Two of the best defensive prospects in this year’s draft hail from powerhouse programs Clemson and Ohio State. Linebacker Isaiah Simmons and edge rusher Chase Young are both expected to be taken in the top 10 come April, with potentially both going in the top five.
Michael Brockers has been in the NFL for eight years and played alongside arguably the best defender for six years (Aaron Donald), so he knows a good defender when he sees one. And when looking at Young and Simmons, Brockers sees flashes of a current and former Ram.
Simmons brings him back to the days of playing alongside Mark Barron, who the Rams acquired as a safety and moved to linebacker.
“Over the years that I’ve been in the league, the game’s changed. I’ve played with a hybrid linebacker and I think the first one that really came into the league was Mark Barron,” Brockers said on NFL Network. “He came from Alabama. I saw him at Alabama as a safety, he was feared in the backend. We trade for him in I think 2015, not sure, and we get him and Gregg (Williams) says, ‘Hey, blitz, blitz.’ We get him the first week and he plays against the Cardinals. And he’s like, ‘Blitz, blitz.’ And after that, we started seeing people don’t know what package we’re in – if we’re in sub-package or base package, so this could work for us. So then we start matching him up on tight ends and getting up on the line of scrimmage in that base personnel, so it worked well for our defense and he did a tremendous job and he’s a hell of a player.”
As for Young, his mentality reminds Brockers of Donald. He didn’t specifically mention the talent comparisons between Donald and Young, but both are prolific pass rushers and have the attitude to be great.
“After hearing his interview, it almost made me think about AD, Aaron Donald,” Brockers said. “His thought process is, ‘I want to be great. I don’t care about nothing else. I want to be great, just me.’ That self-motivation is going to take him a long way.”
The Rams won’t sniff Simmons or Young, sitting at No. 52 overall with their first selection. However, this is a deep draft class filled with solid pass rushers and linebackers. Brockers may not be around to see the Rams make their first pick in the draft, being a pending free agent, but there’s no doubt he wants to stay in Los Angeles with Donald lining up next to him.