3-4 Defensive End/Defensive End

Iowa

6-3 281

Draft Board Overall Prospect Rank: #46

Draft Board Overall 3-4 Defensive End Rank: #7

Rating: 78 (mid 2nd)

40 time: 4.81

4/16/11: Nothing new, but his Erb’s Palsy in his right arm, which limits his strength, is really starting to scare me a little. Between that, his history of the off field problems, and his lack of production this year, it’s really hard for me to give him a first round grade. 

2/19/11: Adrian Clayborn burst onto the scene with 11 sacks in 2009 as a 280+ pound defensive end/defensive tackle hybrid for Iowa, a down season as a pass rusher in 2010, 3.5 sacks, have dropped his stock. He also is part of one of the strongest defensive line classes in NFL history.

Despite the mere 3.5 sacks, Clayborn continued to dominate against the run and some would even say he had a better year against the run this year. He is a very streaky player on the defensive line, as a run stopper and doesn’t have a non-stop motor. Combine that with a 2009 arrest for assaulting a cab driver and he’s got a few character red flags.

Then there’s also the issue of his Elb’s Palsy. Clayborn struggled with this as a child, a birth defect that caused muscle weakness in his right arm, but he obviously preserved through it to get to where he is today which, offseason arrest aside, makes for a pretty inspirational story.

I think he’s got the potential to become a solid pass rusher again, like he was in 2009. Whoever drafts him will try to coach him up and get the most out of him. His best case scenario is either as an above average overall 3-4 end, or as a 4-3 left end, who is a stud against the run and also offers some pass rush. He is looking like a first round pick lock, potentially as high as 20 to Tampa Bay, but he could slip out of the first round entirely because of the depth of this class. 

NFL Comparison: Shaun Ellis

Offensive Tackle 

Texas

6-5 300

40 time: 5.53

Draft board overall prospect rank: #93

Draft board offensive tackle rank: #10

Overall rating: 71* 

1/23/10: A very good athlete at 6-8 310 who uses his size well to stop the pass rush, but he’s not thick enough and doesn’t play with enough leverage to be an elite run blocking tackle. He’s heavily decorated in college, but a bit of a project.

            10/2/09: The first thing scouts notice about Adam Ulatoski is his size and how he uses it well. He is extremely athletic and moves well. He uses his size to block the seeing ability of defensive players. He runs blocking well and has great footwork and angles on blocks. He fits both zone and man blocking scheme though his athleticism makes him a better fit for zone blocking. He is a right tackle by trade but made the first team in the elite Big 12 conference last season blocking Colt McCoy blindside at left tackle. It remains to be seen whether or not he’s a left tackle at the next level, but he looking very good moving around and blocking speed outside rushers as a left tackle. He doesn’t get great leverage because of his height and does not have a powerful initial block. He’s more of a finesse blocker, using his long arms and his smarts to redirect pass rushers from the quarterback and blitzers from running backs. He’s currently 23 and will be a 24 year old rookie so his upside is limited. He projects as a 2^nd round prospect, but with the way offensive tackles have been flying off the boards earlier over the past few years, he could go in the first round with his excellent athleticism and his ability to play both tackle positions.

NFL Comparison: David Stewart

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here

This move is being talked about as a good one because of Arizona’s struggles up front and Snyder’s versatility. After all, he has played every position. However, he hasn’t played any of them very well. Most recently, he was at right guard for the 49ers, ranking 73th or 75^th eligible guards on ProFootballFocus. For the Cardinals, he will probably play guard or right tackle, but he wasn’t worth 17.5 million over 5 years with 5 million guaranteed. He’s not very good.

Grade: C

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Deal for Rams: Pretty sad to see. Carriker was the 13^th pick in the 2007 draft and one of the most dominant defensive tackles in NCAA history from Nebraska with 16.5 sacks in his last 2 years (why does this sound eerily familiar). However, injuries and inconsistencies destroyed him as he only has had 2 sacks in his career. Now he’s gone for the right to move up 29 picks in the 5^th round, pretty much nothing. I would have liked to have seem them try to restore his career, but I can’t really blame them for getting rid of him here.

Grade: B

Deal for Redskins: I like this. I know they’re already short on picks, but they don’t lose a pick in this process, only move down 29 picks and they get a guy in Carriker who still has some upside and is a great fit in Washington’s 3-4 defense.

Grade: A

Elam is a pretty marginal safety, but he’s definitely an upgrade over Alan Ball, arguably the worst starting safety in the league last year. The market for players has collapsed lately and players are being signed for cheap and given that even 2.5 million over 1 year for Elam seems like a lot. Gerald Sensabaugh is their other safety and he just got 2.5 million. He’s much better than Elam.

Grade: B

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