Top 5 Position Prospects-Defense

2014 Top 5 Defensive Position Rankings

I don’t break down defense in the traditional sense most football people do.  While I will break it down on the defensive line to defensive end (DE) and defensive tackle (DT) and in the secondary to cornerback (CB) and safety (S) the linebacker position is a little different.  I’m going to break it down to pass rushing linebackers (OLB), traditional outside linebackers in a 4-3 defense (LB) and inside or middle linebacker (ILB).  Whether a player is a DE or an OLB depends on the team that drafts him and how they plan to use him.

Defensive End:  This position is for players that fit the traditional pass rushing defensive end on a four man defensive line.  I won’t be breaking them down by left end/right end because it’s a bit much but there is one exception and that’s my guy at #5, he is better suited to be a 3-4 defensive end and is less of a pass rusher.

1. Jadeveon Clowney   South Carolina
2. Kony Ealy   Missouri
3. Scott Crichton   Oregon St.
4. Trent Murphy   Stanford
5. Stephon Tuitt   Notre Dame

There has been a ton written about Clowney and I’ve made it known that I don’t think he should go to Houston first overall but he is far and away the best pass rushing DE in this class.  You can question his work ethic and you can even pick apart some of the things he does on film but he is a freak of an athlete and he knows how to pressure a QB.  He needs some technique work and he needs to learn more than a couple of pass rush moves but that is almost always true of a player that has gotten by on physical talent all his life.  He could be a transcendent talent or he could be a monumental bust.  Kony Ealy is a very good DE prospect and he brings nice size and speed and has a number of good pass rush moves.  He was overshadowed at Missouri by Michael Sam but he is the better pro prospect and while he isn’t the elite athlete Clowney is he will be a nice addition to someone’s defensive line.  There is a considerable drop off after Clowney and Ealy and no other DE is likely to go in the first round (Dee Ford is an OLB in my rankings).  That doesn’t mean that Crichton and Murphy aren’t good players and they could become starters in the NFL.  Crichton is quick off the snap but isn’t overly fast and he plays a little stiff and he doesn’t get the bend off the edge needed to be an elite pass rusher.  The word you hear a lot about Murphy is “rangy” and that’s just the nice way of saying he is too skinny to play DE full-time.  Murphy is only 250 lbs. and that is too light to be a DE but he lacks the lateral quickness and instinct to be an OLB.  Stephon Tuitt is a different kind of DE, he’s a five technique DE meaning he is built to be a defensive end in a 3-4 defense.  Some teams have Tuitt rated as a DT because of his size and he could play that position too but he is best suited at end in an odd front.  He may make the first round if a 3-4 team is looking for a DE but as a DT he rates a little lower because the position has much more depth.

Sleeper:  Kareem Martin   North Carolina

Truthfully Martin ranks 6^th on the list of DE’s and he is likely to go in the second round so it’s tough calling him a sleeper but not everyone is talking about him and I really like him as a prospect.  He brings scheme versatility because he could be a DE on a four man front or on a three man line.  At 6’6 272 lbs. he has the size and after running 4.72 40 he showed the speed but what doesn’t show is the production on the field.  He isn’t a natural pass rusher but he holds the point of attack very well which makes me think he is better suited to a 3-4 but a good defensive line coach might get a hold of him and turn that raw talent into something impressive.

Defensive Tackle:  Great defensive tackles come in many shapes and sizes and teams evaluate them based on what they are looking for in their scheme.  Some guys play better rushing the passer (Aaron Donald); some guys are better clogging up the middle (Louis Nix) and some guys just block out the sun (RaShede Hageman).  My rankings are based on who I want on my team the most.

