic. I wouldn’t want to go anywhere near him in the top 50.

Yetur Gross-Matos: I finally find a guy who’s film I like, and he has two red flags. I’ll get to those in a second. Gross-Matos was productive at Penn State, excelling with an outside speed rush. He was highly disruptive, able to get into the backfield and move the quarterback off the spot. However, there are issues: He was suspended at Penn State after the State College Police executed a warrant on the Office of Student Conduct. That’s an off-field issue and teams will have to weigh how concerned they are. The on field issue is his complete lack of tipped passes. One of the reasons they are correlated with NFL success is that they are a proxy for on-field awareness. Chris Jones helped the Chiefs win the Super Bowl with a pair of tipped passes late. Even so, I think I’d be comfortable taking Gross-Matos in the first round. The athletic burst is simply too tempting.

Julian Okwara: His film suggests he might be relegated to being a third-down specialist. Opponents attacked him in the running game. Okwara was overly reliant on a speed-rush. If the offensive lineman got his hands on Okwara, that was usually it. Frankly, I’d pass on Okwara until early day three. His upside is simply too limited. He’s also coming off of tibula surgery.

Bradlee Anae: Hugely productive at Utah. Very aggressive getting off on the snap. Sometimes too aggressive. He impressed me with his ability to work through traffic and run plays down. He’s not a premiere athlete. Even so, it’s hard to look past how effective he was in college. I’d be happy grabbing him day two.

Curtis Weaver: Dominant at Boise State. Sometimes you see a guy and feel like he can handle a step up in competition. Other times you feel like this guy is a scrub crusher. I felt the latter about Weaver. His effort was good. He fought hard for his sacks. I’m just not sold he has the athleticism or strength to get it done at the NFL level. I wouldn’t roll the dice on him until the third round.

Jabari Zuniga: Flashed potentially elite athletic traits at Florida. Strong combine. The biggest issue is that we’re still waiting for someone to teach Zuniga how to play football. It’s amazing how unrefined his technique is. There’s also the lack of field awareness. It’s pretty frustrating, and I’m just a neutral observer. Zuniga’s ceiling is very high. He explodes off the screen. I’m taking him day two so long as my coaches are confident they know how to polish his game.

Jonathan Greenard: Succeeded at Louisville. Transferred to Florida. Succeed in the SEC. Deep set of pass rush moves. Excellent field awareness. Everything I’ve seen from Greenard suggests he’ll be able to succeed at the next level. I’d be happy to snag him in the second round.

Darrell Taylor: It’s been a long dry run for Tennessee, but that’s not Taylor’s fault. He did his job. His explosiveness off the snap is impressive. He wins more with his legs than his hands. That’s something NFL coaches and weight trainers will work on with him. He’s a solid day two prospect.

2020 NFL Draft: Centers and Guards

April 20, 2020

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Name	Position	School	Grade
Cesar Ruiz	C	Michigan	74.46
Tyler Biadasz	C	Wisconsin	73.42
Matt Hennessy	C	Temple	67.53
John Simpson	OG	Clemson	65.5
Ben Bredeson	OG	Michigan	64.77
Logan Stenberg	OG	Kentucky	62.34
Lloyd Cushenberry III	C	LSU	62.03
Netane Muti	OG	Fresno State	61.28

This isn’t a great class for interior offensive linemen. It’s mediocre for centers, and fairly awful for guards.

Cesar Ruiz: Developed into a solid performer at Michigan. Good quickness reacting after the snap. Moves in space well. Ruiz’s weakness is that he doesn’t have elite power. That can show up in the running game or against bull rushes. He’s also not quite as polished and consistent as you’d expect given his experience. He’s still my #1 center in the class. I just don’t think I’d want to pick him until early day two unless I had a real need at the position.

Tyler Biadasz: It’s an open question whether he has the power and athleticism to be a premium center in the NFL. I’m enamored with his potential, but I’m not sure the league agrees. Biadasz made 41 starts at center for the Badgers, winning the Rimington Trophy for the best center in the country in 2019. He plays fundamentally sound football. That wasn’t enough against his toughest competition. He’s coming off of shoulder surgery. I’m very curious to see if he comes off the board day two or not.

Matt Hennessy: Played smart football at Temple. Very good at reacting to defensive moves. The problem with Hennessy is that he lacks power. It’s a serious issue that shows up both in the running game and in pass protection. His brother Thomas Hennessy is able to pull in an NFL paycheck as a long-snapper for the Jets. Matt worked entirely out of the shotgun at Temple. I’d be leery of trusting Matt to be able to make the jump to the NFL. He’ll probably come off the board day two. I’d pass.

