Ace88 said:
Manny Lawson seems like a guy who is quitely rising in the 1st round. What do you like best about him and who do you compare him to in the NFL?
The obvious comparisons are Jason Taylor...John Abraham...Willie McGinest...those guys. He's not as heavy as McGinest, it is good to note.
He's basically a Taylor clone. He came in 6'5" and some change, 241 pounds. The most he's ever weighed is 247 pounds he says...so he's never going to be a real heavy player. He did 23 reps of the 225 pound press.
He's very experienced at the art of the pass rush, and he knows how you have to play the mental game with a range of moves as well as the physical game with lightning off the edge. Honestly I love the guy as a 4-3 DE...I think any team looking for a RDE in the 4-3 should be staring right at him because he's the best 4-3 DE in the draft bar none (not even Mario Williams is better as a 4-3 DE, IMO). I see Williams being more impact as a 3-4 DE that kind of moves inside/out and uses his athleticism and huge size all over the place.
But Manny Lawson was voted by coaches and players as the team MVP this year on defense, not Mario Williams. This situation reminds me of how Jason Taylor and Adewale Ogunleye combined for so many sacks a few years ago, but Ogun had more than JT. Don't get me wrong I'm not starting some "Mario Williams is overrated" sentiment, just saying that Manny and Mario should be rated more closely to one another than has been written so far.
He claims his best 40 time was a 4.45 and he was hoping to beat his best in Indy. Even if he doesn't that's tremendous athleticism. I haven't seen the official results yet but I believe he has a 46 inch vertical too (unbelievable).
He played linebacker as a freshman and sophomore, so he's familiar with the position...and he says he's very comfortable in coverage because he's had zone coverage responsibilities his whole career even as a DE.
He's a team leader, a tremendous player, and I think he's got to be a serious possibility at pick #16. If we don't take him at #16, I believe the Patriots will take him at #21.