Midseason NFL Draft outlook: Defensive end

The college football season continues to churn on, so there’s no better time to take an early look at the top five players position-by-position who are eligible for the NFL Draft as well as two other players to watch.

Today, we move on to the defensive end spot.

NFL Draft outlook: Quarterbacks | Running backs | Wide receiver | Tight End | Offensive line

Recruiting: The top-rated weak-side defensive end and No. 2 player in the 2014 class committed to Texas A&M in October over Alabama, Ohio State, TCU, Florida State and others.

Stats: Garrett, who has played in five games, has only 14 tackles this season, but six are for loss and he has four sacks. The former five-star also has recorded six quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Farrell’s take: There was a heated debate in regards to who was No. 1 in the class of 2014, with many believing it was Garrett. That debate is over. We picked the wrong guy. In the end, we decided Alabama junior Da’Shawn Hand should remain in the top spot with Garrett at No. 2. While Hand struggles to break out, Garrett could be the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft in 2017. Garrett is a freaky athlete has shown increased ability to hold the edge against the run better while he gives tackles fits with his pass rushing ability and speed.

Recruiting: Barnett committed to Tennessee midway through his senior season, but he apparently made his mind up much earlier. According to reports, after he saw the Volunteers play for the first time during his freshman season against LSU, Barnett said he knew he’d end up playing in Knoxville. LSU, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Ohio State and others were involved.

Stats: In seven games, Barnett has recorded 32 tackles (11.5 for loss) with six sacks. He also has an interception, five quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles.

Farrell’s take: Some guys do a lot of developing between the time they sign and when they arrive on campus, and Barnett is clearly one of those players. We liked him obviously based on his top-175 ranking, but did we see his massive impact on the SEC in his first three seasons? Nope, we didn’t. He is exceeding our expectations quite a bit and has become stronger and faster earlier than projected, much to the delight of Vols fans. He can bull rush you, he can beat you with speed and a shoulder dip and he gave Cam Robinson, the top tackle on many boards out of Alabama, fits this past weekend despite the loss.

Recruiting: The five-star named Alabama his favorite in February of his junior year and in May decided to pledge to the Crimson Tide. Florida, USC, Oklahoma, Ohio State and many others were in the running for Allen, but from early on Alabama was the team to beat.

Stats: In seven games, Allen has 29 tackles (5.5 for loss) with five sacks. He also has six quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery.

Farrell’s Take: As a five-star and No. 11 prospect in the 2013 class, it was clear that I loved Allen as a player. He was big, intense, ran everything down and could either go around you or bull rush you into the quarterback’s comfort zone. He played end and tackle in high school and couldn’t be stopped at either position. He was downright scary at Stone Bridge and has always been a serious worker off the field. He’s at a slight disadvantage on this list as he’s asked to play inside at times because of the depth at Alabama and the elite edge rushers they have, but he’s still hard to handle inside or outside.

Recruiting: In January, planning to be early enrollee, Walker flipped his pledge from Alabama to Florida State. Coach Jeremy Pruitt’s decision to leave the Crimson Tide for the Seminoles played a big role in Walker’s decision. Pruitt happens to be back on the Alabama staff.

Stats: Walker is third on the Seminoles with 32 tackles, including 10 for loss and 8.5 sacks. He also has three forced fumbles and two quarterback hurries so far this season.

Farrell’s take: Walker was highly ranked out of high school as a big end and he hasn’t disappointed. In fact, I’ve been so impressed with him this season, he’s ahead of Carl Lawson right now and pushing Allen as he moves way up the board. Walker was part of an amazing group of defensive ends in his class, including Lawson, Allen, Robert Nkemdiche, Chris Jones and Joey Bosa, so a fifth star was hard to come by back then and he wasn’t quite as explosive as that group at the time. He’s added power, speed and his technique is excellent. He’s one of the few shining spots on the FSU defense.

Recruiting: Lawson committed to Auburn in March of his junior year and the pledge stuck, but it was not easy down the stretch toward National Signing Day. Clemson and Tennessee among others were pushing late.

Stats: Lawson only has 15 tackles this season, but he’s registered seven tackles for loss and six sacks. The former five-star also has 11 quarterback hurries and a forced fumble.

Farrell’s take: Lawson destroyed people at our first Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge in Atlanta and became a five-star as a result of that dominant performance. There were some questions about who was better – Lawson or 2016 first-rounder Robert Nkemdiche in 2013 - that’s how good he could be at the top of his game. He’s had some injuries in college, but when he’s on the field, he’s destructive and can’t be stopped and he has shown that this season. It might be a surprise to see him as low as No. 5 here, but the injury question will linger a bit and the four ahead of him are just slightly more elite.

Recruiting: Fields chose TCU over Baylor, Kansas State, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and others out of high school and then transferred to a junior college in Texas. The four-star then was a part of Louisville’s 2015 class.

Stats: Fields has recorded 27 tackles with two sacks in six games this season. He also has one interception and five quarterback hurries.

Farrell’s take: Fields was a four-star both out of high school and out of JUCO, but he was obviously much more physically polished coming out of the latter. As a high school prospect, he wasn’t that long, but he was explosive and powerful. An Under Armour All-American, he was one of the big-time prospects that helped TCU begin to gain national attention and compete with Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma for recruits. Louisville has been a good second-chance school for many recruits, and although his production is down this year, Fields is still an elite NFL prospect who will have to answer many questions regarding off-field issues that led to his transfer.

Recruiting: Harris was a two-star prospect, and little was known about him coming out of Kansas City (Mo.) Lincoln College Prep. He recorded 60 tackles, including 12 sacks in his senior season, and Missouri is listed as his lone offer.

Stats: Harris has registered 24 tackles (4.5 for loss) with 3.5 sacks. He also has four quarterback hurries and a forced fumble this season.

Farrell’s take: This was a kid we didn’t get to evaluate much at all because he emerged for Missouri so late and didn’t have film prior to his senior year, so the sample size was very small. He's a great example of a prospect who just started to get really elite after he left high school and an example of great scouting by the Mizzou staff. He played football as a freshman in high school and quit because he didn’t like the hitting and felt he was a basketball player. He obviously took up the sport again and now the NFL is charting his every move.