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Some notables from these scouts:
BRADLEY CHUBB, DE, North Carolina State: 6-4 ½, 269.
Regarded by some scouts as the best defensive player in the draft. “He’s really good,” said one. “He plays really hard. He’s got speed. Ultra-productive. Tough. Can play the right and left side. Really can do a lot of things.” Ran 4.80 at 272 a year ago; scheduled to run Sunday at the combine. “He’s a difference-maker,” a second scout said. “Could be an outside ‘backer or a 4-3 D-end. 100% plays hard.” Registered 10-sack seasons in 2016 and ’17. “Better overall effort than Myles Garrett,” a third scout said. “Garrett picked his spots. He’s a 5-technique or a 7-technique … Notre Dame ran at him and wore him down. He played at right end and had to go against (Mike) McGlinchey and (Quenton) Nelson. He’s not that great against the run.” Fourth-year senior scored 19 on the Wonderlic intelligence test a year ago.
TREMAINE EDMUNDS*, LB, Virginia Tech: 6-4 ½, 253.
Third-year junior and two-year starter. “Inside linebacker, best of the bunch,” said one scout. “He does anything you want. He can run, he can stack, he can use his arms, he’s got eyes and he’s a great person. He may be faster than (Anthony) Barr. Top 15.” Tall for inside linebacker and doesn’t have classic pass-rush skills for outside. Skilled in coverage. “Big, rangy guy,” said a second scout. “Extremely athletic. Good against run and pass. Only thing I didn’t like about him was against Boston College he missed five tackles. Played the boundary inside backer there but he’s an outside linebacker.” On Sunday, he ran the 40 in 4.54.
HAROLD LANDRY, OLB, Boston College: 6-2 ½, 252. Piled up 16 ½ sacks and seven forced fumbles in 2016 before an ankle injury limited him to eight games and five sacks in ’17. “He had all the production last year,” one scout said. “Played more D-end for them but can’t be a D-end up here. Not a physical guy. Doesn’t really play hard.” Arms measured 32 7/8, ran 4.64, worked out pretty well and had 24 reps on the bench. “He needs to win initially for success,” said a second scout. “Does not fight pressure. Run-around type. Tight in space.” Scored 20 on the Wonderlic. “I think he’s a pipedream,” said a third scout. “But he could be top 50 easy.”
LORENZO CARTER, OLB, Georgia: 6-5, 250. Played in both three- and two-point stances for the Bulldogs but probably projects as an OLB for a 3-4 team in the NFL. “He needs to beat you with his first move,” said one scout. “He’s more of a pass rusher than a space guy. Questionable physicality and strength. All speed rush. He can take off and get up the field but then people can just push him.” Really helped himself at the combine with a 4.50 40, a 36-inch vertical jump and a 10-8 broad jump. Arms were 34, hands were 10 3/8. “Underachiever,” said another scout. “Not tough. Doesn’t have really good football temperament. Flash kind of guy. He’ll be a disappointment for somebody.”
QUENTON NELSON*, G, Notre Dame: 6-5, 325.
Probably the best offensive lineman in the draft. “A slam dunk … slam dunk,” said one scout. “He’ll go top 15 for sure. He’s easy.” Impressive in bench-press testing with 35 reps Thursday at the combine but elected not to run the 40 after experiencing hamstring tightness. “He might be the best pure guard in a long time,” said a second scout. “Zack Martin was a tackle (at Notre Dame) you projected to guard. This guy is a guard. Big, moves well, tough, strong. He’s got it all.” Three-year starter at LG. “He’s nasty,” a third scout said. “He wants not only to block a guy but put the guy in the ground and pound him. He’s just a very tough, nasty person. Thing he can do is pull. He’s not that athletic. Against N.C. State he got pushed some before settling.”
DENZEL WARD*, CB, Ohio State: 5-11, 183.