John Simpson: Solid girth for the position. He has to get by on power as his athleticism is lacking. He has good awareness for what he has to do on the play. You have to be careful that you don’t ask him to do things he won’t be able to. Additionally, you’d better make sure he’s a good fit for your scheme before you draft him, because he won’t be able to do much more than what he did at Clemson.

Ben Bredeson: It looked like his technique broke down against elite competition. Part of that might be due to his short arms, which limited his ability to make first contact. Showed more strength when defending a position then when attacking the defense. He was a four-year starter at left guard at Michigan and showed clear improvement in his game. I’d expect him to be able to perform that job in the pros.

Logan Stenberg: He’s shown the power NFL teams will look for, but not the athleticism or technique. Stenberg started 39 games at left guard for Kentucky but may have to move over to the right side in the NFL. Like Simpson and Bredeson, make sure he’s going to be a proper fit for your system before you draft him. His limitations are what they are.

Lloyd Cushenberry III: Has a lot of little flaws that he’s learned to work around. His jump off the snap is a bit slower than you’d like. His power is acceptable. Regardless, he managed to hold down the center job for the best offense in college football. He was rarely penalized and made few mistakes. I might not give him a high ceiling, but I have to give him a high floor. He’ll be able to hold down a job in the NFL and will come off the board day two.

Netane Muti: Here’s the tough call. Muti has flashed dominant power. His technique is raw and he doesn’t have nearly as much football experience as most prospects. He showed excellent skills vs. power rushes, with the strength to disrupt finesse moves. Unfortunately, he only made 19 starts over four years in college. He redshirted his freshman year due to a right Achilles injury. He played 14 games in 2017. A left Achilles injury limited him to two games in 2018. A Lisfranc injury limited him to three games last year. On raw potential he’s a round two pick. But can you draft him at all? If healthy, he’s the highest upside guard in the class. Whether you take him at all depends on your medical staff’s review.

2020 NFL Draft: Offensive Tackles

April 20, 2020

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Name	Position	School	Grade
Jedrick Wills Jr.	OT	Alabama	86.9
Andrew Thomas	OT	Georgia	86.21
Tristan Wirfs	OT	Iowa	85.89
Mekhi Becton	OT	Louisville	85.42
Austin Jackson	OT	USC	80.01
Josh Jones	OT	Houston	73.83
Prince Tega Wanogho	OT	Auburn	72.82
Ezra Cleveland	OT	Boise State	70.5
Isaiah Wilson	OT	Georgia	68.62
Lucas Niang	OT	TCU	67.68
Saahdiq Charles	OT	LSU	62.87
Trey Adams	OT	Washington	61.57

I don’t have a large spread between my top four offensive tackles. Jedrick Wills Jr., Andrew Thomas, Tristan Wirfs, and Mekhi Becton are all solid performers. Wirfs appears to be the most popular among them and might go as high as #4 overall to the Giants. I expect all four to be off the board by the middle of the first round. Large men who can protect your quarterback from elite defensive ends are hard to find.

Jedrick Wills Jr.: Has shown excellent pass protection skills. Solid footwork and technique. Has the power to shut down bull rushes. Biggest vulnerability is against elite speed rushes. Not just outside, but against spin moves inside as well. I think he’ll improve quite a bit in this area in the pros. His run blocking is elite. Knows how to handle both zone and gap responsibilities. Excellent at attacking linebackers in space in the second level. Alas, he has one notable flaw: He’s a right tackle. Note, he was protecting the blind side in college as Tua is left-handed. However, he was a right tackle in high school as well. I’m not sure if he’ll be asked to switch sides, or simply plugged in to play a position he knows very well. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Andrew Thomas: Has started at left tackle for the last two seasons at Georgia. Performed very well against elite competition. Thomas combines a very strong base with long arms. It’s difficult to get around him or power through him. He’ll need to improve his footwork in the pros he has a tendency to get aggressive and overextend. His run-blocking is elite. Georgia runs a zone-blocking system where he excelled. One of his strengths (his length) has an issue he’ll need to be aware of: It’s easy for him to get his arms around a defensive end. That’s a cue to the refs to look for holding. He wasn’t a flag-magnet in college. It’s just something he and his coaches need to be aware of. Thomas would be my first tackle off the board.

