Finishing up our first month of positional draft rankings, we close the chapter on trench warriors with the interior D-line. This group includes all players on the defensive side of the ball lining up anywhere from a zero- to a four-/five-technique depending on your labelling, although it’s rare to find such a clearly defined alignment roles these days. Just for clarification on how I will reference them:
0 = head-up on the center, 1 or shade = shoulder of the center, 2i = inside shoulder of the guard, 2 = head-up on the guard, 3 = outside shoulder of the guard, 4i = inside shoulder of the tackle, 4/5 = head-up on the tackle
This is a group that includes two incredible prospects worthy of top-20 selections and between five and seven other names that should go on day two. You can find useful players after that, but there is certainly a drop-off and you’re looking at role players or unrefined projects.
Let’s get into the list now:
1. Jer’Zhan Newton, Illinois
6’2”, 295 pounds; RS JR
Just outside the top-1000 overall recruits of 2020, Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton enrolled in 2020 and saw some action as a backup year one, but entered the starting lineup as a sophomore. Last season he racked up 61 tackles, 14 of those for loss, 5.5 sacks, three passes batted down and two fumbles recovered, which earned him first-team All-Big Ten and second-team All-American accolades. This past season he improved to first-team All-American and was named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year, despite to his numbers slightly dropping off (52 tackles, 8.5 for loss, sacks, two PBUs, a fumble forced and recovered each.
Run defense:
+ Improved massively from his freshman season (611 snaps) to year two, going from a 57.7 PFF grade to 91.0, which ranked behind only Jalen Carter and Calijah Kancey in 2022 and made him the most valuable Power Five interior defensive lineman according to PFF’s “wins above average” metric
+ This guy’s a bowling ball of butcher knives, who constantly seems to be disrupting plays as a presence in the offensive backfield
+ Super effective at slicing through lanes in the zone run game to shut down the front-side
+ You see like one stupid back-door play on a guard that has the running back cut all the way back every week it seems like
+ When he can’t get to the play-side shoulder of linemen chasing the ball from behind, Newton makes sure to apply force under their arm pit and ride them down the line, whilst staying ready for the ball-carrier on potential cut-backs
+ Has some snaps where he recognizes he’s being pinned down and the guy across from him pulls out to the corner, yet Newton is able to go over the top in order to funnel the ball-carrier back inside
+ Has the power and knack for pulling blockers off himself and show up in the gap when the ball arrives there
+ Finished just one run stop short of the top mark (30) among Power Five interior D-linemen in 2022 and then four short of it (25) this past season
Pass-rush:
+ If he can just get up the field as a three-technique, his ability to burst through the gap and angle towards the quarterback in designated passing situations made him nearly impossible for college guards to handle – had two big sacks against Wisconsin that way in 2023 (one taken off by penalty)
+ Packs a quick two-handed downward-swipe directly into the rip-through in order to get past the hip of the blocker, often paired with a little stutter to beat guards cleanly off the line
+ Showcases a fluid club-swim combo to step past the hip of guards and corner his rush towards the passer, even as he has to drive through contact with blockers being able to recover
+ Recognizes when guards overset on him and has the lateral quicks to cross-face them in a hurry
+ Is constantly looking for secondary wins and how to impact pass plays, by batting down passes or cutting off angles for the quarterback
+ Pulls linemen aside like they’re nothing a few times per game as he recognizes the offense is running play-action or someone’s just leaning into him
+ The ability to stick his foot in the ground curve around as the looper on games up front is pretty scary for a guy of approximately 300 pounds
+ Flashes some eye-opening chase speed when he pursues quarterback out to the sideline
+ His 102 total QB pressures over the past two seasons are ten more than any other interior D-linemen across that stretch
Weaknesses:
– On the shorter end of NFL interior defensive linemen, with his 76-inch wingspan putting him in the sixth percentile, giving him less room for error
– Would benefit from striking with his hands to take control of the line of scrimmage early on against down-blocks before really tracking the backfield action
– At times appears to be oblivious to angular blockers and allow himself to get washed down the line
– Has room to become more precise and effective with chopping/swatting down the near-hand of pass-protectors, as well as being more pro-active with his counters
If Penn State left tackle Olu Fashanu is the most overthought prospect in this draft, Newton is kind of the forgotten man, yet I have both as my top names for their respective positions at a time where it seems other guys have surpassed those two on consensus rankings. Calijah Kancey was a top-20 pick for the Buccaneers last year and while Newton isn’t quite explosive off the ball, I think he’s a better all-around player. Now, he does also come in with some length concerns and if he’s asked to stack-and-shed blockers more regularly for his future team, he’ll need to become better with reacting to pressure points and setting the tone on contact with his hands. However, I would love how he projects into a traditional three-technique role for an even front team, I think he gives you alignment versatility – particularly in defined dropback situations – and what separates from a lot of these disruption-style players we see at the position is that if he connects with his hand combats, he links those with his hips in order to actually step through and create a path towards the ball for himself. To me, Johnny is a top-15 player in this draft.
2. Byron Murphy II, Texas
6’0”, 300 pounds; JR
One of the top-500 overall recruits in 2021, due to the crazy depth of the Texas D-line, Murphy started only two of 25 games played over his first two years with the Longhorns, recording 41 total tackles, 6.5 of those for loss and three sacks. This past season he cracked the lineup and made first-team All-Big 12 as well as second-team All-American, thanks to putting up career-highs across the board (29 tackles, 8.5 for loss and five sacks). The Big-12 also got a little sneaky, when they named Murphy the conference’s Defensive Lineman of the Year, even though his teammate T’Vondre Sweat received the DPOY award.
