DRAFTEXAMINER

6’5” – 263 lbs. – 4.83

High school running back who spent two years in community college before transferring to Texas A&M, where he spent five years (one redshirt), starting the last three. Became a team captain last year. Big defensive end with very long arms; took snaps on both ends of the defense, sometimes out of a two-point stance. Has a reasonably good anchor and the length to lock out blockers and hold his ground at the line in the run game; should appeal to teams which favor two-gap principles. Overall gap discipline and ability to locate the football leave something to be desired; too many snaps where his rush-first approach lets opposing ballcarriers run through big holes. Needs to get better at protecting his legs. Has potential as a pass-rusher, with escalating production. Covers a lot of ground with his first step. Occasionally flashes the flexibility to bend and dip his shoulder when coming around the edge, but looks stiff on other snaps; usually gets too much depth and needs to gather to redirect. Shows the ability to convert speed to power and create pressure with his bull rush; can be a problem when he really brings it. Still needs to develop more moves/counters; rush approach is very straightforward. Durability is a big question mark; missed all of 2018 and seven games between 2019-2020. Two previous arrests will require further investigation. At his best, looks like a potential starting defensive end, but the snap-to-snap consistency is not there. Didn’t play end before getting to college, but spent seven years in school, so it’s not clear how much better he’ll get. Mid-round, boom-or-bust type.

6’2” – 201 lbs. – N/A

Has been starting since his freshman season, with escalating production every year and over 1,000 receiving yards in each of the past two. Lanky receiver with solid height. Has pretty nice feet to release at the line, with adequate hand use. Not one of the most explosive receivers in the class, but has at least adequate speed and ran a lot of deeper patterns. The actual route tree he was asked to run in college was pretty extensive, with inside/outside releases, crossers, deeper in routes, deep curls, comebacks, etc. Some hip sink/attention to detail with his feet at the route stem, but not particularly explosive through the breaks; might struggle to get open against man coverage as a pro. Shows impressive flexibility overall and provides a pretty big target because of his ability to adjust to throws away from his frame. Appears to have a reliable pair of hands. Physical and aggressive at the catch point, with enough focus/strength to make contested catches in coverage, something he’s likely to have to do at the next level given his relatively limited separation; consequently, will require a quarterback who trusts him enough to throw into tight coverage like he had in Carson Strong at Nevada. Doesn’t always look like he’s giving full effort when he’s not one of the primary receivers. Overall effort to engage as a blocker is limited; will throw a shoulder but doesn’t engage with fundamentals and work to stalk/sustain. Also returned punts. Mid-round value whose best traits are his flexibility, hands, and competitiveness at the catch point, but who is not particularly explosive or dynamic and needs to improve his effort as a blocker.

6’1” – 215 lbs. – 4.88

Spent the first four years of his career starting at Houston Baptist, then decided to follow his offensive coordinator Zach Kittley (who had previously worked under Kliff Kingsbury at Texas Tech) to Western Kentucky, where he set FBS single-season records for passing yardage and touchdowns last season (5,967 and 62, respectively.) Also improved his accuracy/efficiency each year in college; nice trajectory. A smaller quarterback who comes from a very pass-heavy spread scheme where he was carrying the offensive load. Was able to play in some very clean pockets, making a lot of rhythm throws and single-red throws; however, was able to go through progressions and find open targets when his primary read was covered. Gets the ball out quickly when he finds a target. Overall mechanics are smooth, with a pretty quick release and no heel click. Shows the ability to throw with anticipation and trusts his arm strength. Produces a nice spiral, with adequate velocity and good touch on his passes; overall ball placement is very good on shorter throws, but can sail a little bit down the field. Willing to take chances down the field, relying more on timing than pure arm strength. Needs to protect the football better; averaged one interception per start over his career. Didn’t have to drop back from under center or play under pressure often. Capable of buying some time in the pocket but isn’t a major threat to run with the ball. Not the most physically/athletically gifted quarterback in the class, he throws the ball with accuracy, touch, and anticipation, but it’s hard to know how much of his production was due to the offensive scheme and excellent protection he had. Looks like a third-day value who could potentially manage games if needed.