Tristan Wirfs: Absurdly powerful. The ultimate immovable object once planted. Solid fundamentals. Defenders learned fast they need to go around Wirfs. They found some success doing so on inside spin rushes, or by working around him with speed. His range is good, not great. Superb zone run blocker. He mostly worked on the right side at Iowa, but looked good when asked to play left tackle. I give Thomas the edge over him as he’s shown me more vs. tougher competition. Wirfs is a bit of an athletic freak though, so I can see why teams are tempted.

Mekhi Becton: Wills, Thomas, and Wirfs are all large men, but Becton is in another class entirely. He’s massive and defenders struggled mightily when Becton got his hands (and his weight) on them. Becton was highly aggressive going after defenders. Perhaps too aggressive, as if the defender anticipated and countered, it was tough for Becton to react and adjust. His coaches will work on that. His technique will also need some work as Becton clearly got used to winning with his size. I can’t say I blame him. He has played at both left and right tackle, mostly at left tackle. I wouldn’t call him a project but his technique is still a bit raw. His ceiling is exceedingly high as you can’t coach size. (Update: Apparently Becton has a failed drug test on his record. That will put a cap on his draft stock.)

Austin Jackson: There’s a notable gap between Jackson and the top four. He doesn’t have the same level of power and it shows in both pass protection and in run blocking. He’s a good athlete and moves well in space. His hand technique is… confusing. It’s clear his coaches have tried to get him to become more refined, but he either can’t execute or regresses to what he knows. It’s especially problematic when he has to move his feet at the same time. He’s played left tackle at USC for the past two seasons, but I wouldn’t be comfortable plugging him to start day one in the NFL. I’m not worried that he’ll blow blocks as much as that he won’t be able to sustain them. Frankly, I’d probably look elsewhere.

Josh Jones: Jones is a pure left tackle. His strength is his great feet. He moves exceptionally well. Like Jackson, he lacks the powerful base we see in the top four. He can maintain blocks, but he’s not a people mover in run game. Didn’t face the same level of competition at Houston that Jackson saw at USC. Even so, his film tells me he can do the job. I very much like what I’ve seen from Jackson. He might be available late day one, or even fall to day two. I see a potential long-term starting left tackle.

Prince Tega Wanogho: Elite athlete. Wanogho is a converted defensive end who added 80 pounds to convert to left tackle. Natural instincts are to play with finesse. Handled the starting job for the past two seasons at Auburn. He moves very well in space. Doesn’t have much football experience, so his instincts lead to some misplays. He lacks the power you’d want. There’s a medical red flag with his right knee. He has the potential to be a long-term NFL left tackle. That’s worth gambling on given he’s expected to be available round three.

Ezra Cleveland: Put up great results at Boise State, despite playing through injuries. Played quickly, countering defensive moves well. Some issues with his hand placement. Didn’t show the power NFL teams are looking for, but that might be because he was playing through a turf toe injury. I’m somewhat torn on Cleveland. He needs to improve his technique and his power. Still, he put up good numbers in a tough situation. His ceiling is that of a long term starter at left tackle. I’d be leery of snagging him day one though. Injury or not, the flaws in his game are present for all to see. I like Cleveland, but not that much.

Isaiah Wilson: Wilson has enormous potential. That’s because Wilson is himself enormous. Between his bulk and his length may end up the best right tackle in this class. However, there are some issues. His footwork is atrocious. It’s not just an issue of technique, sometimes he can’t get out of his own way. He should have more power than he’s shown, but again, that comes back to the footwork. It’s hard not to be seduced by what he might become. The film is what it is though. If you draft him, you’re trusting your coaching staff to help Wilson reach his potential. That question is above my pay grade.

Lucas Niang: Put up excellent numbers with flawed technique. Has issues that need to be corrected with his footwork. His hand placement is… awkward. So is his timing, and his balance. His season ended when he went in for hip surgery. The fact that he could perform so well despite so many issues tells me his upside is high. He’s definitely right tackle material and might eventually be able to move over to the left side if he’s properly developed.

Saahdiq Charles: Do not draft. LSU has a pretty high tolerance for the antics of starting football players and even they tired of his shit. When he was allowed on the field he was an athletic left tackle with good quickness. His short arms caused him some problems, as did his overall lack of power. His footwork needs significant refinement. For a truly elite prospect, I might have to roll the dice, but that’s not Charles.

Trey Adams: Was once regarded as an elite prospect, but injuries have made that a thing of the past. Adams has severe limitations against speed rushers. It’s hard for a guy who’s 6’8 to stay low and hold the edge. There are some pluses too though. He’s excellent at getting his hands on defenders to redirect them. His footwork is a strength. He’s had some dominant performances in the run game, although that also led to some “bad” film where he didn’t know quite how to handle himself in space vs. the back seven. Adams is expected to be available well into day three, which makes him an intriguing “buy low” prospect. I’d love to see the Jets snag him round six, where it looks like he may be available.