Run defense:
+ Stout run-defender, who plays uncommonly low and regularly demands both offensive linemen on combos to stay firm on him, which allows the linebacker to work around freely
+ Capable of lining up at the nose and anchoring against the angular element of combo-blocks
+ Has an uncanny feel for where pressure is being applied and how counter it – There are snaps where he doesn’t move one inch while his knee towards the second man is hovering barely over the ground
+ Showcases highly impressive lateral agility to counter zone concepts, where he doesn’t only maintain leverage on the gap, but actually gets his hands onto the next lineman who may try to provide a help-hand on the front-side
+ The short-area quicks to back-door blockers or execute run stunts pops a couple of times in every game
+ Asking a center to down-block on him when pulling a guard across the formation is pretty much off the table, because he sticks to the hip of that guy and often ends up bumping him into the ball-carrier in the offensive backfield
+ Murphy’s sudden hands regularly cause issues, as he side-steps linemen and steps past their hip, initiating first contact with ball-carriers at the line of scrimmage that way regularly
+ His 83.9 run-defense grade in 2022 was a top-ten mark among Power Five interior defensive linemen and he actually had three extra stops (21) on the same amount of such snaps basically
Pass-rush:
+ His height gives Murphy a natural leverage advantage already, but paired with his explosion off the ball and his ability to keep his upper body parallel to the ground basically makes him almost impossible to slow down when he just attacks up the field
+ Packs a violent club-rip move, including cross-face maneuvers, and fights hard through the reach of interior pass-protectors
+ Recognizes when linemen lean too far into him, rapidly yanking them forward and pulling his arm over to get by them
+ Has the flexibility and strength in his ankles to corner his rushes working on the outside shoulder of guards or tackles
+ When the O-line slides his direction or a tackle sets out to him rushing off the edge and Murphy attacks the other way, the guy responsible for him typically has to get into catch-up mode and try to take him enough off track, with the force he blows by them with initially
+ Capable of drawing multiple bodies with him as he slants across gaps and attempts to open up a lane for one of his teammates to loop over the top of
+ Murphy’s ability to suddenly disengage from blocks and then chase down scrambling quarterbacks really stands out
+ His 14.8% pass-rush win rate in 2022 put him just outside the top-ten of the interior D-line group and while he “only” had five sacks last season, PFF had him with the highest pass-rush productivity (9.6) among the position (with at least 100 rush snaps)
+ You see him turn his head and chase down screen passes 10+ yards down the field on multiple occasions
Weaknesses:
– Will get a little undisciplined with his run fits and attack too far upfield or across blockers, to open up bigger lanes than they should otherwise be
– There’s room for improvement with how quickly he transitions from run-defense to disengaging from blocks and rushing the passer
– You love the ability to torpedo up a gap in passing situations, but you do see him end up on the turf quite regularly and blockers be able to push him down because of it
– Needs to start incorporating counter moves when he wins off the line but then doesn’t punish blockers as they try to recover and get loose with their footwork
Murphy offers a rare blend of leverage, explosiveness, quicks and strength. He can pretty much fit in any type of front and become a difference-maker with the versatility to move around throughout games. Having said that, because the Longhorn coaches took advantage of that diverse skill-set, he has some development to do in order to realize his potential one day. Being able to recognize plays before he’s charged into opponents, playing under a little more control and countering the techniques of blockers are all necessary if he wants to be a legit “play-maker” instead of just a disruptor. Yet, you’re not going to find many guys who can penetrate as a three-technique or anchor against double-teams as a nose-tackle, before either side-stepping or going straight through a 330-pound guard on thirds pretty much equally well. And then he backed up that up with elite testing and a tremendous positional workout at the combine. You may not want to put too much on his plate right away, but Murphy has the potential to end up being the best defensive player from this entire draft. He should go off the board at some point in the teens.
3. Kris Jenkins Jr., Michigan
6’3”, 285 pounds; SR
A three-star recruit in 2020, the son of Jets All-Pro defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, Junior appeared in just one game as a true freshman. He played in all 14 and started four games the following season, recording 22 tackles but zero sacks. In year three, his numbers jumped up to 54 total stops, 3.5 of those for loss and two sacks. While his overall tackles were down a little bit this past season (37), he did slightly better his TFLs (4.5) and sacks (2.5), while snatching his first interception and scooping up a fumble, which he was recognized as a second-team All-Big choice for.
Run defense:
+ Comes out of his stance low and ready to strike with his hands against the run – Regularly you see guards take a couple of small steps backwards as contact is initiated
+ When allowed to shoot his gap, he’s quick off the ball and ready to take control of plays instead of allowing blockers to dictate terms to him, shutting off the front-side frequently as a 3/4i
+ Regularly is able to stay square against lateral run concepts and then fall back by one gap to hold up the running back
+ Against double-teams, he packs a potent corkscrew technique to squeeze through the squeeze between the two linemen
+ Highly active to work off blocks with a potent arm-over and track down the ball-carrier rather than getting hung up in traffic
+ You better not give this guy an opening as a linemen has to get in front of him after bucket-stepping, with no initial bump by anybody, as well as make sure he’s secured before somebody peels off combos, because he’ll otherwise chase down the ball
+ Actively closes the distance to pullers when initially unblocked and is able to create traffic in the backfield to throw off the timing of plays
+ Routinely squeezes bodies into the action and puts some centers on the turf trying to down-block on him
+ As a junior, Jenkins’ 31 run-defense stops were tied for the most in the nation among interior defensive linemen (in 2022) and almost one third of his run-defense snaps were categorized as “positive” in PFF’s database, which you get a “neutral” when you just “do your job”, meaningful he was highly impactful at that
Pass-rush:
+ Packs some legit bend for an interior rusher
+ You see Jenkins dip and rip in order to create an angle towards the quarterback – particularly off play-action – quite regularly
+ Capable of cross-facing blockers with great suddenness, especially once his hand-swipes continue to improve to actually win cleanly
+ We didn’t see Jenkins just sell out for bull-rushing solo blockers, but his power was on display a few times when he drove back double-teams to squeeze down the pocket
+ Really worked on his spin move in 2023, selling that he’ll attack the outside shoulder and then getting to the opposite hip in one fluid motion just as guards lean into him
+ Michigan put Jenkins over tackles more often this past season, where he showed the ability to condense the edge by riding tackles into the quarterback with the long-arm or bull-rush
+ Looks dynamic sticking his foot in the ground and looping across multiple games, being able to corner his path towards the QB
+ The type of style Michigan asked Jenkins to play didn’t lend itself to great production as a pass-rusher, yet he matched his pressure number from 2022 (20) on 75 fewer opportunities (228 pass-rush snaps) last season
Weaknesses:
– Even for a read-and-react Wolverine front, Jenkins appears a tad late off the ball and puts himself in compromised positions at times because of it
– Could do a little better job of mirroring the first step(s) of offensive linemen and not allowing himself to get sealed off or scooped on the backside of wide zone plays
– Wastes too much time with tight-end when lined up at 5-/6-technique, instead of quickly shedding them to make plays
– Doesn’t have a much of a pass-rush portfolio at this point, largely relying on power and not packing any reliable counters he’ll access
– Needs to do a better job of when he does have vertical momentum to keep working through one half of the man and shorten the path towards the quarterback for himself
This draft is filled with sons of former NFL standout player, but somehow Jenkins Jr. is the one I barely hear being talked about. A big part of that is how he was asked to play by the Wolverine coaches, where he regularly is in a more conservative four-point stance on early downs and doesn’t just get off the ball on purpose, although even for that, I thought he didn’t help himself with that and it affected him even on passing downs to some degree. With that being said, that doesn’t mean he can’t be a more disruptive player if coached that way, considering we did see that quickness he clearly has show up more in 2022. I mean, he was number six on Bruce Feldman’s 2023 Freaks List, because his shuttle and three-cone times at Michigan were up there with any D-tackle coming into the league these past couple of years and only Cowboys first-round pick Mazi Smith (at a good 30 pounds extra), put up a higher mark than Jenkins’ 760 pounds on the combo twist – which tests an athlete’s ability to apply force. Jenkins certainly needs to improve his ability to attack half the man and become a more well-versed pass-rusher, but I think he could be a borderline elite run-stopper by his second season and has the potential to be a legit impact player on third downs, particularly on different games up front.
