21. Yetur Gross-Matos, EDGE, Penn State — Preston Smith
There isn’t much that’s sudden in Gross-Matos’ movement, though that doesn’t make him an average pass-rusher. It’s just that he doesn’t flash off the tape as other defenders might. But like Smith, the Mississippi State alum selected by the Redskins in the second round of the 2015 draft, Gross-Matos combines a lot of desirable natural movement and strength skills, and could use more urgency and violence in his play, especially when dealing with blockers in close hand-fighting.
22. Jeff Gladney, CB, TCU — Byron Murphy
In today’s NFL, with the quick passing game at a premium, defenders who have the short-area quickness and footwork to play man and catch coverage are at a premium. Gladney has those attributes. When I wrote Murphy up last year, it was clear to me that the Washington alum, selected by the Cardinals with the 33rd overall pick, was an ideal press cornerback who needed to be with his receiver through the route, and would work well in any environment where he was asked to play a lot of man and match coverage. If you were to superimpose Murphy’s 2018 tape with Gladney’s 2019 tape, the similarities would be illuminating.
23. Terrell Lewis, EDGE, Alabama — Chandler Jones
Injuries limited Lewis’s time on the field for the Crimson Tide. Finally healthy in 2019, Lewis had six sacks, seven quarterback hits, and 35 quarterback hurries in just 259 pass-rushing snaps. Per Pro Football Focus, his pressure rate of 19.8% ranked third among edge rushers with 100 or more pass-rushing opportunities. One could compare Lewis to any number of “Basketball player as edge-rusher” body types, but he resembles Jones in his quickness to the quarterback, wingspan and movement, and relative lack of power. Durability concerns are obvious, but when he’s healthy, Lewis is an ideal chase-and-catch weakside end.
24. Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon — Ryan Tannehill
Herbert is one of the most polarizing players in this draft class. Some see him as the perfect “big guy/big arm” prospect, and will overlook his difficulties with multi-receiver reads, accuracy to the boundary, and clunkiness when throwing on the move. But he is more mobile than you might think, and his career could have a similar arc to Tannehill’s — an average quarterback for years with the Dolphins, and then, through his own development and a perfect schematic match in Tennessee, an eventual franchise asset.
25. Zack Moss, RB, Utah — Marshawn Lynch
You’ll see Moss everywhere from first to fifth or sixth on people’s running back lists, and his place on your board probably has a lot to do with what you think of his breakaway speed. Nobody is going to mistake Moss for Chris Johnson, but he’s faster and more agile on the move than he’s given credit for. And there is no better power back in this class. Last season, he forced 89 missed tackles and gained 1,042 yards after contact on just 235 rushing attempts. The combination of violence and agility make Lynch the easy comparison.
26. A.J. Epenesa, EDGE, Iowa — Trey Flowers
At 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, Epenesa does not fit the modern speed-rusher suit. But he was incredibly productive from a number of gaps for the Hawkeyes with 11.5 sacks, 14 quarterback hits, and 31 quarterback hurries in 450 pass-rushing snaps last season. When Flowers played with the Patriots and turned himself into the type of defender who could earn a five-year, $90 million contract from the Lions, he did so by becoming an equal force on either side of the tackles. Epenesa will be highly-regarded by coaches and defensive coordinators who value positional flexibility and workable tools over raw athletic gifts.
27. Justin Madubuike, DL, Texas A&M — Chris Jones
Madubuike is one of those players who will drive you nuts at times. There are games in which he looks like the best player on the field with his quickness, hand movement, and pure power. Other times, he tends to disappear. But at his best, Madubuike has the athletic potential to turn into a player like Jones — who is now one of the NFL’s best interior pass-rushers.
28. Kristian Fulton, CB, LSU — A.J. Bouye
An undrafted free agent out of Central Florida, Bouye spent his first few seasons at or near the bottom of the depth chart before injuries to others gave him a fighting chance in 2016. Since then, he’s been a great cornerback with just as much field intelligence as pure athleticism. Fulton will likely go in the first round, but he mirrors Bouye in his consistency, and smoothness to run with receivers out of press coverage.
29. Grant Delpit, S, LSU — Kenny Vaccaro
Based on pure coverage ability, Delpit only has Minnesota’s Antoine Winfield as a rival when it comes to his tape as a deep-third eraser. But his tackling needs a ton of work — ee had 20 missed tackles last season, and 44 over three seasons at LSU. Delpit compounds this issue by playing with a “hair-on-fire” demeanor that impressed from an effort standpoint, but do much for his wrap-tackling discipline. When Vaccaro came out of Texas in the 2013 draft, he had a similar Tasmanian Devil quality, and managed over the years to add good fundamentals to the mix.
30. Josh Jones, OT, Houston — Andre Dillard
Like the former Washington State standout, who was selected 23rd overall by the Eagles in the 2019 draft, Jones has some refinements to make, but presents as an ideal linchpin from an athletic and developmental standpoint. Power and core strength might be issues in the short term. But if you want a pure pass-blocking left tackle, it’ll be hard to do better in this draft class.