Back at the beginning of the series, we described the 2016 QB class as “interesting, intriguing and challenging!” In many ways the same could be said about this year’s DE group. On the one hand, DE could very well end up being the best and likely deepest position of any group at the upcoming draft. At the same time, though, there is still a ton of work for pro scouts to do on the group which is talented, but still has players with questions to be answered, while there is still much sorting out to be done.
The one DE that pro scouts are pretty much agreed upon is Ohio State junior Joey Bosa, who is generally considered to be the consensus #1 prospect overall for the upcoming draft. Indeed, the 6-5, 275-pound Bosa, who has prototype size, strength and quickness as well as a non-stop motor, reminds pro scouts of Houston DE J.J. Watt, the most dominating defensive player in the NFL these days. In fact, about the only chink on Bosa’s armor is that he has had some minor off-field issues in the past and, in fact, will miss the Buckeyes’ season opener against Virginia Tech for one of those proverbial violations of team rules.
Adding to the flavor of this year’s DE class is the fact that there are as many as three guys who at one time or another were rated as top 10 prospects for the 2015 draft in Shawn Oakman of Baylor, Oregon’s DeForest Buckner and Shilique Calhoun of Michigan State, but all three ultimately opted to return to school for their senior campaign this fall. In fact, both Oakman and Buckner are still pretty close to elite prospects, although neither figures to be a top 10 lock this coming April. Oakman, for example, is a freakish 6-8, 275-pound specimen with a sculpted physique and the quickness and agility of a much smaller player; Oakman has also been absolutely dominant at times in his career – he had 11 sacks in 2014 – but he is still an unfinished product who struggles with pad level at times while there are also lingering questions about his overall football instincts. At 6-6, 290, Buckner is also an imposing physical presence on the football field who is probably a better prospect than Arik Armstead, his former Oregon teammate who was the 15th player selected (by the 49ers) at the 2015 draft. Buckner just eats up blockers holding the point of attack; however, he’s also pretty much exclusively a 5-tech DE who isn’t going to get much more than an average pass rush, but could get some looks from 4-3 teams as a DT. On the other hand, while Oakman and Buckner still look opening round picks for the upcoming draft, Calhoun has seen his stock slip somewhat. In particular, while scouts really like his technical consistency and work ethic, Calhoun isn’t necessarily a great athlete and lacks elite explosion off the snap.
At the same time, there is a growing top 10 buzz about a couple of other junior DEs in Emmanuel Ogbah of Oklahoma State and Auburn’s Carl Lawson. At 6-4, 275 with long arms and good quickness and explosion, Ogbah is one of the few really promising prototype 4-3 DEs in this year’s draft. Ogbah, who had 11 sacks in 2014, though he is still somewhat rough around the edges and needs to refine his pass rush arsenal as he tends to win most of his battles these days with raw physical ability. No question, though, that the raw physical tools are there. Meanwhile, Auburn’s Lawson has the tools to be this year’s Dante Fowler, the former Florida Gator DE who was the third player off the board this past spring after rocketing up draft boards late in the process. Lawson didn’t play in 2014 because of a torn ACL, but if healthy – and he reportedly looked terrific in fall camp – is a solidly built 6-2, 270-pounder with explosive quickness off the edge.
Of course, the other huge wild card at DE this year is Louisville junior Devonte Fields. Fields looked like a future elite prospect when he tore up the Big XII as a freshman at TCU in 2012, but was injured much of the following year and then spent the 2014 campaign at a junior college after being booted from TCU as a result of a domestic violence incident involving an ex-girlfriend. Whether he ultimately passes the character – and given the NFL’s current sensitivity to domestic violence – that won’t be easy, Fields at least still looks the part of a 4-3 DE or 3-4 edge rusher; he’s 6-4, 255 with long arms and very quick first step.
However, like a number of other positions for the 2016 draft, teams may not want to dawdle at DE as there really isn’t a lot of depth at the position. The exception might be 3-4 DE as Jarran Reed and Jonathan Allen of Alabama, Jonathan Bullard of Florida, Charles Tapper of Oklahoma and Notre Dame junior Sheldon Day could be good value on the second day. In contrast, there just doesn’t appear as if there will be many interesting second-day options among 4-3 DEs, athough the one exception may be Brnson Kaufusi of BYU who, a 6-6, 275 athlete, who will be bacj at DE full-time this year after an ill-fated attempt to have him play OLB last year.