4. T’Vondre Sweat, Texas
6’5”, 340 pounds; RS SR
A top-1000 overall recruit in 2019, Sweat saw limited action as a true freshman with the Longhorns, before becoming a key cog of the rotation up front year two onwards. Across the next three seasons, he combined for 74 total stops, 8.5 of those for loss and two sacks, along with eight PBUs. He openly spoke about his increased investment this past season, which led to career highs across the board (45 total tackles, eight for loss, two sacks and four PBUs), the Big-12 Defensive Player of the Year award and first-team All-American recognition.
Run defense:
+ This dude is a monster truck, who regularly is first to land his hands onto opponents in the run game
+ Has the sturdy frame to not get bumped off his landmarks on down-blocks and giving him a chance to take a couple of steps up the field as the offense pulls someone denies the running back to stay on a tighter track initially
+ You see some trap plays, where the puller is really loading up for contact, yet it’s nothing better than a stalemate with Sweat
+ Has plenty of plays, where he’s dealing with down-blocks, rips through and circles around those guys in order to get involved with wrapping up the ball-carrier going through the opposite gap
+ There are some impressive reps back-dooring centers on zone plays with a quick arm-over and standing there as the back tries to squeeze past or bounce runs
+ When he sticks his foot in the ground and pursues the ball down the line, the speed for a man his size to chase down plays is pretty darn impressive
+ Re-set the line of scrimmage on the vast majority of snaps in the 2023 Red River Rivalry – Oklahoma’s QB Dillon Gabriel was the only guy to find success rushing
+ Only UCLA edge defender Laiatu Latu earned a higher overall PFF grade last season (91.7) and Sweat had the highest run-defense grade among all Power-5 defenders (92.0)
Pass-rush:
+ Routinely is able to create that initial momentum and push up the middle of the pocket
+ Packs a rapid two-handed downward swipe against interior pass-protectors trying to quick-set him, making them fold over and going right by them at times
+ It’s a constant battle for guards and centers trying to re-fit their hands and find ways to set their base in order to keep him occupied when soloed up against Sweat, who swipes those paws off and eventually pulls them aside
+ Capable of creating angles towards the quarterback even after allowing blockers to square him up, by lifting their arms upwards and ripping underneath them
+ Once he gets to one shoulder of pass-protectors, at best they can take him off track enough to allow the QB to step up usually
+ Provides the force to cave in one side of the protection and open up a lane for a looper to get through on games
+ Finished tied for eight among interior D-linemen in the draft with 31 total pressures – on less than 300 pass-rush snaps – and added 21 “other pass-rush wins” according to PFF
+ Consistently gets those big arms up as he’s closing in on quarterbacks (outside the pocket) in order to force them to put extra arc on passes
Weaknesses:
– Due to his height and center of gravity, Sweat quickly pops up out of his stance and if asked to play extensive snaps, that only gets worse (conditioning will remain a question)
– Angular blockers (on quick combos), who understand how to appropriately apply force to his hip or arm-pit, can get his body turned in the run game after being square in how he’s engaged with somebody else
– Frequently is late to redirect or get into pursuit mode, when the play is going away from him
– Doesn’t give you a whole lot of versatility as a pass-rusher, where he can take advantage of being singled up at times, but he’s not stringing moves together and slips through a crack between blockers, to flush the quarterback
– At this point doesn’t utilize his length and power optimally to truly overwhelm solo-blockers with the bull-rush
Nobody in college football was as physically dominant at the line of scrimmage as T’Vondre Sweat last season. His ability to swallow double-teams but also become more of a play-maker in the run game when soloed up made Texas one of the toughest defenses to run the ball against (averaging a miniscule 2.9 yards per carry). You’d like him to play a little lower still – especially watching teammate Byron Murphy fire off the ball next to him – and he’s not going to give you a whole lot in the pass-rush department as long as he doesn’t master his power-approach and the ways he can work off it. With that being said, if you understand what he is, this guy can change how your defense operates, because he consistently demands and extra pair of hands and allows your linebackers to roam freely, while having the ability to put interior pass-protectors on skates occasionally. For a mountain of a man like this, conditioning and how much he can play will always be a question, but he did earn his highest PFF grade (91.7) while playing a career-high 503 snaps last season. If Mazi Smith can go at the end of the first round last year, Sweat deserves to be a late second-rounder.
5. Braden Fiske, Florida State
6’4”, 300 pounds; RS SR
A three-star recruit for Western Michigan in 2018, Fiske was on the field for just 18 snaps as a true freshman, before appearing in 12 games as a rotational player the following season, recording 24 tackles, two TFLs and a sack. He started all six contests during the 2020 COVID-shortened campaign, putting up the same tackle number, but about double the negative plays created respectively. Starting all 25 contests the following two years, he racked up 101 tackles, 20 of those for loss and ten sacks, along with three passes batted down, two fumbles forced and one recovered – all this past year. He decided to prove his talents in the Power Five for 2023 with the Seminoles and backed it up with a second-team All-ACC campaign, thanks to 43 total stops, nine TFLs and six sacks.
