Da’ron Payne –
comparisons to Suh. Is starter ready. Ability to be a pro bowl defender quickly.
Strengths – Brick wall with good muscle mass. Really strong. Can stuff the run with good balance and body control. Stays on his feet. Strong initial punch that can push inside OL off their position with ease. Great bull rush. Keeps his eyes in the backfield and fills the two gap. Will force teams to shy against the run. Eats blocks and is able to give LBers holes to get into the backfield. Hands and feet move cohesively. Improved as a pass rusher, if he can consistently get to the QB or be disruptive to force QB to hurry, he’ll be elite. Seen as a good locker room leader.
Weakness – Can be slow off the snap, and initially will become too upright. Is very athletic, but can have trouble getting his feet to widen, and ends up as a phone booth defender. Average change of direction, can’t get good upper body turn. If first move in pass rush is thwarted, he is basically taken out of the play.
Vita Vea –
Strengths – He’s huge. Absolutely massive. Intimidating to OL. Easily over powers lighter guards, and is a terror to Centers. Has the body control to get loose from blocks through hip rotation, power, and flexibility. Can toss around blockers with his hump move. When he can stay low, he’s able to keep his ground and move forward. Can punch OL, dislodge and locate the ball. Above average pursuit quickness. Violent hands that can keep blockers hands off him. If he can gain momentum early has a dangerous bulrush. Really good already, while being raw talent.
Weakness – Ends up on the ground too often because he loses balance. Can lean too far forward over his toes, and compromises his ability to make progress. Tendency to let pads rise too high. Lacks feel for double teams and blocking schemes. Caught off guard by second blocks, and doesn’t have the hands to work against double teams. Below average speed off the line. Lacks quick feet for pass rush, too heavy footed. As a pass rusher, he has to go through the OL, doesn’t have flexibility/foot quickness to win around the edge. Power over technique. Some teams may view him as a run down player only. Inconsistent can look like a star on some series then average on the next series. Very raw, will take time.
Maurice Hurst –
Wants to prove people wrong. His mom was a cheerleader for the Pats. Got pregnant by a DB on the team. Dad never in his life. Wears 73 because it’s the opposite of his father.
Strengths – Disruptive initial quickness when ball is snapped. Stays low when coming off the ball. If he can get into the gap, can get skinny and squeeze through. Too quick for blocker to reach out too. High motor and a lot of movement gets him into the pocket. Quick hands. Can push away early OL punch, giving him the advantage and get OL off balance. Light feet allow him to get between gaps on slower lineman. Can make plays beyond the gap because of quickness. Effective in twist rush.
Weakness – Small for interior line. Doesn’t have thick frame that will allow for adding a lot of mass. Maulers will swallow him alive if they can square up on him. Good punch can knock him well out of rushing lanes. Has to get inside longer/stronger blockers or else they can keep him away from lanes. Uses forward lean to create power, but does not have the upper body for that in NFL. Sticks to blocks and slow to shed blocks. Pass rush comes from twists and movement.
Taven Bryan –
Strengths – Athletically gifted. Loose lower body. Flexibility and agility of a defensive end. Gets good burst upfield off the ball. Can squeeze through gaps into the backfield. Great pursuit speed and closing burst that few DTs have. Long motor. Determined to keep moving, doesn’t give up on plays. Explosive techniques push and pull as well as punch and release upfield for quick wins. Works quickly to the edge to attack as a rusher.
Weakness – Narrow through hips. Seems small. Lacks the size to go against power, and can get knocked back. If he doesn’t win initially, blocker can hook onto his frame and he has a hard time getting off the block. Stumbles when the line gets grounded, and ends up on the ground due to narrow base. Below average power. Lack of instincts and awareness right now. Has to learn to keep head up, and eyes on the backfield. Lack of feel explains lack of production. A project that could pay off, or could blow up in your face.
Harrison Phillips -
Strengths – Great feel for blocking schemes, can handle double teams that allow LBers to get free to the ball. Uses wrestling background to use hands, and finds way to QB. Thick frame. Makes a lot of plays. Good production in college. Can fill both gaps to follow the runner. Quality edge setter. Blockers have trouble finishing their blocks against him. Very active with a high motor. Good at driving upfield and altering the run. Effective spin move to disengage crowded line. Pushes the pocket back to force QBs off balance.
Weakness – Has build of OG as opposed to big DT. Plays too upright, and doesn’t get good bend in his legs that prevents good balance. On the ground too often. Uses activity to produce rather than athletics. Has trouble in lateral movement and change of direction. Quick lineman can get position and wall him off. Lacks plan as a rusher.
