#237: 2021 Dash To The Draft (EDGE/DL with Jacob Infante)

1. When you look at this EDGE class, there are no sure-fire top-10 picks, yet it is ripe with sky-high potential. Two current budding EDGE stars (Brian Burns and Montez Sweat) were selected outside the top-10 in the 2019 draft (Burns at 16 overall, Sweat at 26 overall). Do you anticipate a similar eventual outcome from this year’s class?

2. The top EDGE on your board at the moment is Gregory Rousseau of Miami. What makes him such an interesting evaluation is that he only has a four-month sample of college tape since he got hurt after a few snaps in 2018 (his freshman year) and opted out due to COVID-19 this past year. But that four-month sample in 2019 is staggering as he posted 15.5 sacks and earned ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. What makes him the top EDGE on your board right now? How much of a fall down the board, if any, will he experience given his relatively minute sample of game tape?

3. You have two other EDGE prospects ranked just slightly behind Rousseau in Michigan’s Kwity Paye and Georgia’s Azeez Ojulari. Both are super-freakish athletic specimens, yet some top analysts believe Paye’s film was underwhelming and that Ojulari needs to add a lot of moves to his rush. If you were a GM and your team ran a defensive scheme that was equally accommodating to the skillsets of both players, which one would you select and why?

4. Penn State’s Jayson Oweh is another intriguing EDGE prospect. While he only posted five sacks in his two seasons at Happy Valley, he possesses as much mouth-watering traits as the prospects we mentioned so far. Would you be surprised if he ended up as the best EDGE in this class?

5. This defensive line class (specifically defensive tackle) is not a good one this year. The top DT prospect on most analyst boards is Christian Barmore from Alabama. Given the poor depth of the group, is Barmore worth a top-20, if not a top-15 pick in your view?

6. The next two DT’s behind Barmore on most analyst boards are Washington’s Levi Onwuzurike and Iowa’s Daviyon Nixon. What do you like/dislike about their games and are any of them worth a late-first round pick?

7. Who are some of your late day 2/day 3 sleepers?

8. Best Team Fits:

-Gregory Rousseau: Vikings, Colts

-Kwity Paye: Giants

-Azeez Ojulari: Titans

-Jayson Oweh: Dolphins

-Jaelan Phillips: Buccaneers

-Joseph Ossai: Cardinals

-Ronnie Perkins: Rams

-Joe Tryon: Bills, Chiefs

-Christian Barmore: Raiders

-Levi Onwuzurike: Cowboys

-Daviyon Nixon: Buccaneers