Served as the No. 3 cornerback in 2016 behind Marshon Lattimore and Gareon Conley, who were first-round choices last year. Started as a third-year junior, decided not to play in the Cotton Bowl and declared for the draft. “He’s much better than the guy the Raiders drafted last year,” one scout said in reference to Conley. “He’s so quick, and he’s a good tackler, too. Only thing against him is his height. He also had some red-zone problems against (Simmie) Cobbs (of Indiana).” Blew out the combine on Monday in the 40 (4.32), the vertical jump (39) and the broad jump (11-3). “Size is his deal,” said one scout, adding that he wasn’t as good as Lattimore or Conley. “Quick, good feel. Small, but a good athlete.”
MARCUS DAVENPORT, DE, Texas-San Antonio: 6-5 ½, 264.
Will become the second player drafted out of the Roadrunners’ sixth-year program. “I had never done San Antonio before,” said one scout. “He’s a pure pass rusher. He can zone drop and turn but I never saw him in coverage. He’s an excellent athlete with good strength (22 reps on the bench). Plays with good pad level against the run. Can shed. Has the speed to corner. Uses his hands. I have no negatives on him whatsoever.” Registered 22 sacks in 46 games over four seasons. Weighed about 200 pounds coming out of high school. Had a big week at the Senior Bowl. “He is going top 20 but I wouldn’t take him in the first round,” another scout said. “He scares the crap out of me. He’s a renaissance man, writes poetry and (bleep) like that. I don’t know if football is really that big for him. There’s times he can be soft.”
ARDEN KEY*, DE-OLB, Louisiana State: 6-5, 238.
Showed up at the combine weighing 238 and appearing to be in tip-top shape. Played as high as 280 last season before finishing at 255. “He is as talented as any player there is,” said one scout. “It’s all off the field for him. He’s got a little moron in him. He’s got a combination of a lot of things.” Took a leave of absence from program last spring for still unexplained reasons. “He got in trouble there early,” said another scout. “Kind of had a disappointing year. He was more productive than Danielle (Hunter) and is a little bit more athletic.” Third-year junior posted 12 ½ of his 24 ½ sacks in 2016. “Against the run he’s really soft,” a third scout said. “Played mainly in a two-point stance. Finesse player depends on athletic ability, speed and quickness. Run-around guy. Tall, high-cut guy. Softness disturbs me.” Shoulder, knee injuries limited him to eight games last season.
ROQUAN SMITH*, ILB, Georgia: 6-1, 236.
Third-year junior, two-year starter. “He plays his ass off,” said one scout. “He’s little, though. Just flies around. Has to be kept clean. One of those kind of guys. Real instinctive. Just little and kind of straight-line fast. Not as explosive as Ryan Shazier. I don’t think he’s a first-rounder but when it’s all said and done he will be.” Some scouts feared he might be just 6-feet but at the combine measured 6-0 7/8. He ran very well, too (4.51). “He is Ray Lewis,” said another scout. “You’ve got to have some big defensive linemen like Baltimore used to have to keep people off him. He had problems against Oklahoma because Oklahoma has a huge offensive line. A couple times he just got submerged by them. He can play in space. He can do the whole thing.” A third said Smith wasn’t as good as Lewis or Shazier. “He’s going to go high but he doesn’t deserve it,” the scout said. “There’s a degree of stiffness there that scares the (expletive) out of me.”
VITA VEA*, DT, Washington: 6-4, 347.
Often compared to Cleveland NT Danny Shelton, his former teammate and the 12th pick in the 2015 draft. “Danny Shelton might have made more splash plays but they’re similar guys,” one scout said. “He’s top 10. He’s a man. For a 350-pound guy he does (have movement). Plays hard. He just powers guys. Violent. Strong. He’s good.” Two-down run stuffer with marginal pass rush. “He’s better than Shelton,” said a second scout. “Wide shoulders, good arm length, big butt, thighs, calves. He’s got some bad belly, though. You can’t believe how this guy can bend and squat. I saw him in warmups. More of a disruptor than a finisher and he does take time off.” Improved standing considerably at the combine by running a 5.12 40 and putting up 41 reps on the bench press.
