Ask Farrell: Should Rashan Gary go in top 10 of NFL Draft?
MORE ASK FARRELL: Will Quinnen Williams be in the mix for the No. 1 pick?
Rashan Gary is a physical specimen, an athletic freak who could test off the charts at the NFL Scouting Combine and someone who is by almost every estimation going to be a top 10 pick in the NFL Draft come April.
But there are definitely question marks about his game, too, especially when it comes to his stats during three seasons at Michigan.
In his freshman season, Gary played played in 12 games and had 23 tackles. As a sophomore, the former five-star prospect totaled 58 tackles (11.5 for loss) and 5.5 sacks. This season he missed some time with a shoulder injury and finished the season with 38 tackles and 3.5 sacks. For his career, Gary had just 9.5 sacks, which by any measure has to be disappointing - and could be concerning for NFL executives looking to draft him so high.
"Nine-and-a-half sacks in (his career) is a concern because you’d like to see more domination plays, but when you look at the physical and athletic ability he’s got to test out as the freak we know he can be and just have numbers that are off the charts to maintain that position, which I think he will,” ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. said. “He’s one of those guys you expect him to be much more productive from a sack standpoint once he’s in the NFL than he was at Michigan, which is something you don’t necessarily always want to say. You’d rather already have that production from a sack standpoint, but once he’s in the NFL, if he tests great, any defensive line coach would say, ‘Hey, give me that guy. I can make him a guy who will have big sack numbers.’”
NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said he thinks Gary is more of an athlete than a football player at this time. He dropped Gary from fourth overall to No. 8 on his latest big board. There’s no questioning that he’s special athletically and his testing in Indianapolis could be excellent. But does that warrant a top-10 selection if his college numbers were more pedestrian than expected?
“Rare, rare, rare combination of size and speed,” Jeremiah said. “Very explosive. The production doesn’t necessarily match the skill set. Going back through and watching more tape on these guys as he goes through the process, I still view him as a top-10 player. It wouldn’t shock me if he was the second pick in the draft because there is tremendous upside with him. From a skill set standpoint, the ceiling for him is like Cam Jordan, one of the best defensive ends in the NFL. I know some people say he should kick inside. I like him better on the edge. A lot of disruption but not a lot of production. That’s why he dropped a little bit on my list.”
FARRELL'S TAKE:
We ask Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell after watching Gary closely in high school and then from a distance at Michigan, has the former No. 1 player in the 2016 class lived up to expectations and does he warrant such a high grade when it comes to first-round selection especially with such an insanely loaded defensive line group?
“There is no doubt Gary is a freaky athlete and that’s one of the reasons we had him as our No 1 overall player out of high school. But his production at Michigan has been a disappointment overall. I expected him to dominate and be one of the top sack leaders in the country. I know if he tests well, which is expected, he will be a top-10 pick and that is still warranted despite the lack of production. Gary has a great motor and work ethic and he will be a guy like Da’Shawn Hand who underperformed a bit in college but puts it together once he gets to the NFL.”
