Tyler Smith, G/T, Tulsa, 6-4.5, 324, 5.02, RSO … Rising third-year redshirt sophomore only played in a couple of games as a true freshman, but started the last 24 straight for the Golden Hurricanes, although he might have been better served to play one more year in college and refine some of the technical aspects of his game. Still an intriguing prospect with good size, length and thickness. Indeed, while he’s a tad shorter than ideal for an NFL OT, he’s got long (34”) arms and huge hands (almost 11”). He’s also a better than advertised athlete with a 40-clocking in the 5-flat range. He’s a prototype road-grader in the run game with a punishing initial punch, tremendous lower leg drive, and a nasty, tenacious, take-no-prisoners attitude, although his hand placement can be inconsistent and too often he stops his feet after making initial contact. However, while he’s got decent quickness and lateral agility, his pass protection technique needs a lot of work as he tends to come out of his stance too high and loses balance and leverage. He also tends to set his feet too early after his initial set and ends up doing a lot of clutching and grabbing; indeed, he had 16 penalties in just 13 games this past season. For the record, he’s also a very young prospect as he only turns 21 a few days before the draft. Bottom line: Intriguing developmental prospect, especially as an interior offensive lineman who could kick out to RT in an emergency, as he has plenty of tools as well as a pro demeanor, but he may need something of a redshirt year at the next level to iron out some of those inconsistencies in his game.
Arnold Ebiketie, DE/OLB, Penn State, 6-2.5, 250, 4.60, SR … Fifth-year senior spent four rather undistinguished seasons at Temple before transferring to Penn State where he almost immediately blossomed into a dynamic edge rusher. Indeed, after posting just 6 career sacks at Temple, he had 9.5 last season with the Nittany Lions along with 8.5 other tackles for losses; for good measure, he also forced a couple of fumbles and blocked two kicks and then topped it all off with a dominating week at the Senior Bowl. He’s not overly big, but does have long 34-inch arms; he also has big 10-plus inch hands and delivers a powerful initial punch, although he could get stronger to sustain that impact. Has good speed and quickness, although he actually tends to be a little slow off the snap on occasion. However, he’s very flexible and can bend, dip and flatten around the corner without losing any momentum. With the constant movement, he also becomes a hard target for OTs to get a piece of. Tough, competitive player who plays to the whistle; will also battle defending the run, but he will struggle to hold the point of attack against bigger offensive linemen. Also has almost no meaningful experience in coverage. Bottom line: Emerging pass rush talent with a unique tool kit, but because of his limitations defending the run, will likely be best suited to playing a 3-4 OLB at the next level who can kick up to DE in passing situations.
Amare’ Barno, DE/OLB, Virginia Tech, 6-4.5, 246, 4.36, SR … Fifth-year senior may be the most pure athletic edge rusher in this year’s loaded class at the position. Indeed, he ran a remarkable 4.36 40 and had a 37-inch vertical. He actually played two years at the junior college level before ending up at VA Tech, where he started at both DE and OLB at times. Had something of a breakout year in 2020 when he had 6.5 sacks and led the conference in total tackles for loss with 16. However, he wasn’t able to build on those numbers in 2021 when he had just 3.5 sacks. He has nice length at almost 6-5 with 34-inch arms, but he’s very lean at barely 246 pounds and struggles to hold the point of attack defending the run, although he can be effective jumping into gaps and chasing down plays from the backside. Also lacks the upper body strength to shed blockers when engaged in both run and pass defense, and doesn’t really explode off the snap but tends to try and pick his way. Can be disruptive rushing the passer when he gets a lane, but lacks the strength and technique to beat a quality OT when engaged. Bottom line: Very athletic edge rusher who isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, in that he’s probably too light to play a traditional 4-3 at the next level, but will intrigue teams looking for a 3-4 OLB with length and speed.
Sam Williams, DE, Mississippi, 6-3.5, 261, 4.46, SR+… Fifth-year super senior who had a breakout year in 2021. Could be one of the more polarizing prospects in this year’s draft despite the fact he has elite physical skills and is coming off a very productive super senior season in which he made several All-America teams after posting 12.5 sacks. First problem is that Williams was charged with sexual battery back in 2020, and while the charges were eventually dropped there are still unanswered character questions. At the same time, while Williams no doubt is an outstanding athlete with an elite combination of speed – he clocked under 4.50 seconds for the 40 at the combine – strength, and explosiveness, he is still a very unrefined player who wins almost exclusively with speed and power and almost never with finesse or technique. In particular, his hand placement is very basic as is his pass-rush arsenal while he’s not particularly instinctive. He’s also somewhat limited as a run defender as he just doesn’t anchor all that well. Bottom line: Intriguing prospect with unique physical tools, but is still very raw and has those character concerns.
Tariq Woolen, CB, Texas-San Antonio, 6-4, 205, 4.26, SR … Fifth-year senior was originally recruited as a receiver and only switched to defense two years ago, but has emerged as an intriguing cornerback prospect with elite measurables who had a very solid week of practice at the Senior Bowl where he more than held his own against top-flight competition and then literally blew up the combine with one of the great athletic performances ever at the event. Indeed, he ran a 4.26 40 and had a 42-inch vertical. Also has excellent size with long (33.5”) arms. He’s very effective using his length to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage and can run with anybody; as a former receiver, he also tracks the ball well and has decent ball skills, although he actually never made a whole lot of plays at UTSA where he had just 2 career picks and 11 total pass breakups. He is also very comfortable in zone where he has good vision, patience and instincts. However, as a taller (6-4) corner, he can struggle to handle the stop-and-start COD moves of quicker inside receivers. He is also still very much a work in progress from a technical perspective. His hand placement and basic footwork, for example, can be sloppy at times and he’s still learning the intricacies of route anticipation. He also isn’t a particularly strong run defender despite the fact he’s got good size; he doesn’t shed blockers all that well and has a tendency to go for the big hit at times when wrapping up would be just fine. Bottom line: Woolen may be Exhibit A in the productivity versus measurable and pure athletic ability this year. He is still a very raw, more developmental type project, but has a generational set of measurables including size and speed. What will decide the debate is that he did make considerable strides as a cover corner over the past couple of years and, as noted, more than held his own when challenged by quality opposition in Mobile.