ISAIAH WYNN, G, Georgia: 6-2 ½, 313.
Most of his 42 starts came at guard before he was moved to LT as a senior out of necessity. “He has to be a guard or a center,” one scout said. “Just very, very, very productive. Competitive, smart, good athlete, good strength for his size, good football player.” Height is about his only shortcoming. “He does everything you want,” said another scout. “He’s got arm length (33 3/8). He’s competitive. He’s athletic. He’s big. He has a sense of how to play the position. He’ll (be selected) right there around 30.”
JAMES DANIELS*, C, Iowa: 6-3 ½, 306.
Declared a year early after starting two of his three seasons for the Hawkeyes. “He is really athletic,” one scout said. “Excellent pass blocker. Late first round.” Has a chance to be the first center selected. Ohio State’s Billy Price, a four-year starter at center and guard, suffered what he called an “incomplete” pectoral tear Thursday after three reps on the bench press and might slide. “Daniels will go in the first two rounds,” said another scout. “Consistent and fundamentally sound.” Long-armed for a center (33 ¾) but needs to improve his strength. Had just 21 reps on the bench press.
WILL HERNANDEZ, G, Texas-El Paso: 6-2 ½, 327.
Old-fashioned drive blocker wears a neck roll and gets after people. “Big mauler,” one scout said. “He’s tough. Pretty decent feet for his size.” Four-year starter at LG for the Miners, who went 0-12 last season and 18-43 during his five years in the program. “UTEP was horrible,” said another scout. “He is one tough sucker, and tough guys play. Square run and pass blocker. I thought he was a good enough athlete. He had short-area quickness and range. No long speed. Good knee bend.” Ran better than anticipated (5.15). Scored 11 on first attempt at the Wonderlic. “He’s really good,” a third scout said. “He’s like a throwback 1960s player.” Had 37 reps on the bench press.
FRANK RAGNOW, C, Arkansas: 6-5, 312.
Started at LG in 2015 and at center the past two seasons. “Easy top 50,” said one scout. “He’s a strong, good football player. Ideally not a first-round guy, but he’s among the best of the bunch.” Wonderlic of 24 and had 26 reps on the bench. “He’ll be a starter,” said another scout. “Played both center and guard. Played a lot of ball. Probably better center than guard. Second round.”
AUSTIN CORBETT, G, Nevada: 6-4 ½, 306.
Versatility is a plus. Was a three-year starter at LT for the Wolf Pack but played mainly guard and a little center at the Senior Bowl. “Day one starter,” said one scout. “He’s similar to the (Joel) Bitonio guy that came out of there (2014, second round, Browns). He doesn’t look like he should be a left tackle but just very, very, very productive. Competitive, smart (Wonderlic of 27), good athlete, good strength for his size. Just a really good player. First round.” Another scout projected him to the second round. “Strength, tenacity, finish,” he said. “Good drive as a run blocker and quick to the second level. Good edge set, slide and mirror but some problems reacting back inside as a pass blocker.” Ran 5.15.
BRADEN SMITH, G, Auburn: 6-6, 315. Started for three seasons, usually at RG. “Real consistent,” one scout said. “Good run blocker. Good athlete. Tough.” Tested well athletically (33 1/2 vertical jump, 9-4 broad jump) and ran 5.22. “Excellent strength and power,” another scout said. “He matched strength against (Da’Ron) Payne of Alabama. That’s what impressed me. Square pass blocker.”
JOSH SWEAT *, DE, Florida State: 6-4 ½, 251. Sweetened his credentials at the combine with a fast 40 (4.53), a 39 ½-inch vertical jump and a 10-3 broad jump. “He reminds me of the guy from there who went to the Ravens. Peter Boulware. Built like him. He’s got that kind of take-off,” one scout said. “Best pass rushing off the edge. He can flip and burst around the corner.” Arms measured an impressive 34 5/8 inches. Third-year junior with 12 sacks. “He’s kind of small but he flashes some edge rush stuff,” another scout said. “Plays hard. Not very strong, not very big.”
