Slimm's 2015 Defensive Ends/OLB's

[Pachyderm_Wave]

Seniors:

1. Alvin Dupree / Kentucky / 6'4", 252 (OLB)

2. Vic Beasley / Clemson / 6'2", 235 (OLB)

3. Hau'oli Kikaha / Washington / 6'3", 250

4. Cedric Reed / Texas / 6'6", 258





5. Trey Flowers / Arkansas / 6'4", 262
(Use to watch him in high school here for Columbia....was a 3 star recruit from Huntsville, Al. Originally committed to Georgia Tech. Good kid who has been ultra productive throughout his career. Hard worker.)

6. Anthony Chickillo / Miami / 6'4", 275

7. Martin Ifedi / Memphis / 6'3", 265

8. Brock Hekking / Nevada / 6'4", 255

9. Lorenzo Mauldin / Louisville / 6'4", 243 (OLB)

10. Ryan Mueller / Kansas St. / 6'2", 245 (OLB)

11. Shaquille Riddick / West Virginia / 6'5", 242
(Graduate transfer from Gardner-Webb. Insanely productive at that level and looks outstanding on tape. Will be West Virginia's best prospect in the 2015 Draft, and hasn't even played a down for 'em yet.)

12. Obum Gwacham / Oregon St. / 6'5", 236
(Former WR making the switch to DE as a Senior. Looked outstanding at his new position back in the spring. Has the ability to move up this list. All he has to do is put enough on film to justify it first.)

13. Markus Golden / Missouri / 6'3", 250 (OLB)

14. Marcus Rush / Michigan St. / 6'2", 245 (OLB)

15. Frank Clark / Michigan / 6'2", 273

16. Owa Odighizuwa / UCLA / 6'3", 270

17. Preston Smith / Mississippi St. / 6'5", 267

18. Nate Orchard / Utah / 6'4", 255

19. Zach Hodges / Harvard / 6'3", 235 (OLB)

20. Davis Tull / Chattanooga / 6'3", 240 (OLB)

21. Norkeith Otis / Nort Carolina / 6'1", 240 (OLB)

22. Corey Crawford / Clemson / 6'5", 270

23. C.J. Johnson / Ole Miss / 6'3", 230 (OLB)

24. Za'Darius Smith / Kentucky / 6'6", 254

25. Jermauria Rasco / LSU / 6'3", 262

26. Art Norman / N.C. State / 6'0", 250 (OLB)

27. Nate Terhune / Kent St. / 6'4", 265

28. Joey Gautney / ULM / 6'1", 255

29. Maxx Forde / Idaho / 6'3", 261









Underclassman:

1. Leonard Williams / USC / 6'5", 290

2. Randy Gregory / Nebraska / 6'6", 250

3. Shane Ray / Missouri / 6'3", 245 (OLB)
(Explosive freak of nature. Strength coach Pat Ivey said Ray is one of the best athletes he's ever coached... which includes Justin Smith. Ray has clocked in the 4.44 range, can broad jump over 10 feet, and bench press over 400 pounds. Knows how to get after the quarterback.)


4. Drew Ott / Iowa / 6'4", 270

5. Dante Fowler / Florida / 6'3", 266

6. Arik Armstead / Oregon / 6'7", 285

7. Shawn Oakman / 6'7", 275
(Too tall and has no concept of leverage. Gets put flat on his butt by good tackles when he tries to change directions....which is a bit of a struggle for him. Has 2 sacks in his life. Unique prospect with unique physical characteristics. Lots of hype but little substance at this point.)

8. Shilique Calhoun / Michigan St. / 6'4", 250

9. Noah Spence / Ohio St. / 6'3", 252

10. Bronson Kaufusi / BYU / 6'6", 282

11. Ifeadi Odenigbo / Northwestern / 6'3", 235 (OLB)

12. Charles Tapper / Oklahoma / 6'4", 261

13. Eli Harold / Virginia / 6'4", 230 (OLB)

14. Devonte Fields / TCU / 6'4", 240
(Would be higher here if not for off field issues.)

15. Silverberry Mouhon / Cincinnati / 6'4", 248

16. Derrick Alexander / Tulsa / 6'2", 270

17. Royce LaFrance / Tulane / 6'3", 244

18. Mario Edwards / Florida St. / 6'3", 277

19. Danielle Hunter / LSU / 6'6", 241

20. Emmanuel Ogbah / Oklahoma St. / 6'4", 270

21. Dadi Nicolas / Virginia Tech / 6'3", 225 ( OLB)

22. Tyler Roberts / Troy / 6'2", 220 (OLB)

23. Chris Stone / Arkansas St. / 6'3", 252

24. Tyriq McCord / Miami / 6'3", 235 ( OLB)

25. DeForest Buckner / Oregon / 6'7", 286

 

[j-off-her-doll]

I was watching a lot of Gregory, Calhoun, and Spence - benefit of common opponents. I came away really impressed with Spence. I've seen some speculation that Spence might be best suited as a 3-4 OLB, and I could see that. He looks like he has the COD, burst, and frame to excel there. But I think he could just as easily build up to a legit DE. I think Penn State's LT, Donovan Smith, might have been battling an injury in the Ohio State game, but Spence used him. Against Gregory, though, Smith looked very good.