Run defense:
+ True worker-bee on the defensive interior, who’s a pest for any team facing him
+ When offensive linemen block down on Fiske or seal him on the backside, it regularly looks like they’re just trying to hold up in pass-protection rather than bringing the fight to him
+ Pro-actively encounters double-teams and is able to hold pretty firm ground
+ There are some plays where it truly looks like the offense is running into a wall, as there’s no movement at the point of attack against Fiske and then the back comes to a dead-stop as he collides with the D-tackle at the line of scrimmage
+ Consistently plays the game with a great motor and is looking to work off blocks
+ You frequently see him get involved on tackles ten yards past the line of scrimmage, but also if he misses initially, pop straight back up and join the party
+ Logged at least 26 defensive stops each of the past three seasons, speaking to his level of activity
+ Him and teammate Jared Verse were amongst boys in the ACC Championship game vs. Louisville, whether Fiske was man-handling the interior O-line with power or penetrated the backfield for negative plays, including a TFL on the very first snap from scrimmage
Pass-rush:
+ Fiske’s get-off is up there with basically anybody among this interior D-linemen class to immediately stress the shoulder of pass-protectors
+ Has some awesome reps of guards setting out to him rushing from the three-technique and beating them across the face with a shockingly rapid arm-over move, where he basically slaps that guy’s butt as he steps through
+ Really works those hands and you see him break free even when four hands touch him with protection being slid his way
+ If his initial rush stalls, Fiske will just work into the depth of the pocket and get his hands up to challenge passing lanes for the quarterback
+ Constantly is looking to disengage or spin away from blockers late, in order to chase after the quarterback
+ When he’s asked to spike into linemen or almost bowl over guys as he slants across multiple gaps trying to create a free lane for one of his teammates, he will do so with great determination and force
+ Yet his burst and ability to turn a tight corner on delayed loops is also massive, particularly being able to shut down quarterbacks trying to escape the pocket
+ Over his final two seasons with WMU, Fiske’s 81 pressures were tied for fifth among FBS interior defensive linemen, before adding 28 more on 263 pass-rush snaps in one year with SMU
+ Impressive with how he diagnoses screens to the back and is able to force quarterbacks to dirt the ball
Weaknesses:
– Sort of a tweener, playing too upright for what you’d like to see from a three-technique but doesn’t project well as somebody playing over the center and dealing with doubles frequently
– Comes in with an inherent length disadvantage at only 31-inch arms and it limits his ability to really threaten the edges of blockers
– Too often gets caught hand-fighting at the line initially rather than winning to one shoulder early
– Presents a limited radius as a tackler, leading to a career miss rate of 15.3%
Fiske has been on an astronomic rise during this pre-draft process, catching up with a high grade that I already had on him based on watching him during the actual season. The motor and level of activity he played with made him one of my favorite players to study overall. This guy comes off the ball with a purpose. He can penetrate on run plays but will also strain to control his space and then slide off blocks to get his hands on the ball-carrier. He has the quickness and his movements and hand-swipes to put pass-protectors to, but will also push them up the pocket and make quarterbacks uncomfortable back there if he has to. Unfortunately, his arm length is clearly below NFL standards and you have to question if there’s a clean schematic fit for him at that profile. Yet, with how dominant he was throughout Senior Bowl week and the incredible performance he delivered at the combine – leading all interior defensive linemen in the 40-yard dash (4.78), vertical (33.5 inches) and broad jump (9’9”), as well as short-shuttle time (4.37) – I have a tough time seeing him make it outside the top-50 picks now.
6. Ruke Orhorhoro, Clemson
6’4”, 290 pounds; RS SR
Despite only playing two years of high school football, Orhorhoro was a top-1000 overall recruit and became the first Clemson commit from the state of Michigan since 1975. He barely got onto the field his first two years for the Tigers, but over the following two as a rotational piece, he combined for 59 tackles, eight for loss each year, 6.5 combined sacks, eight passes batted down at the line and a fumble recovered in each.
Run defense:
+ Lined up all over the D-line for the Tigers, from nose-tackle all the way to six-technique
+ Defends the run with good pad-level and maximizes his length when asked to gap-control or even two-gap
+ From shade-alignments and on slants, he consistently is looking to attack one shoulder of the blocker and keep his opposite arm free
+ You love his ability to stay square on the front-side of zone concepts, lock out and then fall back a gap as he tracks the ball-carrier, creating first contact
+ Frequently is able to press off and create leverage on the gap after the guy across from him takes that initial step reach-block him
+ Was very effective on early-down gap-exchanges, with his lateral agility to loop over the top of traffic and take away the front-side, forcing running backs to redirect
+ Looks like he’s almost bouncing off blockers and then running down the back a few times, providing excellent pursuit
+ Received PFF grades above 75 vs. the run in each of the past two seasons
Pass-rush:
+ The ability to win against centers with the club-rip, where he pushes at the shoulder and really pulls the inside arm through leads to some clean Ws for him
+ Has some nice reps where he freezes the feet of guards by stuttering off the line and then cornering his rush with that rip-through
+ Packs a rapid arm-over to free himself from pass-protectors as he’s recognizing play-action after engaging with those guys
+ Guards lunging forward trying to quick-set him get beat cleanly off the line with the club-swim a few times
+ Yet if they initially sit back, he’s also very good at anticipating up their punch and linking his arms and hips in order to win on cross-face moves paired with a tight arm-over mauneuver
+ When he’s at the hip of a blocker and that guy has him arm-barred to push off with the back of his near-arm or pull it over and clear that, as he chases the quarterback
+ Showcases good awareness for screen passes and trails the back working outside, forcing quarterbacks to dirt the ball
+ Was tied for tenth among interior D-linemen in this draft in 2023 pass-rush productivity (7.1) – 26 pressures on 235 rush opportunities
Weaknesses:
– Has room to improve his ability to read and counter the first step(s) of the offensive line, particularly staying a half gap ahead so to speak against wide zone
– Gets blown off the ball by double-teams quite a bit, lacking the ability to anchor effectively against the angular element of those
– When linemen get their hands inside his chest quickly (on short-sets), too often he’ll end up battling them instead of being forceful with attacking one shoulder to gain control of the rep
– Generally has room to grow as a “reactionary” pass-rusher, countering the approach of opponents on the fly and figuring out how to give them trouble throughout games – being moved around as much as he was didn’t help with that development, to be fair
Assuming no issues in terms of medical report or otherwise, I believe the top-five on the interior D-linemen is pretty concrete, even though the order may ultimately look different for the NFL as a whole. With that being said, Orhorhoro was pretty clearly my next name up here, because even though he’s not a complete player at this point or I see a defined scheme fit, I see him as an extremely useful player for a variety of systems. His ability to play low, combined with length, the short-area quickness and play demeanor, you’re got yourself a pack of dynamite on the interior. I do believe you want to protect him early on at least, where he‘s in shade-alignments and can play that “gap-and-a-half” but not deal with legit double-teams, and he certainly has room to grow in that first phase of the pass-rush and he approaches those matchups. However, I really liked his tape and then he finished with a 9.88 RAS score at the combine thanks the second-best broad jump (9’8”), third-best vert (32 inches) and fourth-best 40 (4.89) for his position, along with putting together an excellent on-field workout.
7. Michael Hall Jr., Ohio State
6’3”, 285 pounds; RS SO
Just outside the top-50 overall recruits in 2021, Hall played in four games and ultimately took a redshirt his first year in Columbus. In his first full season with the Buckeyes, he recorded 19 tackles, 7.5 of those for loss, four sacks and a fumble recovery across 266 total snaps. This past year, he had 24 total stops, but only two TFLs and 1.5 sacks. He made third-team All-Big Ten in both those years.