1. Aaron Donald   Pittsburgh
2. Louis Nix   Notre Dame
3. Tim Jernigan   Florida St.
4. RaShede Hageman   Minnesota
5. Dominique Easley   Florida

Let’s face facts if Aaron Donald was three inches taller and fifteen pounds heavier he’d be a lock to be a top 5 pick but the NFL discriminates against DT’s that aren’t fat enough…err…sorry big enough.   Donald is a monster that is going to terrorize offensive guards and centers for years and while everyone knows it there are plenty of NFL teams that will pass on him because they have one of those carnival ride cutout things that say “You must be this tall to be an NFL defensive tackle”, their loss.  Louis Nix is a classic nose tackle at 6’2 331 lbs. but the scary thing is he can be just as effective paired inside at DT.  Nix was injured and missed some of the season but he is a beast at stuffing the run and he will make the team that drafts him happy for the next decade.  Tim Jernigan is smooth and fluid and moves very well for a guy that is 300 lbs.  He can get into the backfield and disrupt the play but he can also hold his point and jam up the line of scrimmage.  Jernigan is a nightmare because he is very strong and moves his feet well and that is a tough combination to block.  Hageman is 6’6 310 lbs. and looks even bigger than that.  He could play nose tackle, defensive tackle or defensive end on a three man line so he could fit with virtually any team.  Hageman needs some coaching on staying low and that’s a tough thing for a 6’6 guy inside but he can do it.  Dominique Easley is the wild card because he is a tremendous talent that is coming back from an injury.  He is undersized but he is explosive off the line and uses his hands very well and that negates his lack of bulk.  He has played DE but he is much better as a penetrating DT that can disrupt the play in the backfield.

Sleeper:  Ego Ferguson   LSU

Ferguson is an undisciplined DT that doesn’t use his hands as well as he should and doesn’t have much explosion but he is 6’3 315 lbs. and he is a very flexible athlete.  The things he doesn’t do well are all of the things that a coach can teach him and you can’t teach a man his size to be as athletically gifted as Ferguson.  He will never be much of pass rusher but he will man the middle of a defensive line very well for someone.

Outside Linebacker (the pass rushers):  This group has some serious talent at the top and a few very nice players later that could really help teams with the 3-4 defense.  Lots of teams need guys in this group so some of them may get drafted above their overall value.

1. Khalil Mack   Buffalo
2. Anthony Barr   UCLA
3. Dee Ford   Auburn
4. Jeremiah Attaochu   Georgia Tech
5. Trevor Reilly   Utah

Khalil Mack is a star that is about to be born in the NFL.  He may not be from a powerhouse team but he proved in his game against Ohio St. and at his workouts that he can play with anybody.   I think with the Atlanta Falcons switch to a 3-4 defense there is no way he falls lower than their 6^th overall pick in the first round and he may go higher than that.  Anthony Barr just ran a reported 4.44 40 at his pro day workout at UCLA and his upside is incredible.  Barr has only been playing defense for two years and someone is going to get a fantastic athlete that just needs a little time to learn all the ins and outs of being a linebacker.  Dee Ford was a pass rusher extraordinaire from the DE position at Auburn but he is too small to be an every down DE in the NFL so he embraced his move to OLB and shed a little weight to be faster and more explosive.  Ford has a knack for getting to the QB and playing in space should only help him do that even better.  I haven’t seen a lot of Jeremiah Attaochu but I did see some of his work from the Senior Bowl and he is most definitely more comfortable as a pass rushing outside linebacker than as a DE or as a possible inside linebacker.  Attaochu knows how to attack the edge and he will need some coaching on the finer points of being a linebacker but he does the one thing teams really want very well.  Trevor Reilly is a great athlete that lacks strength but he knows how to use his athleticism to get to the QB.

Sleeper:  Adrian Hubbard   Alabama

I know you’re asking yourself how a guy from Alabama is a sleeper and a guy from Buffalo is the top player at the position but trust me it’s true.  Hubbard was supposed to be on this top 5 list going into the year but he didn’t have a great season and he was overshadowed by many players on Alabama’s defense.  He is a long athlete at 6’6 and he doesn’t have great burst or overwhelming strength but he is actually one of the better all-around linebackers that is considered a pass rusher.  Hubbard plays the run better than Reilly and is more comfortable in coverage than Attaochu but nothing about Hubbard jumped off the film this year and he seemed underwhelming at times.  He may make a better pro than he was in college this last year.