I still have Gregory rated higher, and based on the players I've reached, I like these rankings a lot. But I wouldn't be surprised to see Spence make a rise - violation hurts.

 

[Pachyderm_Wave]

I was watching a lot of Gregory, Calhoun, and Spence - benefit of common opponents. I came away really impressed with Spence. I've seen some speculation that Spence might be best suited as a 3-4 OLB, and I could see that. He looks like he has the COD, burst, and frame to excel there. But I think he could just as easily build up to a legit DE. I think Penn State's LT, Donovan Smith, might have been battling an injury in the Ohio State game, but Spence used him. Against Gregory, though, Smith looked very good.

I still have Gregory rated higher, and based on the players I've reached, I like these rankings a lot. But I wouldn't be surprised to see Spence make a rise - violation hurts.

Spence is a solid NFL prospect and I like his ability on tape. But Randy Gregory is on another level in terms of rushing the passer. Gregory gets much more pressure on opposing QB's, and it's manifested statistically in the number of quarterback hurries between the two.

Gregory outproduced Spence all around. In fact, Spence only had 4.5 sacks against B1G competition.....Gregory doubled him in that department. He beat Spence out of just about every defensive award possible. The interesting part is this was only Gregory's first year in the B1G and should get even better.

He still has tremendous upside...his frame is like Dion Jordan's. Much like Jordan coming out of Oregon, Gregory just needs to keep improving his strength and learn more consistent technique to stack-and-shed blocks better. He'll get a lot of attention and see a lot of chipping, double teams, etc. this year. We'll see how he handles it. He could actually improve as a player and it may not necessarily reflect in terms of production.

 

[ckparrothead]

I think I would play Alvin Dupree at OLB even if I were a 4-3, a la Von Miller.

 

[Pachyderm_Wave]

I think you can play Alvin Dupree just about anywhere and he'll produce. Outstanding football player and talent. Freak ability.

I just want to play him period.

 

[ckparrothead]

What stands out to me actually is his pursuit speed in space. Guy can flat out run. I would want to use that ability to its fullest. Definitely a top prospect.

 

[fininpsl]

Do you really like Chickillo? A lot of Canes fans downplay him because he doesn't pile up the sacks. I think that's being a little harsh on him since he hasn't has a lot of help on the line the last three years. IMHO he's a very hardworking kid who will never dominate at the point of attack, but he brings his lunchpail every game. Very solid against the run, but IMHO not quite quick enough to get to the QB with regularity. I think he'll be a solid pro, but I doubt he ever ends up a frontline end, and I don't see him as quick enough to play OLB in the 3-4.

 

[Pachyderm_Wave]

Do you really like Chickillo? A lot of Canes fans downplay him because he doesn't pile up the sacks. I think that's being a little harsh on him since he hasn't has a lot of help on the line the last three years. IMHO he's a very hardworking kid who will never dominate at the point of attack, but he brings his lunchpail every game. Very solid against the run, but IMHO not quite quick enough to get to the QB with regularity. I think he'll be a solid pro, but I doubt he ever ends up a frontline end, and I don't see him as quick enough to play OLB in the 3-4.

They all said the same thing about Olivier Vernon when he came out. He didn't rack up sacks in college either....only had 9 in three years. Chickillo already has 12.5 in three years.

Chickillo may not necessarily be a sack artist in the NFL, but he has the prototype frame and experience that scouts and coaches look for at the next level.

Reminds me a little bit of Scott Crichton who went in the 3rd round last year. I have a 4th round grade on Chickillo as we speak.

A lot of the top sack guys in the NFL didn't rack up a lot of sacks in college. Offenses get the ball out too quick now. Conversely, there's a lot of guys who racked up sacks in college and made it look easy that can't beat an NFL tackle to save their life. Chickillo has always looked like a keeper to me. He'll get his shot on Sundays most definitely.

 

[Tannenbombs]

Fowler sucks. Provides zero pressure on the quarterback. Of his whopping 3.5 sacks on the season, 2 were to missed assignments against Kentucky where he was untouched. Aside from his sacks you never see him generate hurries or QB hits. He has a very poor motor, and all he can do is bull rush. Shows zero awareness to counter inside, and has no burst, hand usage or bend to win the edge consistently. Was also cut like 5 times against Miami. By far the most over hyped player for the upcoming draft.

