NFL Draft Stock Report: Defensive ends
The NFL Draft is far away but as college football hits its stride for 2017, we take a look this week and next week at the top prospects at each position. Today we continue with the defensive ends.
Recruiting: In April before his senior year, Landry committed to Boston College. In October, Landry backed off that pledge and named Miami, NC State and Ohio State as his top three. Shortly after naming his new top three, Landry recommitted to the Eagles.
Stats: Landry has totaled 25 tackles including five for loss and two sacks. He also has two pass breakups and one quarterback hurry.
Farrell’s take: I remember watching film of defensive tackle Lamont Gaillard (now Georgia's starting center) and seeing this defensive end come off the edge and make play after play. That was Landry, who we made a four-star after that. Landry was undersized but he was strong, quick and had a tremendous shoulder dip. He’s turned into the elite pass rusher in college and has surpassed his rating. He’s that hybrid pass rusher the NFL loves and could easily be on our linebacker list as well, but we keep him at defensive end for now.
Recruiting: Key committed to South Carolina twice, only to back off those pledges and pick LSU over the Gamecocks and others in April before his senior season.
Stats: Playing in only three games so far this season, Key has recorded nine tackles including 0.5 sacks and one quarterback hurry.
Farrell’s take: Key was a tall, skinny edge rusher who was a four-star just inside the Rivals250. His frame concerned us a bit as did as his strength in the run game, but there was never a question about his pass-rushing ability. However, I will admit that he’s been better at the other aspects of the game than I expected. He has developed into one of the elite pass rushers in college football and if his shoulder isn’t a long-term concern, he could be a top 10 pick.
Recruiting: In the summer before his senior season, Ferrell picked Clemson over Virginia Tech, South Carolina, LSU and others.
Stats: Ferrell has recorded 16 tackles including one sack and eight quarterback pressures so far this season as Clemson allowed only 90 rushing yards in its win over Virginia Tech this past weekend.
Farrell’s take: Many feel that this is Ferrell’s breakout season at Clemson, and so far he has been very impressive, coming a split second away from numerous sacks. I always liked his athletic upside, although he was a bit stiff at times, but I questioned his aggressiveness, so it has been interesting watch him mature and come into his own in that area. His ceiling is very high for the NFL and keeps rising.
Recruiting: Hubbard originally committed to Notre Dame to play lacrosse. But then Ohio State coach Urban Meyer showed up at one of Hubbard’s gym classes, a relationship started and by the spring of his junior year, Hubbard had committed to the Buckeyes.
Stats: Hubbard has totaled 14 tackles including four for loss and two sacks so far this season as Ohio State is allowing just 16 points per outing. He also has forced a fumble and has three quarterback hurries.
Farrell’s take: Hubbard was an interesting prospect out of high school, a massive kid who went from playing safety to linebacker and projected to defensive end. His athleticism in space was impressive as was his ability to drop in coverage, but there were too many variables to have him ranked any higher than a high three-star. His motor will wow scouts and could land him in round one.
Recruiting: In December of his senior season, Sweat committed to Florida State over Virginia Tech with Oregon and Ohio State also considered.
Stats: In three games this season, Sweat has recorded 11 tackles with two for loss and one sack. The former five-star also has two quarterback hurries.
Farrell’s take: Sweat's recovery from what some saw as a career-threatening injury during his senior year is nothing short of astonishing. At the very least, I figured it would hamper the start of his career, but it simply didn’t. He's an athletic freak, super long and very explosive and all of that has returned to form after hard work in rehabbing his knee. He's now scratching the surface of his potential and this high ranking is based on projection on how scouts will love him at the combine and pro days. He’s freaky looking, always has been.
TWO TO WATCH
Recruiting: In the summer before his senior season, Chubb selected NC State over Duke, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Mississippi State, West Virginia and others. Chubb, who had visited NC State weeks before his decision, committed to the Wolfpack on his birthday.
Stats: Chubb is third on the team with 29 total tackles and leads by far with 12 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. He also has one forced fumble and three quarterback pressures.
Farrell’s take: Chubb missed much of his junior season due to an ACL injury so he was under-recruited a bit and perhaps underrated because of it. He had a solid senior season and showed athleticism as a pass rusher but also someone who could drop into coverage. His lack of natural length kept him rated a bit lower, but his relentless motor and technique make him an elite pass rusher in college.
Recruiting: In September of his senior season, Lewis picked Ohio State over Clemson, Auburn, LSU, Duke and many others. LSU and North Carolina were considered the other front-runners.
Stats: In five games so far this season, Lewis has five tackles including three for loss and 2.5 sacks. He also has two pass breakups and a quarterback hurry.
Farrell’s take: Lewis was highly regarded as a four-star but he didn’t make our Rivals250 mainly because he lacked great length and size out of high school. Many of us, myself included, were worried he’d have trouble adding the proper weight and strength to be dominant in college, but we were impressed enough with his violent hands and first step to tag him as a four-star. We saw him play linebacker at the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas and he showed off some hybrid ability, but his success as a pure pass rusher has been impressive.