QB RB WR TE OT G C NT DT 3-4 DE DE RLB OLB MLB CB S K P
100 Once in a decade prospect
95-99 Elite talent
90-95 Solid top 10 pick
85-90 Solid first round pick
80-85 Late 1st-early 2nd
75-80 Solid 2nd round pick
70-75 Solid 3rd round pick
65-70 3rd-4th round pick
60-65 4th-5th round pick
55-60 5th round pick
50-55 6th round pick
45-50 7th round pick
40-45 Undrafted, invite to training camp
30-40 Career practice squader
20-30 No NFL future
0-20 No football future
1. Brandon Graham (Michigan) 87
3/1/10: Graham wasn’t expected to run well but a 4.69 40 at 6-1 268 showing some surprisingly athleticism. He also put up 31 reps of 225 pounds.
1/30/10: Graham had a huge Senior Bowl week. It started out bad when he measured up at just over 6 feet and with the shortest arms of any defensive lineman, but he really impressed in practice and even more so in the game. He won Senior Bowl MVP with 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, a tackle for a loss, and 5 tackles. He was disruptive on almost every play and had more signature plays than any other player. He really hustled and earned a lot of praise from the commentators. He chased down Jarrett Brown, the fastest quarterback on either roster, from behind, something that will only show up on the stat sheet as a tackle. He’s a former linebacker, with an excellent motor and an excellent pass rushing repertoire, but he’s also extremely stout and disruptive against the run. He can play both 4-3 left end and 4-3 right end, in addition to rush linebacker. The commentators compared him to LaMarr Woodley of the Pittsburgh Steelers and I think that comparison is dead on. I think he cemented himself as a 1st round pick.
1/27/10: Measuring in at just over 6 feet at his weigh in isn’t good, but he’s making scouts forget about his lack of height, with his play at practice this week. He has a very solid base and looks like a legitimate defensive line player in the NFL. His form against the run needs to be improved, but he has shown great speed rushing moves in addition to being one of the best young bull rushers at the Senior Bowl. If he can impress in coverage, he could be a 1st round pick as either a defensive end or rush linebacker.
With 29 sacks in the last 3 years against Big 10 competition, Graham is a pass rushing machine, but despite his size, he isn’t great against the run. He’s best fit as a rush linebacker at the next level and I can’t see him fitting all schemes. His 40 time isn’t great either so he’ll be viewed as a bit of a tweener by the scouts and that could drop him down in the 3rd round. He has first round upside as a rush linebacker though despite his lack of height and timed speed, assuming he can transition to a new position well and hold up in pass coverage
2. Everson Griffen (USC) 85
3/1/10: Griffen put on about 10 pounds this season bulking up to 273 and there were some concerns about how he would carry the weight. After he ran a 4.64 40 today, those concerns should be gone. He also put up 32 reps of 225 pounds.
It’ll be interesting to see what he runs at the combine. He’s rumored to be able to run a 4.5 40, but he also put on 10 pounds of muscle this season so I’m not sure he can still run that fast. If he can, his stock could soar even though he never really did anything of note at USC in 3 seasons. 7 sacks this year after 9 combined in his first two years show good improvement and his run blocking form got a lot better this season with the added weight, but if his 40 time suffers, he may only be looked at as a left end, rather than a right end or rush linebacker. He’s still a major project either way.
3. Jerry Hughes (TCU) 83
26 sacks in the last 2 years for TCU for a guy just learning the defensive end position, after playing running back for most of his football career, is amazing, but he may be maxed out bulk wise at 257 pounds and he doesn’t have ideal height at 6-2. He’s a better fit as a rush linebacker, but he can play on the line some, though he’d be a liability against the run. He has a great motor and has shown plasticity and ability to learn new positions in the past. He also has good hands because he’s played on the offensive side of the ball before, but I’m not sure about his ability in pass coverage.
4. Eric Norwood (South Carolina) 82
He has experience playing standing up at South Carolina, despite being a defensive end, and he has looked dropping back into coverage on occasion as well so those are major pluses for rush linebacker prospects that can be so unpredictable. He also has 30 sacks in his 4 year career at South Carolina and had 7.5 this year, so he’s a good pass rusher as well, though not a great one. He’s versatile and can play 4-3 strong outside linebacker and maybe even some 3-4 middle linebacker. His 40 time for his weight could keep him out of the first round.
5. Jason Pierre Paul (South Florida) 79
2/27/10: Weighing in at 6-5 270, JPP looked like an absolute physical freak. I can’t wait until his 40 yard dash. He hasn’t performed on a high level yet, but the upside is certainly there
He’s a junior college legend, but didn’t impress in his first season in Division I with only 6.5 sacks. He’s a really fluid athlete who is comfortable dropping into coverage and he did get into the backfield a lot, though his sacks total was low, so I think he has a good future as a rush linebacker and he does have huge upside, but if he can’t dominate Division I, how can we expect him to the dominate the NFL. He can also play as a 4-3 defensive end, but I think he’s a better fit at rush linebacker.
6. Jermaine Cunningham (Florida) 77
2/27/10: As if he wasn’t already my favorite mid round sleeper, Cunningham measured in at 266 pounds today showing that he has the ability to play in the trenches in any 4-3 scheme. This defensive end class gets thin in the mid rounds so Cunningham could be looking at early 3rd late 2nd now.
He doesn’t have amazing athleticism, but he has an amazing motor and that’s really half of the battle. He would fit very well as a rush linebacker or a cover 2 defensive end. I think a lot higher of him than most places do and he’ll probably be drafted in the 4th round at the highest, but he has borderline 2nd round skills. His fundamentals are very sound.