 

[ckparrothead]

The slimmed down 265 to 270 lbs version of Bronson Kaufusi looks pretty deadly in pass rush as a rush linebacker. He dominated against UConn.

This is not a guy you want playing in space out in coverage. Far too creaky. But as a forward player in the defensive attack, it's difficult to stop his pass rush. His best move is fake the bull rush then jump outside of the tackle's outside shoulder for an edge rush. But he can go inside too, and while his speed to power is unpolished his pure physical prowess pushes guys back all the way into the quarterback.

If I'm to compare him to someone like Kyler Fackrell I would say the reason I'd be more intrigued by Kaufusi is because I feel like he's got a shot of being a legit pass rusher at the next level.

 

[Pachyderm_Wave]

The slimmed down 265 to 270 lbs version of Bronson Kaufusi looks pretty deadly in pass rush as a rush linebacker. He dominated against UConn.

This is not a guy you want playing in space out in coverage. Far too creaky. But as a forward player in the defensive attack, it's difficult to stop his pass rush. His best move is fake the bull rush then jump outside of the tackle's outside shoulder for an edge rush. But he can go inside too, and while his speed to power is unpolished his pure physical prowess pushes guys back all the way into the quarterback.

If I'm to compare him to someone like Kyler Fackrell I would say the reason I'd be more intrigued by Kaufusi is because I feel like he's got a shot of being a legit pass rusher at the next level.

Absolutely. Kaufusi was already hell on wheels, but cutting weight serves him well playing from the 2 point stance. He was unblockable against UCONN. He'll be a 2nd round pick if he comes out early in my opinion.

 

[ckparrothead]

While I agreed for the most part about Shawn Oakman's being down the list a little more than others had it, because ultimately I felt he was an underachieving rusher in 2013, the 2014 iteration of Shawn Oakman deserves a fresh evaluation. He has thinned up significantly and added a tremendous amount of dry powder to his legs. The result is impressive. This will not be a guy that finishes the year with 2 sacks. In fact he already has 2 sacks. Virtually everything he tried worked against SMU's left tackles. The Mustangs switched out Chauncey Briggs for Seaver Myers and it didn't matter. He abused both equally.

There is a definite loss of pure strength that has come with the loss of weight, but that doesn't necessarily diminish his speed-to-power abilities in pass rush when you consider the added explosiveness he has off the line. The diminished pure strength becomes a little more evident when his momentum is not a factor. But long arms and frame can make up for some of that.

 

[Tannenbombs]

While I agreed for the most part about Shawn Oakman's being down the list a little more than others had it, because ultimately I felt he was an underachieving rusher in 2013, the 2014 iteration of Shawn Oakman deserves a fresh evaluation. He has thinned up significantly and added a tremendous amount of dry powder to his legs. The result is impressive. This will not be a guy that finishes the year with 2 sacks. In fact he already has 2 sacks. Virtually everything he tried worked against SMU's left tackles. The Mustangs switched out Chauncey Briggs for Seaver Myers and it didn't matter. He abused both equally.

There is a definite loss of pure strength that has come with the loss of weight, but that doesn't necessarily diminish his speed-to-power abilities in pass rush when you consider the added explosiveness he has off the line. The diminished pure strength becomes a little more evident when his momentum is not a factor. But long arms and frame can make up for some of that.

He looks much more explosive and fluid as well as instinctive as a pass rusher.

 

[Tannenbombs]

While I agreed for the most part about Shawn Oakman's being down the list a little more than others had it, because ultimately I felt he was an underachieving rusher in 2013, the 2014 iteration of Shawn Oakman deserves a fresh evaluation. He has thinned up significantly and added a tremendous amount of dry powder to his legs. The result is impressive. This will not be a guy that finishes the year with 2 sacks. In fact he already has 2 sacks. Virtually everything he tried worked against SMU's left tackles. The Mustangs switched out Chauncey Briggs for Seaver Myers and it didn't matter. He abused both equally.

There is a definite loss of pure strength that has come with the loss of weight, but that doesn't necessarily diminish his speed-to-power abilities in pass rush when you consider the added explosiveness he has off the line. The diminished pure strength becomes a little more evident when his momentum is not a factor. But long arms and frame can make up for some of that.

[video=youtube;QHO2xa2k6Tg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHO2xa2k6Tg#t=150[/video]


Night and day difference between Shawn Oakman 2013 and now.

 

[ckparrothead]

Yeah it was a significant difference, how much he's thinned up and how much more explosive and agile he seems aftward. I'm not about to put him into top 5 pick territory all the sudden on one game against a crappy opponent, but to some extent the opponent doesn't matter because you're looking at the way he's moving versus the way he moved before and that's the primary difference. He could be on the field by himself just running drills and you'd see the difference.