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Now that we've finished up with all the offensive positions, it's time to talk defense. We will start by discussing the edge rushers - which means 4-3 defensive ends and 3-4 outside linebackers. Once again, we evaluate these guys as college players, based on their tape over the last couple of years and my projections for 2018, rather than looking at them at draft prospects.
1. Nick Bosa, Ohio State
To let you know that I am not fooling around here, let me say this – Nick Bosa is more naturally talented than his brother Joey. The reigning Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year has a tremendous get-off, the ability to bend around the edge as well as to overpower his opponents and then he has the agility to change directions and mirror athletic quarterbacks.
In the run game, Bosa can stack blockers and squeeze gaps as well as anybody in the country. As a pass-rusher, he has a feel for how offensive linemen are leaning and takes advantage of that with the grip strength to yank them out of the way. Nick may not string his arms and lower body together quite as well as his brother yet and gets caught ball-watching at times, but this guy is without a doubt a top three player in the nation.
2. Rashan Gary, Michigan
Similar to Bosa, the expectations for Rashan Gary as a number one overall recruit were sky-high and he is starting to live up to them. As a freshman, he already had a significant role, but last year as a full-time starter he turned into a monster for the Wolverines.
Standing at 6’5”, 285 pounds Gary is an athletic freak with the burst, power and balance to cause offensive linemen in the Big 10 nightmares. The Michigan D-lineman is a little slow off the snap, but explosive in his get-off, displays violent hands and a good pull to complement it.
The coaches involved him in a lot of twists and lined him on interior plenty. Gary is far from fulfilling his potential as he heavily relies on his physical gifts rather than technique, which is limited to bull-rushing and the chop-rip. It’ll be interesting to see how he improves in that department and what he can do without Maurice Hurst doing the dirty work on the inside.
3. Clelin Ferrell, Clemson
A member of Clemson’s ridiculous defensive line, Ferrell controls the point of attack in the ground game and can change angles to squeeze gaps or widen the edge against outside plays. He doesn’t mind burying his shoulder into a pulling guard either to mess plays up.
If you want to see where Ferrell is at this stage of his development as a pass rusher, watch his 2017 Auburn tape. He couldn’t really get going early on, but then all of a sudden he gets a great jump off the snap, performs an excellent chop-rip and then flattens to the quarterback for a strip-sack. That’s when he looks like one of the elite players in the country and he won with multiple moves after that as well.
But for every one of those, there’s a couple where he ends up standing straight across the offensive tackle. Ferrell’s snap anticipation puts tackles at a disadvantage at times already, but I want to see wasted movement on those hesitation moves and more refined technique out of him.
4. Sutton Smith, Northern Illinois
This guy had a 2017 season for the ages. Smith topped everybody in the nation with a whopping 30 tackles for loss and was tied for first with 14 sacks. In addition to that, he forced and recovered three fumbles respectively, scored two touchdowns and produced a ridiculous 64 QB hurries on 439 rushes, earning PFF’s highest grade among edge rushers in all of college football.
What makes those numbers even more impressive is the fact he did so at six feet, 225 pounds. At that size, he brings a burst around the edge that your typical base end can’t match and it’s tough for those tall tackles to put hands on him. He loves those quick inside moves as a pass rusher, which he counters with a hesitation combo back to the outside. At his stature, he can’t just control the point of attack in the run game, but the NIU coaches allowed him to stunt inside with a teammate cleaning up RBs bouncing and stuff like that.
5. Montez Sweat, Mississippi State
Sweat was a highly recruited player by Michigan State originally, but had two disappointing years and left for personal reasons. After a year at juco, he moved on to MSU and ended up leading the SEC with 10.5 sacks in his first season with the Bulldogs.
Sweat is a very long and lanky D-end at 6’6”, 245 pounds. While he looks pretty lean, he has much more power than you’d anticipate, which he uses to stand offensive tackles up and then he has a feel for those guys overcommitting when they try to recover.
His coaches at Ole Miss have already been very creative with him, involving him in twists and loops or lining him up at dime-linebacker originally and then bringing him down to the edge late. Sweat has outstanding agility for his build to be able to break down and redirect once he reads the action in the backfield, but he defers to dipping his shoulder into run-blockers and gives up contain a few times.
Honorable mentions: Chase Winowich (Michigan), Zach Allen (Boston College), Anfernee Jennings (Alabama)
