EDGE RUSHER
Donovan Ezeiruaku ER Boston College
Donovan has the athletic talent, strength, and long arms to become as impactful a pass rusher as Bills/Rams/Broncos Von Miller. He is stout against the run and has a variety of pass-rushing moves. He has the quickness and strength to bull rush along with the lateral agility to bend around the corner to make a sack. Because of his lack of length, Donovan comes off the line of scrimmage with the natural pad level that gives him the immediate leverage advantage against those tall offensive linemen. The biggest advantage Donovan has that many Defensive linemen lack is very strong hands that give him the advantage along with his body strength to control his opponent against the run. There will be teams that will downgrade Donovan because of his lack of length. Of course, we all know that size only means something in the draft before a player is selected, but not on the field. Turn on the film and you will be watching an impact defensive player making plays and leading his team despite his lack of size. Donovan has a high football IQ. He sets up the offensive lineman and understands situational football. If you're looking for an Edge Rusher who can finish I suggest your team not overlook this kid for very long. My guess is, you're going to have to move up to select him because I suspect he will be drafted early. Talent Grade: 1.47
Abdul Carter ER/DE Penn St
Abdul is a natural pass rusher with the athletic attributes to become a franchise DE for the team that selects him. He has those long arms and explosiveness off the line that gives him the advantage and forces offensive linemen be off balance at the snap of the ball. He is a lean, mean, rocket firing off the line of scrimmage with very little effort allowing him to surprise offense linemen before they can get set. Although Abdul has been an impact Defensive End for his team, he is just learning the position and right now all of his impact is directly related to his athletic ability. He must learn to get off blocks, hand fight better, develop a second move, and do a better job holding the edge. He must also learn offensive line schemes better and anticipate who will block him on sweeps and screens. That being said, considering this is his first year playing this position he has been remarkable and has improved from game to game this year. Abdul is tough, smart, and learns quickly. He has the strength, size, and athletic talent to play as a DE in a 4/3 front or in a 3/4 defense. If Abdul has the same work ethic that former Cowboys Demarcus Ware had, Abdul can have similar impact as DeMarcus had, for the team that selects him. Talent Grade: 1.64
JT Tuimoloau ER Ohio St
JT reminds me a lot of Chiefs ER George Karlaftis. They are both big game players with solid athletic abilities for their positions. JT is always in the backfield on every snap disrupting, sacking, and tackling running backs, just like George. JT will need to strengthen his hands to better secure tackles but because of his strong lower body, he doesn’t get pushed out of his gap against running plays right at him. JT shows good solid quickness off the line of scrimmage when pass-rushing, and if he anticipates the snap, he also shows the physicality to beat double teams. He works well with his teammates. Although he is stiff in his lower body, making him slow to change directions, his lower body strength and high football IQ make it easy for him to take advantage of offensive linemen when they make the slightest mistake or are slow to react against him. JT will give you everything he has, on every snap for the whole game, and in the fourth quarter, like George, he will come through with a game-impact play almost every time. Talent Grade: 1.94
Mykel Williams ER/DL Georgia
Mykel has the size, length, and wing span to be an impact Defensive End for the team that selects him. He shows on film, a solid football IQ and can be used inside depending on down and distance to rush the quarterback. He does a good job against the run and has the footspeed to run down quarterbacks when a play breaks down, and they leave the pocket. Mykel is used a lot on stunts to pressure the pocket and when he is one-on-one with a tackle to rush the passer, he gives the effort needed to be considered a potential impact Edge Rusher. Nevertheless, his lack of production over his college career and lack of overall body strength, suggest it might take some time for him to develop. Mykel shows the needed work ethic and effort on the field to develop, but he needs to get stronger, build more bulk and strength, and learn better pass-rushing techniques. He also has to become more explosive off the line with a better pad level to be a consistent pass rusher. When he does, there will be no limit to his ability to impact. Talent grade: 2.36