I’ve seen grades all over the place for this guy. 1st round, 2nd, 3rd. Plays EDGE so he’s on our radar. Anybody know what the deal is with this kid?
The draft process will tell us a lot more about him. Why wasn’t he as productive as his traits say he should be? Sure he had a big game against Cincinnati, but only after their starting LT was ejected and a replacement brought in. A replacement who proved to be something of a dumpster fire, not just the sacks but he false started like five times. Wasn’t ready for the big time at all. You can only play who’s in front of you, but he was very quiet to that point.
That said he was more productive this year than previous years and showed a lot improvement all around, even if his numbers didn’t necessarily reflect it. He’s got the size and the speed and the bend to be a top ten pick, and I really don’t see any way he makes it out of the first round. My hunch is he goes in the 20s somewhere. Probably to Baltimore.
I’ve mentioned him throughout the year. He is a bit like Chaisson last year in that it’s a projection but he does have elite potential. I’d agree that he’s likely going in the late first round.
I think there’s a good chance he returns to school because it’s such a deep pass rusher class. And another year could make him a top 5 pick.
But if he declares I think he’s got a real chance to go top 20. My guess is he goes in the mid to late teens, especially if there’s a run on pass rushers. I think he will test well at the combine if he declares and that will help his draft stock.
I like him as a player. I think his stats are pretty good for a short Covid year. But what I really like is his bull rush abilities. Great DE’s have a solid bull rush and an arsenal of moves. His rip move is top level but he needs to work on improving his arsenal. Another year of school would help In that category.
His upside is pretty high and. I suspect he will be one of the top 4 DE’s drafted next spring. Possibly even the first DE taken but I doubt it. I think he may have surpassed Kwity Paye on a lot of teams draft boards
Speaking of Kwity Paye… I really like this kid. He takes on and wins a lot of double teams. He’s really good at setting an edge and against the run. His nagging injuries are a slight concern for me. But I think Paye has the tools to be a really good NFL DE.
As of now I think he’ll go after Paye and Rousseau, but I think you’re right that Ojulari will blow up the combine. But so will Paye and Rousseau. Paye was number one on Bruce Feldman’s freaks list, and if he really runs a 3-cone in under 6.7 at his size (which Feldman claims he has), he’s going top ten for sure.
I’m not a huge fan of Rousseau’s but the one thing he’s got going for him is traits, including the kind of length that Ojulari doesn’t have. I think some team is gonna fall for those traits and draft him high, but if Ojulari’s gonna jump anyone, it’ll probably be Rousseau. I already have him above Joseph Ossai.
I think Phillips might get some helium when he tests as well. It’s my understanding that he’s already on the rise.
Personally I hope that our new defensive staff is a bit more open minded about what a pass rusher can look like bc IMO despite size and length concerns Roche and Rumph are arguably the two best pure pass rushers in the draft. It seems to me that their might be a moneyball style inefficiency that can be exploited there but clearly you’d have to have a plan for them, be okay with generating pass rush with specialists and live with their inadequacies in other facets when they’re on the field.