Tim Settle –
Strengths – Big with good mass. Strength, quickness and agility show up in play. Lost weight, and saw a jump in production. Conditioning improved to keep him on the field. Plays with a lot of energy. Stays low. Good burst out of stance to win neutral zone. Can play through edge of blockers. When he gets a good jump, disruptive in the interior. Stays low. Upper body power for a quick punch to shed at point of attack. Good pursuit motor. Locates the ball early and can play off blocks to make tackles. Can penetrate the two gap. Can push the pocket back to force QB to throw off balance.
Weakness – Bad weight distribution. Has to maintain weight, and conditioning, did so in college, but in NFL it will be more his responsibility. Can get over-excited and get himself off balance by trying to do too much too early. Over-extends himself and ends up on the ground too often. Played in only 23 college games. Inconsistent hand usage. Will need to work on his technique to take on double teams.
Foley Fatukasi
Strengths – Good frame with a lot of muscle. Fires out of his stance, good pad level with initial quickness in the gaps. Has power to challenge the edge and close rush lanes. Two gap potential if he improves technique. Can push interior blockers back with strong hands in pass rush. Hands and leg drive work in unison to ruin the pocket. Good spin move. A lot of energy on every snap.
Weakness – While talented, he’s very raw. Average in run defense. When play goes outside, has trouble staying ahead of blocks. Needs to learn how to recognize blocking schemes. No feel for down blocks. Improve technique on double teams. Needs to improve his shed time.
Nathan Shepherd
Strengths – Has room to gain strength. Good frame. Is able to work on weaknesses, and diagnose weaknesses on his own. Plus athlete with flexible hips and good lateral quickness. He’s a very moldable player. Athletic when pursuing in space. Shows flashes as a plus pass rusher.
Weaknesses – Very raw, and has not played against much competition. Could end up not playing his first couple of seasons. Needs to develop better feel for blocking schemes. Needs to learn to fight double teams with technique over power. Needs to develop hands to help him win point of attack. Needs to play with more toughness.
B.J. Hill
Strengths – Athletic lineman. Natural/smooth movement. Gets a good jump on direction of play. Good initial snap quickness. Above average instincts. Good recognition of pre-snap movements and blocking schemes. Recognizes cut attempts, stuffs them, and goes after the ball. Good upper body turn to help him get around the edge. Good tackle production and makes tackles near line of scrimmage.
Weakness – Gives up ground in initial contact when he goes up against a lineman who can drive DTs back. Lower body doesn’t anchor in the ground and push forward well. Strength at point of attack is a concern. Can get pushed out of his gap by double team. Needs to learn a spin move against double teams. Body control and balance on contact is below average. Production was disappointing despite playing with a quality line. Lacks bull rush.
Andrew Brown –
Strengths – Good get-off speed. Shoots gaps quickly, and gets into blockers before they can get to him. Good forward lean with momentum. Fights to get out of the blocks. High energy. Good use of hands. Can push the pocket with bull rush. High motor, doesn’t give up on plays. Production should increase with full time move inside.
Weaknesses – Has to get bend in his legs to get leverage at point of attack. Doesn’t produce much from point of attack, production comes from slants. Missing burst to close down running lanes on backside when he’s unblocked. Unskilled and slow hands. Not much production as a pass rusher. Needs hip flexibility to get himself around the edge.
Deadrin Senat – If Senat slides past the 3rd, he’s another potential steal.
Strengths – Small frame, but very strong. Plays with a wide base, hard to knock off balance. Low center of gravity and powerful base allows him to play through and redirect blocks on the edge. Fast twitch hands. Hits OL shoulders first, so they can’t get into his frame. Very little wasted motion. Violent hands. Two gap abiliy as shade nose. Keeps working, will chase tackle.
Weakness – Small frame can hinder him against long / powerful OL. If he can’t get control early with hands, gets tied up. Needs more initial disruption off snap. Won’t be a good pass rusher because of length. No bull rush.
Derrick Nnadi
If you can get him in the 4th round, he will be a steal. He has a very low floor due to size, but if he can put it together, or is amongst a DLine of bigger bodies, he will bring quality production.
Strengths – Good at the point of attack, and can dislodge from single blocks. Good motor, and active hands. Good build. Low center of gravity that allows for increased leverage on interior. Outstanding play strength and is a monster in the weight room. Good snap quickness. Can attack gaps and keep eyes on ball carrier. Can shed blockers and pick up runners trying to get through gap. Productive tackler. Low pad level + lateral agility make him hard to pin down. Shows ability to recover when attacked and can dislodge from angle blocks. Can counter on pass rush and go from gap to gap when single block. Uses swim move and quality slap and rip to attack edge. Good drive in lower body to push the pocket.
Weakness – Really undersized as a DT. Can get manhandled when facing bigger OGs/Cs who have power. Has to win early with hands to keep advantage. Can improve his quickness to diagnose direction of run plays. Base is inconsistent and leads to losing ground against double teams. Pass rush gets stifled if OG gets a good initial jab on him.