2020 NFL Draft: The Tight Ends

April 20, 2020

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Name	Position	School	Grade
Cole Kmet	TE	Notre Dame	75.05
Albert Okwuegbunam	TE	Missouri	69.88
Adam Trautman	TE	Dayton	68.79
Harrison Bryant	TE	Florida Atlantic	67.73
Hunter Bryant	TE	Washington	66.06
Colby Parkinson	TE	Stanford	62.85
Jared Pinkney	TE	Vanderbilt	60.97

This isn’t a great class for tight ends. Tight ends normally take a long time to develop in the NFL as they have to learn how to beat NFL coverage while at the same time learning how to handle blocking responsibilities. It’s a hard job.

Cole Kmet: While I don’t love any tight end in this class, Kmet is my favorite of the bunch. Huge hands. Good mix of size and athleticism. Knows how to find his spot in the zone, or bully man coverage. His route running will need to improve though. It’s a notable flaw in his game. His blocking is also going to need some development. He’s not an aggressive run blocker, nor a refined pass protector. Frankly, he’s a bit of a project, but with a high enough ceiling to justify the effort.

Albert Okwuegbunam: Exceptional speed for his size (255 pounds, 4.49 40-time). His large hands weren’t sufficient to prevent a rash of drops. His route-running is an issue as he doesn’t cut on a dime. Maybe a large pizza. Despite his speed he hasn’t shown an ability to explode after the catch. I’m not sure why and this is a little disconcerting. His raw talent exceeds his production. I will say that he’s shown a good ability to win against tight coverage in the red zone. His run blocking is a notable plus. His pass protection skills are nowhere near NFL-ready, but I’m confident he’ll be able to level them up to a respectable level.

Adam Trautman: Solid route-running skills. Might be the most polished receiver in the TE class. Doesn’t do much pass blocking and hasn’t shown much potential as a run blocker. He was hugely productive at Dayton. The question is how well he’ll be able to adapt to the much tougher competition at the next level. Trautman is effectively just a large wide receiver. There’s room for such people in the NFL and I expect him to come off the board day two.

Harrison Bryant: Won the Mackey award as the nation’s #1 tight end. That’s an amazing accomplishment for a player at Florida Atlantic. 65 receptions for 1,004 yards and seven touchdowns is impressive stuff, even given the level of competition. Alas, there are some concerns. Drops were a recurring problem. He has short arms, which limits his catching radius. It also gave him some trouble as a run blocker and in pass protection. Bryant might not have the ceiling other options have. I loved his production, but I don’t think I’d take him before day three.

Hunter Bryant: Washington trying to make Bryant one of the focal points of their offense in 2019 and it didn’t really work out. Drops were an obvious problem, but there’s more to it. Bryant didn’t show the kind of speed to threaten defenses deep. He averaged 15.5 yards-per-reception, but only caught 63% of the passes thrown his way. That’s reasonable as an ancillary weapon. Not great for your #1 guy. He also has a few medical red flags that teams will have to evaluate. Bryant lacks the size to be a dominant blocker, so you’re effectively looking at an oversized WR with limited speed. I think I’d be tempted to look elsewhere.

Colby Parkinson: The challenge for Parkinson is trying to evaluate him outside of the disaster that was Stanford’s offense. He’s shown he can handle multiple roles in a pro-style offense. Excellent hands. Doesn’t seem to have grasped the subtleties of holding and pushing off without the refs noticing. Parkinson was an elite recruit that doesn’t appear to have reached his potential. I think there’s more upside here than might be apparent on the film. I expect Parkinson to be available on day three.

Jared Pinkney: He had a monster season in 2018, with 50 receptions for 774 yards and seven touchdowns. Last year he had 20 receptions for 233 yards and two touchdowns. Woof! Some of that dropoff is due to missed time from injuries. I’m assuming he was playing hurt for much of the season since his film against SEC competition was pretty awful. He also didn’t flash much athleticism at the combine. His blocking skills need lots of work. Pinkney strikes me as a day three pickup where you hope you can build on what he showed in 2018.

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—sethburn

Football and cats. Mostly football.