Run defense:
+ Drew early comparisons to a less refined version of 2023 Pitt first-round pick Calijah Kancey (Buccaneers) for the way he can create issues with his quickness as a penetrator
+ If you just allow him to line up on the outside shoulder of the guard and ask him to get upfield, the way he can rip through and shut down the front-side of run plays stands out
+ Yet, he’s also become a steadier presence along the interior, being able to find anchor points and stack blockers when asked to play gap-control
+ Explosive laterally to work over the top of down-blocks trying to pin him away from the point of attack as the offense pulls somebody the other opposite direction
+ Is able to create angles towards the ball thanks to his triceps strength to press off and flatten
+ Looks like he’s swallowed up by blockers yet finds a way to suddenly pull the opposite arm over and getting contact on the ball-carrier at the line of scrimmage occasionally
+ Recognizes linemen bucket-stepping and instead of desperately trying to fight towards the play-side shoulder, taking them a couple of steps deeper into the backfield, forcing the back to widen and therefore making it easier for pursuit to get there
+ Showcases incredible mobility down the line, to track down the runner on zone concepts
Pass-rush:
+ Features one of the quickest club-swim combos you’re going to find, which becomes a real problem when he recognizes blockers sliding his way and the opposite gap being unoccupied
+ Is able to create good torque to the pads of linemen as he pushes at their shoulder-plate to open a path to step path them
+ Capable of crossing up guards with euro-step-like maneuvers, paired with the high swim
+ Throws out a tornado-like spin move every once in a while, which make guards look like they got their feet stuck in quick-sand
+ Has worked on his ability to take advantage of softer sets and standing up as they try to land their strikes, as he extends those 33.5-inch arms and drives interior pas-protectors back into the quarterback’s space
+ Provides the upfield force to pull linemen with him as the spiker and opening up a lane for his looping teammates
+ Shows highly impressive change-of-direction to stick his foot in the ground and circle around traffic as a delayed looper
+ Earned PFF grades of 77.2 and 80.3 overall these past two seasons, with a 99th percentile grade on true pass-rush snaps
+ Was tied for tenth among interior D-linemen in this draft in 2023 pass-rush productivity (7.1) – logging 29 pressures + 16 other pass-rush wins on just 228 rush opportunities
Weaknesses:
– Still on the smaller end for a defensive tackle and Ohio State highlighted that by regularly aligning him between the guard and center
– Not somebody who really controls the line of scrimmage in the run game, getting dug out on down-blocks regularly and having problems anchoring vs. doubles
– Too often gets caught dancing around with guards instead of working past them in passing situations
– Needs to do a better job of staying on a short path around linemen, rather than allowing them to force him to take a wider track or even beyond the QB
– When he does beat blockers across their face, he doesn’t make sure to get to their hip and follow through all the time, leading to him getting ridden off track quite a bit – has to work on trapping that arm as well
I wasn’t a huge fan of Hall’s game when I studied him last summer and cautioned people trying to compare him to prior defensive tackles who were labelled as quick, disruption-style players. Yet, while his numbers went down, I thought I saw more projectable skills this past season when it comes to battling in condensed space and executing pass-rush moves. Plus, then he had some very impressive moments during Senior Bowl week. I still believe his role is pretty narrow as a three-technique in a attacking even front, where he doesn’t have to deal with combos regularly when he does see the field on early downs. To get there, he’ll need to continue getting stronger in his ability to anchor, while his opportunities will largely rely on how quickly he can produce as a sub-package player. The get-off, quicks and flashes of power could lead to some impressive reps against NFL guards, but at this point he’s not efficient with actually getting past those guys because his hips don’t follow through well enough even when he defeats the opposing hands. To me, he’s worthy of a late day-two investment, if I have a plan for him early on.
8. Mekhi Wingo, LSU
6’0”, 285 pounds; JR
A three-star recruit in 2021, after one year at Missouri (two TFLs, one sack and a pick-six), Wingo transferred to LSU, where he tripled his TFL and sack numbers in five additional games, along with four passes batted down, one fumble forced and two recovered. Thanks to that, he was named a second-team All-SEC selection (in 2022). This past season, Wingo was limited eight appearances due to requiring surgery for a lower-body injury, but did collect 25 total stops, five TFLs and 4.5 sacks.
Run defense:
+ Offers a rapid get-off, low pad-level and that play-making ability to disrupt the offensive backfield
+ You see Wingo legitimately bench-press SEC guards and disengage to shoot through creases in the run game
+ Those interior blockers land on the turf a couple of times every game, as he pulls them off himself late
+ Frequently demand two bodies and doesn’t allow one of them to limb up to the linebacker on combos before they can shoot the gap or back-door them
+ On the front-side of concepts, he has the lateral mobility to stay square with blockers, yet he also does a nice job of turning his shoulder in order to work down the line with the ball in front of him
+ Sudden in condensed space, where it appears the ball-carrier has a crease and on the spur of the moment, they’re getting their legs wrapped up as Wingo comes off his block
+ Proved his great stamina as a sophomore (2022), when his 821 snaps were 31 more than any other interior defensive linemen in college football – missed the second half of the season but did return for the bowl game
+ His 84.3 run-defense grade in 2022 put him behind only Georgia’s Jalen Carter and Nazir Stackhouse among SEC interior defensive linemen, while he hit a 75.0 this past season
Pass-rush:
+ Has plus snap anticipation and is able to dictate terms that way in defined passing situations, especially if they can’t slide in front of him in time
+ When he can attack through the inside shoulder of guards sliding towards him, Wingo has the raw force to pretty much take a direct path towards the quarterback and either flush that guy or quicken his process
+ Packs a nice push-pull move and then can swim over the top if interior blockers brace against power
+ Capable of winning across the face of interior linemen, paired with a tight club-swim move
+ Showcases an impressive ability to disconnect his upper and lower half as he tries to squeeze past blockers, where you’ll see his pads be perpendicular to the ground at times
+ Is regularly able to corner his rushes even through contact rather than getting pushed up the field as he’s at the hip of pass-protectors while pushing down their near-arm
+ Always seems to get one of those big paws up shortly before the ball comes out, when he can’t get home
+ Even if the ball comes out quickly or there are screens to the perimeter, you appreciate Wingo’s hustle to chase after it
+ Had his most productive season rushing the passer on a per-play basis in 2023, with 19 total QB pressures across 239 pass-rush snaps
Weaknesses:
– Being undersized for the position, Wingo will need to work on his skills for deconstructions blocks in the run game and not have to pursue the ball through contact as regularly
– Tries to freelance a little bit too much getting into the backfield instead of always taking the optimal track to where the ball will go
– Too often gets stalled at the line and is just looking to get his hands up against the pass, which having only 32-inch arms doesn’t help with either
– If he gets stood up a bit early or just isn’t able to create that initial momentum, Wingo tends to get too straight-legged later in the rep
– Can have a difficult time getting off blocks and win with different pass-rush moves – logged only 44 combined pressures across 676 pass-rush snaps over two years with LSU
Playing alongside two five-star recruits in Maason Smith and Harold Perkins Jr., Wingo wasn’t in the spotlight a whole lot these last two years once he arrived in Baton Rouge, but you can argue that he was the most consistent player and the straw that stirred the drink for the Tigers during that time. His ability to get off the ball and take advantage of his natural leverage advantage, getting under and pulling off blockers with the quicks to get his hands on the ball-carrier really stood out. In passing situations, if your guys didn’t slide in front of him right away or ended up oversetting, he could really cause problems with fluid execution of hand swipes and his ability to cross-face guys. Now, the length he’s missing becomes an issue when he can’t defeat the hands early and has to actually shed blockers once they’re latched into his frame and he’ll need to develop counters he can access before his opponents gain control of the rep, but he has enough power to complement the quickness he brings to the table. Wingo put together an excellent all-around combine performance, changing directions well and tightly working around the bags, after already running a 4.85 in the 40 (only topped by Florida State’s Braden Fiske among the IDL), plus he showcased tremendous football character when he made it a priority to return from surgery for LSU’s bowl game and basically ended the final two drives with sacks.