7. Sergio Kindle (Texas) 74
He’s former top 10 pick prospect, but he only managed 6 sacks this year without Brian Orakpo drawing double teams across from him, after having 10 sacks last year. He’s still a highly rated defensive prospect and would make a great rush linebacker with his athleticism and the fact that he already played some outside linebacker in college so he has experience with his hands off the ground and dropping back into coverage. He’s a solid tackler and big hitter as well so he can play some strong outside linebacker in a 4-3.
8. Ricky Sapp (Clemson) 73
A low sack total, but a high amount of tackles for losses, so there are indications that can grow into an elite pass rusher. He’s small at 245 pounds, but has experience playing outside linebacker, in addition to defensive end, and didn’t look bad in coverage, so he definitely has a huge upside as a rush linebacker. He can also play some outside linebacker in a 4-3, but he’s mostly a rush linebacker or pass rushing specialist.
9. Austin Lane (Murray State) 66
1/27/10: First he showed up looking great at his weigh in, weighing in at 265 pounds at 6-6, adding a necessary 8-10 pounds to his frame, and to back that up, he’s looked great on the field in practice showing that this small school kid can hang with the big boys. He has the athleticism to play rush linebacker in addition to defensive end.
The level of competition is an issue for him, but he certainly looks the part of an NFL pass rusher. He has a good refined repertoire of passing moves, but he lacks elite size and doesn’t have very fluid hips. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not he projects as a rush linebacker at the next level because he’s a little small for the trenches in the NFL.
10. Willie Young (NC State) 66
He had eight sacks this season and has good long arms and athleticism, but at his size, 250 pounds, he’s probably only a nickel rusher in 4-3 systems, so he’ll have to try to convert to rush linebacker and I’m not yet convinced he can. He’s poor against the run, even for his size and his 40 time (4.68-4.72) isn’t going to blow anyone out of the water.
11. Jason Worilds (Virginia Tech) 64
3/20/10: I rarely care when a player runs a faster 40 at his Pro Day than his Combine, but Worilds’ 4.47 makes me take notice. He ran a very solid 4.61 at his Combine, but a 4.47 at 6-1 254 puts him on a completely different level. He didn’t do much last year, but he has experience playing rush linebacker and has amazing athleticism. His athleticism is right behind that of Jason Pierre Paul and Sergio Kindle and his production was only slightly less than either of theres. He could sneak into the 2nd round, but, like Kindle and JPP, I have him ranked lower than he could go because I like to see a player actually produce on the college level before I use a pick in the first 3 rounds on him.
Very athletic, but lacked the production to match last year with only 4 sacks, though he did have 8 sacks in 2008. He has upside and the athleticism to play rush linebacker, but he’s a project and he could be a nickel rusher as well.
11. Koa Misi (Utah) 63
1/27/10: Believe it or not, Misi played defensive end at Utah. You wouldn’t know it from looking at him play linebacker this week in Mobile. He has shown great fluidity in pass coverage and looked like a natural linebacker. He’s also making a lot of nice hits. That definitely helps his stock as he doesn’t have the size to play in the trenches in the NFL.
He’s an undersized defensive end with a strong motor to make up for it, but he looked like a natural outside linebacker playing that position in the Senior Bowl. He’s a risk because he has to play rush linebacker, a position he didn’t play in college, but I love his motor and I think he could be a solid rush linebacker in the future.
13. Daniel Te’o-Nesheim (Washington) 58
An unknown pass rusher with an unpronounceable name, who has quietly put up 18 sacks over the last 2 years against some good Pac 10 competition. He was a little small before the combine, but bulked up and still managed to shave some time off of his projected time. The elite natural athleticism is not there, but he has the work ethic and the on the field motor to make up for it. He should have a future in the NFL as either a defensive end or a rush linebacker.
14. Lindsey Witten (Connecticut) 56
Started off 2009, with a bang, but ended quietly. He lacks the size to be an every down trench rusher at the next level and the tape is really inconsistent on him. There is some upside here, but not a ton.
15. Thaddeus Gibson (Ohio State) 56
A very raw and unrefined pass rusher, he got into the backfield a lot last year, but only had 4.5 sacks to show for it and he’s severely undersized at just a few ounces above 240 so he’ll have to make the dreaded position switch to rush linebacker from down lineman, which could be dangerous for him because he’s never played anything remotely like the position. The athleticism and fluidity are there though for him to be a decent rush linebacker if he puts it all together.
16. Brandon Lang (Troy) 55
He’s undersized pass rusher who ran in the 4.9s at the Combine so he may have trouble getting drafted in the first 4 rounds as a future starting type defensive end. He could be a decent nickel rusher in the future, because his 17.5 sacks in the last 2 years are fairly impressive, but the lack of speed and weaker competition makes that less likely. I think it’s safe to say that he won’t be as good as Troy’s last elite pass rusher, DeMarcus Ware.
17. Brandon Sharpe (Texas Tech) 53
18. Antonio Coleman (Auburn) 53
19. George Selvie (South Florida) 52
20. Cameron Sheffield (Troy) 52
21. Adrian Tracy (William and Mary) 51
22. Dane Fletcher (Montana State) 49
23. Kevin Basped (Nevada) 47
24. Danny Batten (South Dakota State) 46
25. O’Brien Schofield (Wisconsin) 45
26. Chris McCoy (Middle Tennessee State) 45
27. Jarvis Geathers (Central Florida) 41
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