Linebackers:  This position is made up of guys that fit best on the outside of a 4-3 alignment and they are more traditional linebackers.  These guys have all-around games where they can chase ball carriers, drop into coverage and occasionally blitz the QB.  Some may even be able to play inside or middle linebacker in the right system.

1. Ryan Shazier   Ohio St.
2. Kyle Van Noy   BYU
3. Christian Jones   Florida St.
4. Telvin Smith   Florida St.
5. Carl Bradford   Arizona St.

Shazier is the quintessential speed linebacker and while he is slightly undersized his speed allows him to hit with maximum force.  He can chase down RB’s and cover anyone while dropping into coverage and he does his best work when his defensive line can keep him free and clear of blockers.  Shazier is a great athlete with elite speed and a day one starter in the NFL.  Van Noy is the type of outside linebacker that can rush the passer if needed but he drops into coverage and plays like a traditional linebacker better than your typical pass rushing OLB.  His game suffered a bit this last year at BYU but that was mostly due to the loss of last year’s breakout player Ezekiel Ansah and opponents focusing more on stopping Van Noy.  Those two are unquestionably ahead of the pack at this position and now comes the guys whose best position is undetermined.  Christian Jones is seen by many as an inside linebacker and some believe he can play the traditional middle linebacker spot.  Jones has the versatility to play either of those or at outside linebacker in a 4-3 defense but his best spot is probably as one of the inside linebackers in a 3-4.  I can see Jones being a Brian Cushing type of linebacker but hopefully for the sake of the team drafting him he has better luck than Cushing staying healthy.  Jones’s Florida St. teammate is the woefully undersized Telvin Smith.  Smith tipped the scales at the combine at 218 lbs. and had teams wondering if he needs to move to strong safety because his lack of bulk could hinder him at linebacker.  He is an explosive athlete with incredible speed and quickness a very effective blitzer and good in coverage.  His size limits him to playing in space because he can be overwhelmed if a blocker gets ahold of him.  He has better strength than you would imagine but his lack of bulk is a concern.  Carl Bradford has the exact opposite problem as Telvin Smith in the fact that he is built like a fire hydrant.  At 6’1 250 lbs. he is short but powerfully built.  He played all over the defense for the Sun Devils lining up at DE, ILB and OLB and he was good pass rusher.  Once Bradford finds his place, and I think that’s as an ILB, he should be a playmaker for whichever team drafts him.

Sleeper:  Christian Kirksey   Iowa

Yes I’m a Hawkeye fan and while I loathe being thought of as a homer Kirksey is an easy choice for me at this position.  James Morris was the team leader and Anthony Hitchens racked up tons of tackles for the Hawkeyes but Kirksey is the best pro prospect.  At 6’2 233 lbs Kirksey has the size and the speed to be an excellent pro.  He can cover, he can blitz, he can stop the run and I think he has the versatility to line up outside or inside and excel in either spot.  Kirksey may not go until the 4^th or 5^th round but that just means someone is going to get an excellent player in the middle rounds.

Inside Linebacker:  This is a position that has been devalued in the NFL because of the passing game taking over and because most of these guys are just two down players.  Only one player (Mosley) will go in the first round and you may not hear any of these other names until round 3.  That doesn’t mean these guys are bad football players, on the contrary they are pretty good, they just don’t have the same value to teams anymore.