6’5” – 309 lbs. 5.32

Started pretty much everywhere in college: 26 games at right tackle, six at right guard, and three as a jumbo tight end. Played tackle last year but projects as a pro guard due to lack of ideal length (arms just over 33”) and athletic limitations. Well-built for a guard, with solid functional strength. Comes from a well-respected, pro-style offense which asked him to handle lots of different responsibilities which translate well to the next level. When blocking on angles, does a good job of attacking the outside shoulder and sealing defenders inside. Good leg drive after contact. Works hard to get to the second level and engage defenders in the run game. Able to absorb power pretty well with his anchor in pass protection. Pretty accurate with his hand placement. Able to bend his knees and compete relatively well in the leverage battle. Avoids penalties. Sells out to reach landmarks, leading to him overrunning his spot at times. More workmanlike than nasty. Struggles to get enough depth in his kickslide to protect the edge; actual pass sets look a little bit hunched. Frequently abandoned his technique to defend against speed when he didn’t have a tight end retained in pass protection on his side of the line. Susceptible to inside moves. More of a catch-and-ride approach than someone who aggressively fires out his punch and jolts defenders. Looks like a mid-rounder on tape, with the ability to potentially work his way into the starting lineup at guard over time. His size, versatility, and the reputation of Wisconsin’s program give him a relatively high floor.

6’4” – 308 lbs. – 5.19

Team captain who started twenty games at left guard, six at left tackle, and two at right guard over his career, sometimes going back and forth between guard/tackle in the same game. Thickly-built gap/power blocker with nice weight distribution and long 34” arms. Generates nice pop on contact, with pretty good grip strength to stay locked onto opponents. Has just enough short-area quickness to chip one defender and climb to the second level, or to pull to the right side of the formation; works hard to get out in space and locate opponents to block. Pretty good leg drive after contact to generate push. Knee-bender who does a good job of staying balanced and playing within his frame. Shows a sufficiently wide base in pass protection and is active and  reasonably accurate with his punch. Played tackle in school and has a tackle’s length, but is probably not athletic enough to flip back and forth at the pro level; lateral quickness in pass protection can be an issue; anchors against power much more effectively than he deals with stunts/twists, etc. Overall demeanor is more workmanlike than nasty. Had some issues with penalties in school. May not be a fit for teams which rely on zone blocking in the run game. A pretty pro-ready player who already has the body, functional strength, and balance/technique of a pro blocker, but who might be near his ceiling due to limited lateral quickness and raw athleticism. Has starting potential sooner rather than later in the right scheme.

6’6” – 316 lbs. – 5.32

Was academically ineligible in 2016, but ended up starting four of five seasons played  in school, with a big breakout fifth year. Massive nose with arms measuring over 35” long; weight distribution looks very nice through the lower body. Played a lot of zero technique and a little bit of five-technique on three man lines, and one-technique on four-man lines. Has a lot of natural power, and good, consistent leg drive to walk back opposing linemen and create congestion in the backfield or collapse the pocket in the passing game; wasn’t a sack artist prior to 2021, but picked up nine last year. Has heavy hands to discard blockers at the appropriate time. Does a pretty good job of keeping his head up to locate the ball. Some issues with balance/pad level crop up from time to time. Has a very straightforward, bull-rush-based approach that relied heavily on his ability to overpower smaller linemen, so he will have to develop additional moves and counters to continue producing against bigger pro linemen. Overall game lacks suddenness and will be limited to two-gapping, probably on odd defensive lines. Kind of a ‘tweener in that he’s much taller than your typical nose tackle, but lacks the range in pursuit teams look for in a five-technique end. Should start his career on kick block units (two blocks in school) and work his way into a defensive line rotation as an early-down run stuffer. Mid-round value.