Archive

Monthly Archives: April 2020

2020 NFL Draft Grades: Updated with Links

2020 NFL Draft: Safeties

2020 NFL Draft: Cornerbacks

2020 NFL Draft: Inside Linebackers

2020 NFL Draft: Defensive Tackles

2020 NFL Draft: Outside Linebackers

2020 NFL Draft: Defensive Ends (& Pass Rush vs. Coverage)

2020 NFL Draft: Centers and Guards

2020 NFL Draft: Offensive Tackles

2020 NFL Draft: The Tight Ends

Rank	Name	Position	School	Grade
1	Chase Young	DE	Ohio State	96.60
2	Derrick Brown	DT	Auburn	92.48
3	Jeff Okudah	CB	Ohio State	92.39
4	Joe Burrow	QB	LSU	91.77
5	Isaiah Simmons	OLB	Clemson	91.75
6	Jerry Jeudy	WR	Alabama	89.23
7	Tua Tagovailoa	QB	Alabama	87.86
8	CeeDee Lamb	WR	Oklahoma	87.02
9	Jedrick Wills Jr.	OT	Alabama	86.90
10	Javon Kinlaw	DT	South Carolina	86.27
11	Andrew Thomas	OT	Georgia	86.21
12	Tristan Wirfs	OT	Iowa	85.89
13	D’Andre Swift	RB	Georgia	85.68
14	Mekhi Becton	OT	Louisville	85.42
15	Henry Ruggs III	WR	Alabama	85.18
16	C.J. Henderson	CB	Florida	84.09
17	Grant Delpit	S	LSU	82.92
18	K’Lavon Chaisson	DE	LSU	82.39
19	Jonathan Taylor	RB	Wisconsin	81.79
20	Kenneth Murray	ILB	Oklahoma	81.78
21	J.K. Dobbins	RB	Ohio State	81.58
22	A.J. Epenesa	DE	Iowa	81.43
23	Yetur Gross-Matos	DE	Penn State	81.31
24	Justin Jefferson	WR	LSU	81.07
25	Xavier McKinney	S	Alabama	80.70
26	Trevon Diggs	CB	Alabama	80.06
27	Austin Jackson	OT	USC	80.01
28	Justin Herbert	QB	Oregon	79.98
29	Tee Higgins	WR	Clemson	79.81
30	Patrick Queen	ILB	LSU	79.20
31	Antoine Winfield Jr.	S	Minnesota	78.63
32	Terrell Lewis	OLB	Alabama	77.66
33	Laviska Shenault Jr.	WR	Colorado	77.57
34	Ross Blacklock	DT	TCU	77.09
35	Clyde Edwards-Helaire	RB	LSU	76.88
36	Zack Baun	OLB	Wisconsin	76.67
37	Raekwon Davis	DT	Alabama	76.46
38	Kristian Fulton	CB	LSU	76.33
39	Jordan Love	QB	Utah State	76.09
40	A.J. Terrell	CB	Clemson	75.57
41	Jaylon Johnson	CB	Utah	75.19
42	Cole Kmet	TE	Notre Dame	75.05
43	Jalen Reagor	WR	TCU	75.00
44	Jeff Gladney	CB	TCU	74.70
45	Cesar Ruiz	C	Michigan	74.46
46	Damon Arnette	CB	Ohio State	73.91
47	Josh Jones	OT	Houston	73.83
48	Jacob Eason	QB	Washington	73.79
49	Julian Okwara	DE	Notre Dame	73.79
50	Kyle Dugger	S	Lenoir-Rhyne	73.63
51	Tyler Biadasz	C	Wisconsin	73.42
52	K.J. Hamler	WR	Penn State	73.36
53	Prince Tega Wanogho	OT	Auburn	72.82
54	Neville Gallimore	DT	Oklahoma	72.76
55	Cam Akers	RB	Florida State	72.57
56	Brandon Aiyuk	WR	Arizona State	72.29
57	Michael Pittman Jr.	WR	USC	72.28
58	Ashtyn Davis	S	California	71.60
59	Bradlee Anae	DE	Utah	70.77
60	Josh Uche	OLB	Michigan	70.65
61	Ezra Cleveland	OT	Boise State	70.50
62	Justin Madubuike	DT	Texas A&M	70.05
63	Albert Okwuegbunam	TE	Missouri	69.88
64	Curtis Weaver	DE	Boise State	69.51
65	Noah Igbinoghene	CB	Auburn	69.33
66	Jeremy Chinn	S	Southern Illinois	68.84
67	Adam Trautman	TE	Dayton	68.79
68	Jake Fromm	QB	Georgia	68.72
69	Zack Moss	RB	Utah	68.67
70	Jabari Zuniga	DE	Florida	68.63