1. CJ Mosley   Alabama
2. Chris Borland   Wisconsin
3. Yawin Smallwood   UConn
4. Shane Skov   Stanford
5. Lamin Barrow   LSU

The gap between the Mosley and the rest of this group is the size of the Grand Canyon.  There will be no position in the draft with as long of a wait between the first player drafted and the next player drafted.  Mosley is a special talent and the type of leader every team needs on defense.  He knows where he needs to be and where everyone on his defense should line-up.  Mosley is instinctual, intelligent and athletically gifted and can play three downs unlike everyone else in these rankings.  Borland is a try-hard type of player that makes up for his lack of athleticism by playing hard and never giving up on a play.  He has a nose for the football and he will be a nice run stuffing middle linebacker but if anyone expects him to cover someone on third down their defense is going to suffer for it.  Yawin Smallwood was seen as an athletic inside linebacker with the ability to drop into coverage right up until he ran a 5.01 40 at the combine and his stock took a bit hit.  Smallwood is more agile than most of his counterparts but his lack of strength and pedestrian speed are making teams wonder where he fits best.  Shane Skov is your very typical run stopper and he is great at diagnosing plays quickly and getting into the back field early to disrupt running plays.  His ability to take on blockers actually makes him a perfect fit at inside linebacker in a 3-4 defense but he is athletically limited and so is value is in the mid to late rounds.  Lamin Barrow is slightly undersized but is a terrific athlete.  The biggest problem for Barrow at middle linebacker is that he isn’t a great tackler but that is something he could learn.  I am seriously unimpressed by this group outside of Mosley but run stuffing middle linebackers will always have a place in the NFL.

Sleepers:  Max Bullough   Michigan St;   James Morris   Iowa

This is a total cop out because I didn’t want to pick between these two stalwarts of the Big Ten.  Bullough is a huge run stuffer and while he is a one trick pony it is a hell of a trick.  I picked Morris because the idea that Chris Borland is a 3^rd rounder but Morris is a 6^th or 7^th rounder at best is ludicrous.  Borland is stronger and doesn’t get caught out of position as often as Morris but Morris is quicker and faster and those differences can’t account for a 3 or 4 round difference.  I’m not saying Morris is a 3^rd rounder I just think he is slightly undervalued while Borland is overvalued.  Both Borland and Morris are better in coverage than Bullough but none of the three excel at it so I fail to see the discernible difference between these three, they all look like 5^th to 6^th round picks that can actually make NFL rosters to me.

Cornerbacks:  This position is a two man race to the top and by draft day it will still be a pick ‘em between Darqueze Dennard and Justin Gilbert.  Cornerback is deep in this draft but it isn’t especially top heavy and there are a number of players that could move into the first round or drop into the third based on workouts and which teams are picking them.  As much as any position in the NFL scheme is a big factor in drafting corners.

1. Justin Gilbert   Oklahoma St.
2. Darqueze Dennard   Michigan St.
3. Jason Verrett   TCU
4. Kyle Fuller   Virginia Tech
5. Bradley Roby   Ohio St.

Gilbert gets the top spot not because he’s a better corner than Dennard but because you can’t ignore the fact that he brings excellent return skills also.  Getting Gilbert means getting a top flight corner and a top flight return man and that tips a very close race in his direction.  Gilbert is quick, fast, smooth and a more natural athlete than Dennard.  His back pedal is superior and he flips his hips as well as anyone in this draft.  Gilbert has all the qualities to be a #1 corner in the NFL.  Dennard is no slouch and for a team looking for a physical man-to-man cover guy he is the better pick.  His game is getting up on the line of scrimmage and jamming receivers and he will back down from no one.  It really could come down to a coin flip for which one is best and both of them will make good starting corners right away.  Jason Verrett might have the most natural coverage instincts of the whole group but at 5’9 his height puts him at a disadvantage against bigger WR’s.  Verrett is tough for his size and he reminds me a little of the old Patriots CB Ty Law and while Law was an excellent corner he never had to face WR’s like Calvin Johnson, Demaryius Thomas, Brandon Marshall and Julio Jones.  He has skills to cover but I’m not sure anyone wants him lining up every play against those guys.  Kyle Fuller has been a bit of the forgotten man at corner because he spent a lot of his senior year injured and was just never himself.  I remember watching him a bit last year when I thought he might come out as a junior and he was pretty good.  Despite the fact that he ran a pretty good time he doesn’t show great make-up speed on the field but he is a good cover guy and should be a good pro.  Roby is one of my least favorite top prospects because I’m always wary of cornerbacks that get by on being great athletes and lack technique.  He may have a hard time working out for teams individually if he has to spend all of his time traveling the country and destroying every copy of the Ohio St./Wisconsin football game from this last year.  Roby was thoroughly dominated in the game by Jared Abbrederis and I’m sure none of that game is available on his highlight reel.  Roby is a supreme athlete but he needs a lot of coaching to live up to his potential.

