Tag: 2022 nfl draft grades

Carolina Panthers select North Carolina State OL Ikem Ekwonu with the 6th pick. Grade: B+

The Carolina Panthers have selected North Carolina State OL Ikem Ekwonu with the sixth pick. Grade: B+

With the sixth pick in the 2022 NFL draft, the Carolina Panthers select Ikem Ekwonu, OL, North Carolina State.

GRADE: B+.

Well, my NFL comp for Ekonu was Taylor Moton, who will now be Moton’s bookend, if the Panthers choose to keep Ekwonu at tackle — he could also be a plus guard. Ekwonu doesn’t quite fit the Panthers’ need for an elite pass-protector — at least not yet — but if you’re into power, he’s the guy.

Height: 6’4″ (32nd) Weight: 310 (46th)
40-Yard Dash: 4.93 seconds (95th)
10-Yard Split: 1.76 seconds (64th)
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: 29 inches (64th)
Broad Jump: 108 inches (7th)
3-Cone Drill: 7.82 seconds (49th)
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.73 seconds (52nd)

Wingspan: 84 1/4 inches (91st)
Arm Length: 34 inches (65th)
Hand Size: 10 1/4 inches (70th)

Bio: Ekwonu’s full first name (Ikemefuna) is translated from the Igbo language to mean “My effort will not be in vain.” His father T.J. is a 6-foot-6 doctor who played college basketball before coming to the United States from Nigeria, and his mother Amaka was a high school track star. Ekwonu had offers from Harvard and Yale before going to NC State, and let’s just say that the scouting serviced had him underrated — he was the No. 29 recruit in North Carolina and the No. 3131 offensive guard nationally by Rivals.com, and the No. 23 recruit in North Carolina and the No. 34 offensive guard nationally by 247Sports.com.

Ekwonu showed his potential in 2019, when he allowed no sacks and 13 total pressures on 639 snaps. Things got a bit ugly in 2020, when he gave up seven sacks and 25 pressures as a left guard/left tackle hybrid, but Ekwonu turned things around in 2021, when he gave up three sacks and 13 total pressures.

Stat to Know: Ekwonu allowed sacks in three of his final four college games, against Florida State, Syracuse, and North Carolina.

Strengths: In pass protection, Ekwonu gets his hands out quickly to discourage defenders from setting the tone through the arc, and from there, he turns on the power. Ekwonu doesn’t have Joe Thomas-level agility through the arc, but he’s great in shorter sets that allow him to bully edge defenders through the play.

When Ekwonu is on the move and on the hunt, you absolutely, positively do NOT want to be in the way. Things will end badly.

And when it’s time to slide, as was the case against North Carolina, Ekwonu uses it as another way to show his physical dominance.

This rep against Florida State is the most preposterous example of dominance in downfield blocking I’ve seen from any offensive lineman in this class. You have to love how Ekwonu uses agility and quickness as parallels with his outstanding power. This is an All-Pro rep.

Weaknesses: Ekwonu isn’t entirely consistent when it comes to hitting his targets in space, which was probably of great benefit to the NCAA as an entity.

And you can beat him to the outside and with inside counters; this issue could be amplified at the next level when he’s facing the NFL’s best speed-rushers, with all the moves at their disposal.

Conclusion: If you give Ekwonu a full season with a great NFL offensive line coach, and he gets a bit more consistent in his pass sets, he may well be the best offensive lineman in this class. Right now, the combination of agility and building-wrecking power, as well as the sheer will to dominate and the technique to do it against the NCAA’s best defenders, makes him a sure Top-10 prospect. He may be a better fit for a power-based offense at this point, but I wouldn’t limit him to this or that archetype in the long term. Like Cross and Neal, he’s a field-tilter at a crucial position.

NFL Comparison: Taylor Moton. The 2017 second-round pick of the Panthers out of Western Michigan has a similar heat-seeking, pure badass profile to Ekwonu’s, as he showed in 2020 against the Atlanta Falcons.

At 6-foot-5 and 325 pounds, Moton can be susceptible to speed rushers at times (just as Ekwonu can), but teams with power-based offenses will be falling all over themselves to get a tackle with Ekwonu’s power profile. We’d like to see Ekwonu and Moton playing tackle for the same team, because that would be quite fun.

New York Giants select Oregon EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux with the fifth pick. Grade: A

The New York Giants have selected Oregon EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux with the fifth pick. Grade: A

With the fifth pick in the 2022 NFL draft, the New York Giants select Oregon EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux.

GRADE: A.

Let’s start with the effort debit regarding Kayvon Thibodeaux. As you can see below, the tape tells a very different story. You will also hear evaluators tell you that Thibodeaux is limited with his relative lack of bend around the arc, but there are many ways to get to the quarterback. As an inside/outside disruptor, Thibodeaux has few peers in this class. 

Height: 6’4″ (56th) Weight: 254 (20th)
40-Yard Dash: 4.58 seconds (93rd)
10-Yard Split: 1.59 seconds (87th)
Bench Press: 27 reps (78th)
Vertical Jump:  N/A
Broad Jump: N/A
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A

Wingspan: 79 1/2 inches (35th)
Arm Length: 33 1/8 inches (34th)
Hand Size: 9 3/4 inches (39nd)

Bio: “I don’t think I need to convince teams of it, but that’s the media narrative. There always has to be some narrative that’s drawn. For me, I’m an L.A. kid, and if you know the adversity I went through to get here, and the things that I had to sacrifice, and the things my mother had to sacrifice for me to be here, you’d really understand how I feel in my heart. When you talk about fire, when you talk about passion, I think you can’t really explain it. I get emotional thinking about it, because all the sacrifices it took for me to get here, I wouldn’t have made those sacrifices if I didn’t love the game. I’m blessed to be here, and I’m just happy that these teams want to talk to me, and they want to get to know me.”