9. Brandon Dorlus, Oregon
6’3”, 285 pounds; RS SR
A top-1000 overall recruit in 2019, Dorlus was a rotational player for the Ducks for his first two seasons, Then he became a first-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2021 and then second-team in ’22, with a combined 64 tackles, 16.5 of those for loss, five sacks and four passes batted down at the line. As a fifth-year senior, he put up a career-best five sacks and nine(!) passes batted down at the line, along with 6.5 TFLs, improving to first-team all-conference.
Run defense:
+ Packs the length and strength to kind of bench-press blockers and knock them back a little bit in the run game
+ You can have him set the edge, play gap-control inside or attack up the field
+ Was asked to slant a lot, where he could attack the play-side shoulder of blockers on zone concepts to stand up and bump off contact to create negative plays
+ Has some impressive run stuff where he just swipes by blockers, side-steps them and places himself in the gap as a wall for the ball-carrier
+ Capable of rip through the reach of blockers, dipping underneath and getting around them to get his hands on the ball-carrier around the line of scrimmage
+ As an edge defender, he quickly erases the space to the tackle blocking away from him by shuffling inside
+ Puts some H-backs or tight-ends on their backside when trying to sift-block or trap him
+ Was used as a quasi-spy from the nose-tackle spot a few times against mobile QBs, which didn’t help his pass-rush productivity, but made him a valuable asset thanks to his lateral movement skills and long arms to ultimately affect passing lanes
Pass-rush:
+ Regularly is able to free himself from blockers as he IDs play-action by pulling them forward
+ Packs the power to ride guys back into the quarterback’s lap and put them on the turf if they got off balance
+ Showcases an impressive ability to link his arms and hips together, in order to cross-face blockers for occasional early wins
+ Explosive lateral mover, to come free on stunts, as he dips underneath the reach of guys trying to pick him up
+ Packs some really nice power-to-speed moves off the edge, where he aims at the center of the tackle and then jumps outside paired with the club-swim
+ With his length and force in his hands, he’s frequently able to swipe by blockers after control-rushing or stalling initially
+ Just keeps working hard as a pass-rusher and rarely allows scrambling quarterbacks to get outside of him rushing the B-gap or edge
+ His 88 pressures between 2021 and ‘22 led all returning Power Five edge defenders coming into 2023 and then he had the highest total (46) last season among all interior defenders
Weaknesses:
– Has room to improve his ability to defend the run with extension and counter the first step(s) of the guy across from him
– Doesn’t consistently keep the outside free and stay ready to quickly disengage when the ball is coming his way, which leads to busted contain assignments
– Seems oblivious to cut-blocks and regularly ended up with his chest planted into the turf on those
– There’s not much of a refined pass-rush plan and Dorlus rarely gets clean wins with his hands, to some degree since he doesn’t simultaneously step through
– Spends too much time trying to peak at the quarterback and dancing with the guy across from him, rather than getting to that guy’s hip
Dorlus is a classic case if a player without a defined position, who may either not be looked at as a clean fit for defensive schemes or get pushed up because some decision-makers see the potential to turn him into a problem with his combination of length, quickness and raw force. I struggle with his evaluation, because I definitely don’t see him as an EDGE but if you ask him to play gap-control in an even front, I don’t love he’ll translate there either. He has a long way to go when it comes to identifying run concepts and finding ways to gain the upper hand in matchups against pass-protectors, because he doesn’t work off and string together moves in a comprehensive fashion. Ultimately, I like him best in an odd front as a base, where he’s asked to two-gap but also can stress blockers up the field from shade alignments. On passing downs, he may be most valuable over lined up over the center and creating chaos as he slants across the formation, providing opportunities for his fellow front-seven to clean up, along with controlling and reaching out for scrambling quarterbacks at times, when the defense potentially bails players out, and he’s asked to deal with extra hands.
T.-10. Tyler Davis, Clemson
6’2”, 300 pounds; RS SR
This former four-star recruit in 2019 filled the stat sheet right away with the Tigers, with 45 tackles, 10.5 of those for loss, 6.5 sacks and a couple of batted passes. That certainly took a bump in year two and he got injured two games into the 2021 season, before re-emerging the year, when he was recognized as first-team All-ACC for putting up 9.5 TFLs, 5.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. While his negative plays created dropped off significantly (3.5 TFLs and half a sack), he was still a very active member along that front and repeating those all-conference honors.