Sleepers:  Lamarcus Joyner   Florida St;    Keith McGill   Utah

I’m going with the two completely opposite players on the cornerback spectrum because both of these guys have their place in the NFL.  College football fans will recognize Joyner’s name immediately because he was a defensive leader for the National Champion Florida St. Seminoles.  Joyner is woefully undersized at 5’8 184 lbs. but that won’t stop him from being a good NFL nickel corner.  He is small, shifty and isn’t afraid to be physical inside because he’s lined up at safety before.  Joyner is a football player and whether he lines up covering the slot or possibly as a free safety he will make whatever defense he’s on better.  Keith McGill is a guy not a lot of people have heard of and honestly I haven’t seen much actually film of him but I did watch him at the combine and I was impressed.  At 6’3 211 lbs. McGill brings the size everyone is looking for at the position and he was seriously impressive in the corner drills at the combine.  Most guys as tall and lanky as he is are not very fluid in their movement and while McGill has some technique issues to work on I can see a future starting corner in this kid.

Safety:  I would split this into free and strong safety but there is not really five of each to discuss so I’m just listing the top 5 between the two positions.  There are only two sure fire first round picks and maybe one guy that could sneak into the end of the round but more than likely he’s a second round player.

1. Hasean “Haha” Clinton-Dix   Alabama
2. Calvin Pryor   Louisville
3. Jimmie Ward   Northern Illinois
4. Terrence Brooks   Florida St.
5. Deon Buchanan   Washington St.

Clinton-Dix and Pryor looked like they were going to fight it out for the top safety prospect on the board and while Pryor still has his fans Clinton-Dix seems to be pulling away a little as the top choice.  Clinton-Dix is superior in coverage and in the NFL that is what you want from your free safety.  After spending three years under Nick Saban at Alabama Clinton-Dix is the next in a long line of good secondary players from the Crimson Tide.  Pryor is a very good prospect and while he is a free safety also he is a little better defending in the run game than as a cover guy and in the right system he could line up as a strong safety.  Jimmie Ward is a bit undersized for strong safety but he is more comfortable and more natural playing closer to the line of scrimmage.  He has some cover skills so he can be a complete safety but he isn’t the ball hawk you would want playing center field.  Terrence Brooks is another guy from the reigning National Champion Seminoles (pretty easy to figure out why they were so good) and he actually has great cover skills as a safety because he spent his first two years playing corner at Florida St.  Brooks is a little on the small side but his cover skills are exactly what NFL teams want from their safeties nowadays so he will have some fans on draft day.  Deon Buchanan is the more old school in-the-box strong safety prospect and he doesn’t have great coverage skills but there is still a place in the NFL for an intimidator.  He is big and physical and is in the mold of a guy like Donte Whitner so he will make some noise, mostly when he hits someone.

Sleeper:  Ed Reynolds   Stanford

What can I say I like my free safeties to be smart and you can’t go wrong with a guy from Stanford if you’re looking for intelligence.  Reynolds is a pretty good at covering TE and in today’s NFL that is a huge skill to have.  He does most everything well but not necessarily anything great but he is well rounded and knows where to be.  Reynolds is the type of player that gets drafted in the 3^rd or 4^th round and comes in a steals a starting job from someone.