Rival Views: Who is best pure pass rusher in 2018 class?

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney don’t always see eye to eye. In this edition of Rival Views, the two debate who is the best pure pass rusher in the 2018 class.

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There are numerous elite pass rushers in this class and the term “pure” can mean many things. To some it means speed rushers such as Eyabi Anoma, Adam Anderson and Brenton Cox and to others it can mean guys who work well off of contact and can be as strong inside as they are outside such as Xavier Thomas, Micah Parsons and KJ Henry.

For me, I’ll take Thomas despite the fact that he has the least natural length of all of the players above. Why? Because there is no defensive end that is better off of contact than Thomas and that will allow him to be a dominant pass rusher from day one at the college level. That attribute will also be key for his NFL success down the line. It’s tempting to pick one of the speed rushers, especially Anoma or Anderson, but give me the guy who can rock tackles off balance, still beat them around the edge or cross over and put them off balance with an inside move. Thomas is the guy for me.

This is a close one because I really like Xavier Thomas, K.J. Henry and some other elite defensive ends in this class, but all I hear about Eyobi Anoma is that he's still really raw. There is absolutely no doubt Anoma is a physical freak at 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, and I'm pretty confident the Alabama strength and conditioning program will get Anoma's weight up to 260 or 270 easily.

If he can handle that weight and keep his insane athleticism, then we're looking at a future No. 1 pick. Just think about all the excellent defensive linemen that coach Nick Saban and staff have developed over the years. Anoma definitely has the physical tools to be one of the next special defensive ends to come out of Tuscaloosa because he has everything needed. He has perfect measurements, he has incredible athleticism, he has the frame to add good weight and his talent is off the charts. A few years from now, Anoma could be in the discussion for the No. 1 NFL Draft pick much like Myles Garrett was recently.