71	Isaiah Wilson	OT	Georgia	68.62
72	Cameron Dantzler	CB	Mississippi State	68.37
73	Jason Strowbridge	DT	North Carolina	68.24
74	Harrison Bryant	TE	Florida Atlantic	67.73
75	Lucas Niang	OT	TCU	67.68
76	Matt Hennessy	C	Temple	67.53
77	Bryce Hall	CB	Virginia	66.81
78	Marlon Davidson	DE	Auburn	66.78
79	A.J. Dillon	RB	Boston College	66.40
80	Akeem Davis-Gaither	OLB	Appalachian State	66.40
81	Denzel Mims	WR	Baylor	66.16
82	Hunter Bryant	TE	Washington	66.06
83	Collin Johnson	WR	Texas	65.80
84	John Simpson	OG	Clemson	65.50
85	Jordan Elliott	DT	Missouri	65.06
86	A.J. Green	CB	Oklahoma State	65.01
87	Amik Robertson	CB	Louisiana Tech	64.86
88	Ben Bredeson	OG	Michigan	64.77
89	Jonathan Greenard	DE	Florida	64.05
90	Darrell Taylor	DE	Tennessee	64.02
91	Jordyn Brooks	ILB	Texas Tech	63.84
92	Leki Fotu	DT	Utah	63.50
93	Saahdiq Charles	OT	LSU	62.87
94	Colby Parkinson	TE	Stanford	62.85
95	Logan Wilson	ILB	Wyoming	62.73
96	James Lynch	DT	Baylor	62.42
97	Logan Stenberg	OG	Kentucky	62.34
98	Brandon Jones	S	Texas	62.24
99	Bryan Edwards	WR	South Carolina	62.21
100	Lloyd Cushenberry III	C	LSU	62.03
101	Trey Adams	OT	Washington	61.57
102	Jalen Hurts	QB	Oklahoma	61.30
103	Anthony McFarland Jr.	RB	Maryland	61.29
104	Netane Muti	OG	Fresno State	61.28
105	Troy Pride Jr.	CB	Notre Dame	61.22
106	Jared Pinkney	TE	Vanderbilt	60.97
107	Anfernee Jennings	OLB	Alabama	60.54
108	Malik Harrison	ILB	Ohio State	60.44
109	Devin Duvernay	WR	Texas	60.32
110	K.J. Hill	WR	Ohio State	60.06
111	Devin Asiasi	TE	UCLA	59.98
112	Nick Harris	C	Washington	59.75
113	Eno Benjamin	RB	Arizona State	59.52
114	Antonio Gandy-Golden	WR	Liberty	59.26
115	Troy Dye	OLB	Oregon	59.08
116	Markus Bailey	ILB	Purdue	59.03
117	Van Jefferson	WR	Florida	58.98
118	Donovan Peoples-Jones	WR	Michigan	58.93
119	Keith Ismael	C	San Diego State	58.66
120	Rashard Lawrence	DT	LSU	58.65
121	Thaddeus Moss	TE	LSU	58.58
122	Gabriel Davis	WR	UCF	58.11
123	Khalid Kareem	DE	Notre Dame	58.09
124	Matt Peart	OT	UConn	57.70
125	Davon Hamilton	DT	Ohio State	57.13
126	Kenny Willekes	DE	Michigan State	56.87
127	Davion Taylor	OLB	Colorado	56.75
128	Nick Coe	DE	Auburn	56.73
129	Chase Claypool	WR	Notre Dame	56.61
130	Brycen Hopkins	TE	Purdue	56.30
131	Darnay Holmes	CB	UCLA	56.08
132	Shane Lemieux	OG	Oregon	55.89
133	Jonah Jackson	OG	Ohio State	55.42
134	Lavert Hill	CB	Michigan	55.37
135	Alton Robinson	DE	Syracuse	55.07
136	Ke’Shawn Vaughn	RB	Vanderbilt	55.01
137	Josiah Scott	CB	Michigan State	54.41
138	Robert Hunt	OG	Louisiana	54.33
139	Evan Weaver	ILB	California	53.46
140	Dane Jackson	CB	Pittsburgh	53.43
141	La’Mical Perine	RB	Florida	53.30
142	D.J. Wonnum	DE	South Carolina	53.08
143	Jordan Fuller	S	Ohio State	53.03
144	Josh Metellus	S	Michigan	52.79
145	Quintez Cephus	WR	Wisconsin	52.79
146	K’Von Wallace	S	Clemson	52.61
147	Terence Steele	OT	Texas Tech	52.55
148	Ben Bartch	OG	St. John’s (MN)	52.33
149	James Proche	WR	SMU	52.19