5’11” – 196 lbs. – 4.39

Two-year starter (2019 and 2021) and fifth-year senior who plays on both sides of the field, often on the boundary side. Pretty well-built cornerback who plays bigger than he measured because of his length (arms almost 32” long) and leaping ability (43.5” vertical at the pro day.) Played a lot of bump-and-run at Pitt to utilize his length. Does a nice job of using his wingspan/physicality to pin opponents to the sideline; should endear himself to teams with physicality as long as he can avoid penalties in the pros. Has the raw speed to carry opposing receivers down the field. Gets his head around to locate when his back is turned to the ball, and shows nice ball skils to make breakups/interceptions; 21 passes defensed over the last two seasons he played. Willing to come up and deliver hits on ballcarriers. A little bit inconsistent with his accuracy when pressing. Some balance issues when turning and running down the field. Too much disconnect at the route stem. Needs to flatten out coverage on in-breaking routes, overs, etc. to squeeze receivers. Gets caught up in congestion. Ended up getting flagged too many times because of his downfield contact. Rarely played in zone during the games reviewed unless there was no receiver split out wide to his side of the field. Ended up getting hurt in 2020 and redshirting. Has the length, tools, physicality, and ball skills to potentially work his way onto the field, but has a lot of technical kinks to work out first. Mid-round developmental type.

6’2” – 209 lbs. – 4.54

Team captain who led his team in receiving each of the past three years. Big, well-built receiver who lined up both split out and in the slot. Wasn’t a volume receiver in school, but the team did try to manufacture touches for him to get the ball into his hands, throwing him screens off of orbit motion, sending him on swing passes after return motion as part of package plays, etc. Other than that, route tree was very simple and consisted of a lot of crossing and in-breaking routes. Has pretty solid releases/hand use at the line of scrimmage against press, but his route-running is a work in progress at this time, rounding off his patterns and going through the stem high. Doesn’t look like the most natural hands; some double-catching, and twelve drops out of 150 catchable balls the past three years. However, with the ball in his hands, can be difficult to bring down, that being his best trait as a player. Shows a second gear to run away from defenders on crossing routes, using his explosiveness to run through arm tackles and fight for additional yardage after contact. Also shows some nice moves in the open field. Not the fastest in terms of pure speed, but is capable of coming down with contested catches at times, using his strength to outmuscule opponents. Could contribute in an offense tailored to getting him the ball in space, but is not yet a polished/complete receiver from a route-running/technical perspective.

5’11” – 207 lbs. – 4.37

Four-year starter who rushed for over a thousand yards in every season except 2020 (nine games.) Has an adequate build for a pro change-of-pace back. Demonstrates nice clean footwork and makes sharp cuts coming out of the backfield, most often on outside zone runs and tosses out of shotgun formations; overall vision/choices with the ball were pretty good during the games reviewed. Galloping runner with the speed and explosiveness to hit home runs when he finds an opening. Was also a wildcat weapon, with a few passing touchdowns. Production looks like it was inflated, having been able to run through some massive holes. Not the type of back who’s going to make something out of nothing in the backfield. Run power is limited; struggles to break tackles or make defenders miss in the hole. Would like to see more physicality and leg drive to finish runs; doesn’t fight for extra yardage or fall forward as consistently as most of the other top backs in the class. Ball security has been an issue. Usage in the passing game was very basic (simple  route tree, never reached 200 yards in a season.) Has a relatively high amount of tread relative to some of the other top back prospects as a fifth-year senior with almost 700 career touches. Could be a dangerous weapon in a zone scheme that clears big holes for him to hit, but will struggle if teams rely on him to pound the rock between the tackles and create for himself.

6’1” – 203 lbs. – N/A

Played extensively as a sophomore, but is only a one-year starter who played receiver the first half of his junior year; broke out this season with a five-interception campaign. Has a strong build and impressive length for the position. Was asked to do a little bit of everything last year, working from the box/slot on occasion, but was mostly playing high. Pretty tough, physical safety and a good communicator on the back end. Has clean footwork and transitions when working in deep zones; fast/rangy enough to play single high, and was trusted to do it often this past year. Brings a conservative temperament to the game, limiting big plays. Has nice plant and drive skills on throws in front of him. Still a work in progress; doesn’t always look like he trusts his reads, being a step slow to react at times. Can be lured away from the play direction, taking false steps against misdirection. Gets good extension with his arms but can struggle to hold the point when playing in the box. Caught up in congestion when pursuing across the formation. Needs to clean up his angles a little bit; can be too conservative at times, while overpursuing on other  snaps. Has experience on coverage units. Should be an interesting developmental prospect for a team seeking high safeties, given his overall length, range, and ball skills, although he may need more time to polish his play recognition skills and to get comfortable working in man/playing in the box. May end up as a third or fourth-rounder.