Run defense:
+ Packs the natural force to drive blockers straight back in the run and pass game
+ Has a forceful rip and can sort of shrug off guards trying to grab a hold of him as he’s clearing their hips
+ Sturdy presence who can swallow bumps from the side or recover and re-establish his space in the run if he does get moved slightly initially with an angular blocker coming in on him
+ Quick to ID outside zone concepts and turn his body diagonally, so he can’t be sealed or scoop-blocked on the backside
+ Regularly is able to torque his upper body and pull his shoulder up through the reach of blockers, in able to create an angle towards the ball-carrier for himself for himself
+ Clemson used quite a few stunts on early downs, where Davis’ ability to work over the top of bodies with well-timed hand-usage to not get sealed off and make it to his gap
+ Yet he’d also occupy three hands regularly when he was the primary slanter on twists, in order to allow the guy inside of him to slide over
+ Provides great effort to scrape from the backside and chase the ball down the line
Pass-rush:
+ After putting the country on notice with a 79.6 overall PFF grade as a true freshman, Davis fought through injuries the following two seasons, before returning to his dominant ways in 2022, when his 82.9 grade was a top-10 figure among Power Five interior D-linemen
+ Routinely walks guards backwards and denies quarterbacks room to step up or forces them to move entirely and if you put him in wider alignments, Davis allows you to crush the pocket in significant fashion
+ When offenses use slide protections and the guy responsible for him doesn’t slide to where it’s at least a half-man relationship, Davis can cleanly defeat that with a quick swim move
+ When guards overset to the outside on him, Davis’ force to crash through the inside shoulder gives those guys major trouble
+ Where many interior D-linemen would just stop on the rep after having created some push up the middle, Davis disengages and closes in on the QB to make him feel it as the ball is released
+ Got involved on a lot of gap exchanges and ended up as the contain rusher outside, where his ability to move laterally and get to his spots by ripping through the tackle’s reach was a plus for the defense but a minus in terms of how productive he could be as a rusher
+ Provides the force to crash into one half of offensive linemen and open up a lane for his fellow rushers to loop/stunt through
+ His 36 pressures in 2022 were fourth among Power-5 IDLs on just 307 pass-rush snaps (22 on 277 opportunities last year
Weaknesses:
– Not a “gap-winner” in attacking style of front, to create disruption against the run
– May be looked at as nose-tackle only, but is undersized for that role and only has 31.5-inch arms, which lead to him getting hung up on blocks if pass-protectors are able to fit their hands inside first
– Doesn’t have a ton of pop as a pass-rusher, to really threaten opponents with his get-off or short-area twitch
– The lack of length will limit his ability to play with extension through blocks and maintain vision on the ball
– Until 2022, Davis’ growth seemingly had stagnated since an impressive freshman campaign and you argue he took a slight step backward against this past year
I came into last season with very similar rankings between Davis and the guy he played next to on a regular basis in Ruke Orhorhoro. Yet, while I thought the former was a highly valuable player for the Clemson Tigers, I started to see qualities in his teammate that were lacking and his projection to the NFL became more challenging. This guy was a bad-ass run-defender in the ACC and that’s what his future team will view him as primarily, but with his short arms, he may be pigeonholed in a one-technique only, who will have to earn his right to stay on the field in passing situations. With that being said, while he may never be a true difference-maker in the pros, he can absolutely give you 20-30 quality snaps per game, especially if you utilize him as a set-up man for twists and different games on third downs. So if you can get him anytime on day three really, I have a tough time seeing anybody be disappointed with that selection, if you’re honest with yourself about where the ceiling may be.
T.-10. Fabien Lovett, Florida State
6’4”, 315 pounds; RS SR
One of the top-500 national recruits for Mississippi State back in 2018, Lovett started all but two of 15 games a true freshman, recording 19 tackles, 2.5 for loss and a sack. He decided to transfer to FSU the following offseason, where he only started two of eight games in year one and then 16 of 20 the next two, before actually playing a career-high in snaps (337) despite not starting any of 13 contests in 2023. This past season, he recorded 22 tackles, four TFLs, one sack and three passes batted down at the line.
Run defense:
+ Sturdy presence on the interior, who doesn’t allow himself to get far off his landmarks
+ Packs a strong first punch to create stalemates at the line of scrimmage and then a pretty quick arm-over to disengage as the ball-carrier tries to go through the gap next to him
+ Shows the ability to lock out, peak and shed for two-gap assignments with those insanely long 35.5-inch arms
+ Looks like a bear almost at times, where he just yanks solo-blockers from side to side trying to track the guy with the ball before ultimately tossing them aside to create initial contact
+ Has an uncanny ability to feel pressure being applied from one side and positioning his lower body to absorb and anchor against it
+ Playing without gloves, it truly feels like Lovett is more slippery than most guys at the position and you regularly see blockers end up without anybody to block
+ That combined with the force to pull large men off himself allows him to legitimately split double-teams occasionally
+ Capable of sliding off blocks and creating first contact on the back after it seemed like the center was at least in his way just a moment ago
+ Regularly is able to grab a hold of the ball-carrier even as he’s engaged with blockers with the long arm of the law, and didn’t miss a single tackle last season
Pass-rush:
+ For a man of his stature, Lovett’s level of activity and variety of hand-combats is impressive
+ Throws out a nice two-handed downward swipe move to defeat the hands of interior pass-protectors
+ When he gets those hands off early with a head of steam, it’s tough to still slow him down at all
+ Plus, because he’s the one with control, transitioning into bull-pull maneuvers and getting blockers off balance is something he’s very capable of
+ Will aggressively redirect and chase after quarterbacks pulling the ball on bootlegs
+ Locates the quarterback, slides off blocks and tracks him down well for a big bear
+ Recorded 46 total pressures on just under 700 pass-rush snaps with the Seminoles despite seeing four hands coming his way in that A-gap alignment a lot
Weaknesses:
– Lacks the short-area burst once he’s disengaged from blockers to track down nearby ball-carrier regularly
– As fun as it is to watch for Lovett slip off bodies initially, not wearing gloves combined with sub-par technique leads to more missed tackles than you’d like to see if guys don’t run straight into him – missed at least 14.3% of attempted stops each of the prior four seasons
– While he wasn’t allowed to just attack up the field a whole lot on defined dropbacks, you’d like to see some more pop off the snap when he does get those chances
– Pedestrian production as a pass-rusher without the quick feet to collect early wins
– Will likely be a two-down player at the next level who plays between the guards
What you see is what you’re going to get with Lovett, but I think what he puts out there is being undervalued. Playing alongside Jared Verse and Braden Fiske on that Seminole D-line, he was kind of overshadowed, and with a deep rotation on the interior, he didn’t receive a ton of opportunities particularly in defined dropback situations. However, this is a nearly immovable object, who looks like he’s oiled up with the way he’s able to slide off contact at the right moment to wrap up the ball-carrier. He’s not going to give you a lot of juice in passing situations, but he can push the pocket and then has the active hands to pull bodies off himself or find secondary paths towards the quarterback. I just talked about Lovett as one of “my guys” among this draft class and I can’t believe that based on consensus boards, he’s projected to barely get selected at all. He may never log North of 500 snaps in a season for me, but I’m happily targeting him early on day three as a nose-tackle with some scheme versatility.
Tremendous potential:
Maason Smith, LSU
6’5”, 310 pounds; RS SO
A five-star recruit in 2021, Smith flashed tremendously potential as a true freshman, with 19 tackles, five for loss and four sacks. Unfortunately he was lost to for the entire 2022 season mid-way through the first quarter of their opener against Florida State when celebrating a play that he had blown up, due a torn ACL. This past season, you could tell that he was still getting back into rhythm, but he did log 28 total stops, 4.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks and a couple of passes batted down.