150	Jack Driscoll	OT	Auburn	52.04
151	Antoine Brooks Jr.	S	Maryland	51.96
152	Tremayne Anchrum	OG	Clemson	51.91
153	Hakeem Adeniji	OT	Kansas	51.65
154	Damien Lewis	OG	LSU	51.61
155	Kalija Lipscomb	WR	Vanderbilt	51.53
156	Solomon Kindley	OG	Georgia	51.53
157	Colton McKivitz	OT	West Virginia	51.35
158	Tanner Muse	S	Clemson	51.18
159	Joseph Charlton	P	South Carolina	51.14
160	DeeJay Dallas	RB	Miami	51.04
161	Benito Jones	DT	Ole Miss	51.04
162	J.R. Reed	S	Georgia	50.75
163	Raequan Williams	DT	Michigan State	50.53
164	Jacob Phillips	ILB	LSU	50.36
165	Kindle Vildor	CB	Georgia Southern	50.31
166	Tyler Johnson	WR	Minnesota	50.09
167	Lamar Jackson	CB	Nebraska	50.08
168	Robert Windsor	DT	Penn State	50.07
169	Cam Brown	OLB	Penn State	50.07
170	Larrell Murchison	DT	NC State	49.82
171	Lynn Bowden Jr.	WR	Kentucky	49.63
172	Carter Coughlin	OLB	Minnesota	49.08
173	Stephen Sullivan	TE	LSU	48.91
174	Khaleke Hudson	OLB	Michigan	48.86
175	Alohi Gilman	S	Notre Dame	48.72
176	Harrison Hand	CB	Temple	48.60
177	Anthony Gordon	QB	Washington State	48.40
178	Isaiah Hodgins	WR	Oregon State	48.25
179	Nate Stanley	QB	Iowa	47.83
180	Michael Warren II	RB	Cincinnati	47.71
181	Stanford Samuels III	CB	Florida State	47.70
182	Darrion Daniels	DT	Nebraska	47.65
183	Quartney Davis	WR	Texas A&M	47.49
184	Brian Cole II	S	Mississippi State	46.98
185	Rodrigo Blankenship	K	Georgia	46.92
186	Trystan Colon-Castillo	C	Missouri	46.40
187	Steven Montez	QB	Colorado	46.28
188	Geno Stone	S	Iowa	46.27
189	Javaris Davis	CB	Auburn	45.94
190	Julian Blackmon	S	Utah	45.69
191	Antonio Gibson	RB	Memphis	45.60
192	Calvin Throckmorton	OT	Oregon	45.25
193	Kamal Martin	OLB	Minnesota	45.24
194	Josiah Coatney	DT	Ole Miss	45.08
195	Michael Ojemudia	CB	Iowa	44.66
196	Essang Bassey	CB	Wake Forest	44.64
197	Terrell Burgess	S	Utah	44.41
198	Jeff Thomas	WR	Miami	44.27
199	Jon Runyan	OT	Michigan	44.23
200	Charlie Taumoepeau	TE	Portland State	44.15
201	Jalen Elliott	S	Notre Dame	44.09
202	Levante Bellamy	RB	Western Michigan	44.06
203	Mitchell Wilcox	TE	South Florida	44.05
204	Justin Strnad	OLB	Wake Forest	43.87
205	Tyler Bass	K	Georgia Southern	43.86
206	Myles Bryant	CB	Washington	43.58
207	James Robinson	RB	Illinois State	43.07
208	Mykal Walker	OLB	Fresno State	42.97
209	Shaquille Quarterman	ILB	Miami	42.58
210	Yasir Durant	OT	Missouri	42.37
211	Joe Reed	WR	Virginia	42.36
212	Trevon Hill	DE	Miami	42.32
213	Alex Taylor	OT	South Carolina State	42.24
214	Zach Shackelford	C	Texas	42.18
215	Darrynton Evans	RB	Appalachian State	42.18
216	John Hightower	WR	Boise State	41.91
217	David Woodward	ILB	Utah State	41.90
218	Dalton Keene	TE	Virginia Tech	41.78
219	Willie Gay Jr.	OLB	Mississippi State	41.53
220	Shyheim Carter	S	Alabama	41.25
221	Jonathan Garvin	DE	Miami	41.14
222	Quez Watkins	WR	Southern Mississippi	41.12
223	Broderick Washington Jr.	DT	Texas Tech	41.01
224	Juwan Johnson	WR	Oregon	41.00
