Full Player Breakdown
DEREK BARNETT - DE - TENNESSEE
6'3, 257 - First Team All SEC 2016
Last 2 years stats: 26 games, 23 sacks, 31 TFL's = 54.5 explosives
Barnett is an absolute beast who just broke Reggie White's sack record at Tennessee. This guy is plenty young and talented and a very gifted and natural edge rusher.
POSITIVES: He has a great "get off " at the snap and can turn the corner on just about any of the tackles he faced in the SEC. He can also squeeze through gaps in short yardage which makes him a force against the run as well. He has loose hips and is the very definition of an athlete that you want patrolling the edge in the NFL. His size is ideal and more importantly he can turn the jets on and close on anyone in the open field. He just takes over games and his production is out of this world. For a guy at that level to exceed 2 explosives per game for his final 2 years shows what a game changer he really is. On 3rd down it is seek and destroy. He is very, very good and college tackles have no chance whatsoever. He gets double-teamed quite a bit.
CONCERNS: Well, the first one is that he has no chance of getting to #28. He is absurdly good and looks like he will land in the top half of round 1. Beyond that, it looked like he was playing carefully in his final season with his head on a swivel to keep from getting damaged in his draft year. This doesn't concern me, but some will mark off his motor for this. I just wanted to make sure we note it.
TOP HALF OF ROUND 1
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TACO CHARLTON - DE - MICHIGAN
6'6, 265 - First Team All Big 10 2016
Last 2 years stats: 24 games, 15.5 sacks, 22 TFL = 37.5 explosives
Taco is a very big and imposing man that looks like he can play some power forward in that Julius Peppers model of big DE who can intimidate against both the run and the pass and was part of a very talented Michigan defense.
POSITIVES: Charlton has size that makes him a focal point of the defense and battles his tail off from the snap on. He bulls through traffic and makes himself at home in the backfield on a regular basis. He shows up big in big games. He has impressive get-off as well and really has a skill set that offers plenty to like. I really love his traditional skill set in terms of looking how defensive ends always did. He can carry 280 and play a style that will hold up well on the edge in terms of crashing a pocket with brute strength. I really like his compete level and his bullrush. He was getting a lot of clean runs at QBs which is a credit to Harbaugh's scheme up there.
CONCERNS: The biggest concern about a player like Charlton is simply his short space quickness and his ability to change direction. This is a very fast league with very athletic tackles and while Charlton is impressive for sure, the reason you might prefer someone with a bit more fluidity to their game is that it seems they are generally the high-production players on Sunday. He moves well on rails, but if you ask him to circle and change directions quickly, he appears to lack those hips, comparatively speaking. You get a bit concerned when a player is this young and looks that way, because it seldom improves with age in the trenches.
There is no question he is a fine prospect, but you have to put the proper value on him for sure.
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CARL LAWSON - DE/OLB - AUBURN
6'2, 257 - FIRST TEAM ALL AMERCIAN, 2016
Last 2 years stats: 20 games, 10 sacks, 16 TFL's = 26.5 explosives
Lawson is the type of dynamic and explosive edge player that seems like a prototypical 3-4 OLB that can run down plays to the outside and still be a menace in the pass rush.
POSITIVES: Lawson has returned from injury to show that he is back in terms of having the explosiveness in his body that allows him to win with power and quickness as a pass rusher. He is a very interesting player who remains active and has the ability to win with his hands. He is a chaos causer who moves very well. He has a real fire that makes him a focal point, but as the season went along, you couldn't help but continue to see him terrify college tackles who had no idea how to slow him down. He is a real terror and looks like he will be excellent at the next level.
CONCERNS: In general, the concerns are about his injury history which was mostly about blowing out his ACL that caused him to miss 2014 and a good portion of 2015. In specific, with Dallas, he just looks like one of those players who would not really have a fit in the Rod Marinelli defense. The most basic question of "where would you play him" will pop up as he might be a SAM linebacker here, which as many will attest, seldom plays in today's NFL. Too small to be a 4-3 DE and therefore he is in that space that this scheme does not really value as much. I suspect he is a 3-4 edge all day.
1st Round talent for sure, but not a fit here.
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TAKKARIST MCKINLEY - DE - UCLA
6'2, 260 - FIRST TEAM ALL PAC 12
Last 2 years stats: 24 games, 14.5 sacks, 25.5 TFLs = 40 explosives
Takk is as impressive a pass rusher and game wrecker that you can imagine. In grabbing three games from his latest season, he was absolutely phenomenal.
POSITIVES: He is simply a freakish athlete that looks like a classic joker who can be moved around and put wherever the best matchup can be found. He is explosive and switches from a 2-point to a 3-point stance and appears to be a fit at either a 4-3 edge or a 3-4 OLB. He also seems capable of adding weight, but the first thing to jump off the screen is how he is a mismatch across the board. Perhaps the best comparison is Clay Matthews in how he explodes at the snap. He competes his tail off and his production was absurd, especially on a UCLA defense that lost plenty to the NFL in the last 2 years and yet he stepped up and made plays continuously. Great use of arms and tools to get in the backfield.
CONCERNS: The biggest concern I would have is hoping he drops to me in the draft. I see someone who once the Combine hits, he will continue to rise as an athletic freak. But, I sit here thinking that i don't need to see that because as a player his credentials are good enough. Not a name you heard a lot of in the fall, but I am guessing he will push his way well past where the Cowboys will select. I really like this player.
I think he belongs with the elite in this draft class.
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CHARLES HARRIS - DE - MISSOURI
6'3, 260, 2016 2nd Team ALL SEC
Last 2 years stats: 24 games, 16 sacks, 30.5 TFL, 46.5 explosives
Harris is yet another impressive edge rusher in this very deep draft class who can bend and get to the QB with regularity.
POSITIVES: Anyone who watched Charles Harris will quickly see that this guy appears to have all sorts of qualities that you really like when scouting edge rushers. He has a real athletic build that allows him to get low and underneath a tackle with his shoulder to turn the corner on his way to a sack with explosiveness off the edge. He has that prototypical DE build and then has an intensity and energy about him that checks all of the boxes. Also, his productivity is right at that 2 explosives per game level that you desire and comes from a school that teaches edge players well. He seems to remind me a bit of Michael Bennett in his disruptiveness against the run and pass. He has great bullrush and is very active with a spin move that he might risk using too much.
CONCERNS: I saw him appear to slow down as the game goes along which speaks to the need for a deep rotation if you want your pass rushers to go 100% each snap. It is a taxing job, but he appears to be capable in long doses for sure. In 2015, he looked just a bit lighter and perhaps a bit quicker. But, overall, this is another player where the biggest concern is that there is no way he likely gets to the late stages of round 1. Harris is another very impressive player that looks like a stud at the next level.
A real difference maker and 1st round talent for sure.