Run defense:
+ “Mass X acceleration” = force is on display when you look at this dude totally blow up run plays as he shoots up the field
+ Plays with good pad-level and is able to own his space against singles and to a large extent also vertical combos, with insanely long 35-inch arms to keep blockers away from his chest
+ Not really moving off the spot when centers are asked to down-block on him, as the offense attacks the other way
+ Capable of transitioning from bench-pressing the guy across from him into swiping down the arms of another lineman trying to attach from the side in order to own his gap as he basically rupture double-teams
+ Has that strong inside hand to push through the pec of blockers and not allow them to cut off his angle on the backside of lateral concepts
+ If he can perfect his hand-placement, he’ll be able to dominate at a consistent level, looking at the flashes he already has on tape
+ Regularly is able to track down plays going away from him, working down the line while having a hand on the blocker responsible for him
+ Swallows up runners in the hole, leading to zero missed tackles on 22 total last year
Pass-rush:
+ Packs that force in his hands to create the initial momentum on bull-rushes
+ You see Smith’s hands re-place and find spots to attack in order to get linemen off balance and create angles for himself towards the QB
+ When he can get to one shoulder of pass-protectors and rip through, he’s able to put them on his back-hip and not allow them to take him off track anyway
+ Hits lunging guards and guys quick-setting him with the high swim to get by
+ You’ll also see some clean wins, where Smith jabs as if he’s crossing guys up to get them leaning that way or gives a quick stutter before pulling the arm over
+ Flashes a pretty fluid spin move to disengage late in the rep
+ Showcases impressive lateral movement and flexibility to turn the corner as a looper off T-T and E-T twists
+ Does a great job recognizing that the quarterback is initiating his release, after having worked into the depth of the pocket, and using the guy in front of him as a launch-board to cover up a large portion of the passing lane and batting down balls
Weaknesses:
– Generally plays too tall vs. the run and needs to do a better job of identifying and anchoring against angular blockers on combos, where he stays square to the man he’s lined up over and gets bumped off his space
– Attacks too far up the field when he should try to flatten down the line from the backside of zone concepts once he’s “won” the gap
– Too often is a split-second late off the snap and limits his effectiveness in the pass game
– At this point, Smith appears somewhat disjointed with his upper and lower body, making his pass rush moves fairly erratic
– Stands around and just looks over the line when he’s rushing over the center and a guard is helping out, while not turning and running right away once the ball comes out
Smith entails one of the more challenging projections for a defensive player in this draft class. This is a guy with five-star traits and incredible potential being shown as a freshman. He lost year two with the ACL injury and then didn’t quite look like himself the past season, even though there certainly were some flashes. Whether it’s getting off the ball on time, playing low, countering blocking schemes, setting up or executing pass-rush maneuvers, they’re all areas that he needs to improve at. And yet, he has the potential to grow in those areas, while I don’t look at him as some gifted athlete who just didn’t work hard enough, considering how we got here. I would’ve love to see him go back for his senior campaign and now hope his future team puts too high an expectation on him to contribute early based on him coming out with the knowledge of being a like second-round pick, since patience will be required with this type of player. Right now, his best fit would be as a five-technique in a more traditional 3-4 front, where he can attack the chest of tackles and control solo-blocks by maintaining vision through them.
Leonard Taylor III, Miami
6’3”, 305 pounds; JR
A top-15 national recruit in 2021, Taylor saw action in the final nine games of his true freshman season, which he finished with 21 total tackles and tied for team lead with 7.5 tackles for loss, along with two sacks. Starting nine of 12 contests played in year two, putting up 24 total tackles, 10.5 of those for loss and three sacks, earning honorable mention All-ACC. This past season, his negative plays created were cut down to exactly a third of those, as part of his 19 stops.
Run defense:
+ Packs an alien-like combination of size, quicks and power
+ Regularly is a half step ahead of the rest of the D-line and creates penetration to the offensive backfield
+ Flashes the insane upfield burst to shoot the gap between the guard and tackle on the backside of outside zone concepts cleanly, before the blocker can even come close to scooping him up
+ Has some freakish natural force in his hands to flat-back blockers trying to seal him on the backside of run concepts
+ Off that, he packs the grip-strength to pull guards and centers off himself as the ball-carrier approaches
+ You see moments of Taylor sticking his foot in the ground after taking a couple of steps up the field and making a hard 90-degree cut in order to become a factor chasing down the line on plays away from him
+ Has some reps where he just shoves a pulling guard out of the way and creates traffic in the backfield
+ The effortlessness with which this guy tosses running backs to the turf when he gets his hands on them is almost comical
Pass-rush:
+ Offers an impressive first step to put the guy across from him at a disadvantage in passing situations, especially if they’re in slide protections and have some room to cover
+ Capable of driving interior linemen who have 20+ pounds on him into the quarterback’s lap
+ Then throws out some devastating push-pull moves against guards off that
+ Dynamic lateral movement on loops to the outside from 0- or 1-technique alignments, along with taking the inside lane at times when tackles try too hard to cut off his angle on those
+ Taylor’s natural athletic talents and length allow him to free himself of blockers and chase after the quarterback more often than he should, even if he doesn’t win the rep
+ The sophomore’s 19.5% pressure rate in 2022 trailed only Pittsburgh’s Calijah Kancey among Power Five interior defensive linemen – 85.5 pass-rushing grade
+ That’s despite routinely feeling four hands on him with opposing teams sliding their protection in his direction, regularly lining up at the nose
+ Constantly gets his long arms up to dissuade quarterbacks from throwing the ball over his head
Weaknesses:
– Pops up out of his stance and doesn’t yet read and counter the first step(s) of offensive linemen at all really, getting too enamored with locking horns at the line of scrimmage with guys
– Clearly has the short-area agility to scrape over the top of down-blocks and affect plays where he’s basically being pinned down away from the action, but doesn’t click quickly enough to actually make it happen
– Will be moved of his landmarks and get undisciplined with his run fits in general, just trying to dip underneath or spin off contact – had a PFF run defense grade of just 64.4 last season
– Certainly raw with no real legit sign of putting together a comprehensive pass-rush plan and getting to secondary moves if he gets hung up initially – only logged multiple pressures in four of ten games last season
– For a supposedly freaky athlete, Taylor finished in the 40th percentile or worse in all the combine drills he participated in (excluding short-shuttle and bench press)
I simply couldn’t put Taylor inside the top-ten, which seems crazy considering he was looked at a potential top-20 pick last summer. However, in 2022 you at least saw the flashes of physical dominance, before those decreased this past season along with not showing any improvement in terms of his understanding or reactions for what offenses are doing. Based on the tape from last year alone, he’s a day-three flyer because he just doesn’t really know what he’s doing out there, and then the athletic testing didn’t nearly live up to the hype. Now we have to question if that’s representative to what he is or if he didn’t prepare as well as he could’ve for the combine – which would also be concerning, when we already question the way he gets himself ready for gamedays. So this is a very challenging projection because the film will tell you that this guy has pretty freaky explosion off the ball and natural strength, but the testing doesn’t back it up and if you’re taking this guy with a top-100 pick, you’re betting on those traits. I think you’re looking at a guy with starter potential as a three-technique in an even front or a base D-end in a 3-4, but he’s far from it at this point.
The next names up:
DeWayne Carter (Duke), McKinnley Jackson (Texas A&M), Khristian Boyd (Northern Iowa), Keith Randolph Jr. (Illinois), Gabe Hall (Baylor), Marcus Harris (Auburn), Justin Eboigbe (Alabama) & Logan Lee (Iowa)
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