225	Austin Mack	WR	Ohio State	40.81
226	Casey Toohill	OLB	Stanford	40.75
227	Cole McDonald	QB	Hawai’i	40.64
228	Michael Pinckney	ILB	Miami	40.61
229	McTelvin Agim	DT	Arkansas	40.55
230	Salvon Ahmed	RB	Washington	40.30
231	Tipa Galeai	DE	Utah State	40.19
232	Joshua Kelley	RB	UCLA	40.18
233	Cohl Cabral	C	Arizona State	40.06
234	Javon Leake	RB	Maryland	39.87
235	Sean McKeon	TE	Michigan	39.82
236	Cheyenne O’Grady	TE	Arkansas	39.74
237	Carlos Davis	DT	Nebraska	39.65
238	Trevis Gipson	DE	Tulsa	39.54
239	Joe Bachie	ILB	Michigan State	39.45
240	Jeremiah Dinson	S	Auburn	39.19
241	Dominic Eberle	K	Utah State	39.15
242	Darryl Williams	C	Mississippi State	39.11
243	Marquez Callaway	WR	Tennessee	38.79
244	Trishton Jackson	WR	Syracuse	38.72
245	Jacob Breeland	TE	Oregon	38.27
246	Brian Lewerke	QB	Michigan State	38.24
247	Dezmon Patmon	WR	Washington State	37.88
248	Josiah Deguara	TE	Cincinnati	37.84
249	Clay Johnson	ILB	Baylor	37.65
250	Binjimen Victor	WR	Ohio State	37.50
251	Jauan Jennings	WR	Tennessee	37.49
252	J.J. Taylor	RB	Arizona	37.47
253	Brian Herrien	RB	Georgia	37.45
254	Rico Dowdle	RB	South Carolina	37.44
255	JaMycal Hasty	RB	Baylor	37.36
256	Oluwole Betiku	DE	Illinois	37.29
257	Trajan Bandy	CB	Miami	37.27
258	James Morgan	QB	Florida International	37.17
259	Simon Stepaniak	OT	Indiana	37.06
260	Jaylinn Hawkins	S	California	36.92
261	Qaadir Sheppard	DE	Ole Miss	36.87
262	Michael Divinity Jr.	OLB	LSU	36.77
263	Rodney Clemons	S	SMU	36.76
264	Alex Highsmith	DE	Charlotte	36.51
265	John Penisini	DT	Utah	36.45
266	Christian Rector	DT	USC	36.29
267	Dante Olson	ILB	Montana	36.25
268	Darius Anderson	RB	TCU	36.22
269	Tyre Phillips	OT	Mississippi State	36.19
270	Kyle Murphy	OG	Rhode Island	36.04
271	Reggie Robinson II	CB	Tulsa	35.87
272	Jake Hanson	C	Ohio State	35.84
273	Kendrick Rogers	WR	Texas A&M	35.80
274	Cale Garrett	ILB	Missouri	35.64
275	DeMarkus Acy	CB	Missouri	35.58
276	Daniel Thomas	S	Auburn	35.48
277	Scottie Phillips	RB	Ole Miss	35.47
278	James Smith-Williams	DE	NC State	35.46
279	Braden Mann	P	Texas A&M	35.43
280	Francis Bernard	ILB	Utah	35.30
281	Justin Herron	OG	Wake Forest	35.29
282	LaDarius Hamilton	DE	North Texas	35.20
283	Jared Mayden	S	Alabama	35.20
284	Cameron Clark	OT	Charlotte	35.14
285	Chapelle Russell	OLB	Temple	35.12
286	Javelin Guidry	CB	Utah	35.07
287	Tony Jones Jr.	RB	Notre Dame	34.94
288	David Dowell	S	Michigan State	34.91
289	Lawrence Cager	WR	Georgia	34.74
290	Shea Patterson	QB	Michigan	34.73
291	Chauncey Rivers	DT	Mississippi State	34.66
292	Kelly Bryant	QB	Missouri	34.58
293	Aaron Fuller	WR	Washington	34.34
294	Grayland Arnold	CB	Baylor	34.03
295	Nigel Warrior	S	Tennessee	33.86
296	James Pierre	CB	Florida Atlantic	33.83
297	L’Jarius Sneed	CB	Louisiana Tech	33.68
298	Dominick Wood-Anderson	TE	Tennessee	33.65
299	Daishawn Dixon	OG	San Diego State	33.63
300	Mike Danna	DE	Michigan	33.57