That’s what Kayvon Thibodeaux said at the scouting combine when asked how he was going to convince NFL teams that he actually loves the game of football. A weird thing for a guy with as much great tape as he has, but Thibodeaux has been bucking a landslide media narrative that he doesn’t, and when that train leaves, it generally doesn’t stop until after the draft is over.

As to the facts: Thibodeaux grew up in South Central Los Angeles with his mother, and attended three different high schools. His final stop was Oaks Christian in Westlake Village, where he played under head coach and former NFL assistant coach Charles Collins, and former NFL defensive lineman Greg Townsend, the team’s defensive line coach. The five-star recruit could have chosen any major college, but chose Oregon in part because the school understood that he had “interests outside of football.” (Gasp!)

He was the Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year in 2019, won the Morris Trophy as the conference’s top defensive lineman in 2020, and made Unanimous All-American and First-Team All-Pac 12 in 2021. Thibodeaux led the Ducks in sacks and tackles for loss in each of his three seasons.

Stat to Know: Over those three seasons, Thibodeaux had 115 total pressures… on just 812 pass-rushing snaps. He also allowed 10 receptions on 13 targets for 76 yards, 56 yards after the catch, two pass deflections, and an opponent passer rating of 90.5.

Strengths: So, let’s talk about Thibodeaux’s alleged effort issues. This sack against Washington State has him starting off inside the left tackle, and riding all the way to the other side of the formation before closing to the quarterback. I’m reminded of Yannick Ngakoue, one of the better effort pressure ends of his era.

If this is goldbricking, sign me up.

Thibodeaux’s positional versatility extends beyond his ability to move to either shoulder of a tackle — here, he’s off-ball until late in the pre-snap phase, then he lurks up to blitz, demolishes the right guard, and this play is over.

This play against Oregon State… I mean, where does this effort crap come from? This shows Thibodeaux mugging the play-side tight end to eliminate the quarterback’s quick read, which forces the quarterback to extend the play outside the pocket, a process that Thibodeaux then shuts down by moving off the tight end to the quarterback himself.

Weaknesses: Thibodeaux is not yet evolved enough with his hand technique to disengage from blockers in that way, which shows up when he’s engaging but not really getting anywhere. With his athletic attributes, he should be able to rip away from his opponent and go pure aggro in the backfield. He’s also not a natural bender around the edge, so if you’re really into that, he might not be your guy.

Conclusion: When evaluating players, you have to understand the difference between effort and impact. There are players who make things look easier than they should be, and there are players who aren’t always utilized in all the ways that could make them special. It’s my belief that Thibodeaux suffers from both issues. He’s such an amazing raw athlete, we wind up expecting more of him at times than he may be capable of, given his current techniques and limitations. Is Thibodeaux’s impact muted at times when it shouldn’t be? Yes, but I do not see a consistent effort problem that would drop him down my rankings. I see a player who is not a traditional edge defender, and may be capable of much more in a different structure.

NFL Comparison: Julian Peterson. This is a bit of a stretch, but I don’t get the frequent comparisons between Thibodeaux and Jadeveon Clowney. Perhaps those were amplified when Thibodeaux called himself “Jadeveon 2.0” at the combine. Instead, I’d like to see Thibodeaux’s NFL team try him a role like Julian Peterson’s. Peterson was ahead of his time with his positional versatility — selected with the 16th pick in the 2000 draft by the 49ers, Peterson could line up everywhere from end to box to slot to safety at 6-foot-3 at 245 pounds. Thibodeaux’s movement skills in space and overall athleticism had me thinking that he could excel in a Peterson-style role, which the NFL is far more adept with than it was in Peterson’s era.

New York Jets select Cincinnati CB Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner with the 4th pick. Grade: A+

The New York Jets have selected Cincinnati CB Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner with the fourth pick. Grade: A+

With the fourth pick in the 2022 NFL draft, the New York Jets select Cincinnati CB Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner.

GRADE: A+.

In today’s NFL, where offenses are throwing quick game 60% of the time, you’d better have cornerbacks in your defense who can press and disrupt at the line of scrimmage, and then take receivers all the way up the field. Gardner played about 75% press in his snaps last season, and the Bearcats played more single-high than any NCAA defense except for LSU’s. There is no better fit for Robert Saleh’s defense in this draft class, regardless of position.

Mark Schofield’s scouting report: 

Height: 6’3″ (98th) Weight: 190 (42nd)
40-Yard Dash: 4.41 seconds (77th)
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: N/A
Broad Jump: N/A
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A

Bio: Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner was a wide receiver and cornerback for Martin Luther King High School in Detroit, Michigan. 247Sports graded him as a three-star recruit, and he was named one of the top-30 players in the state of Michigan in the 2019 recruiting class. He entertained offers from a number of Power 5 programs, including Kentucky and Indiana, but signed to play for the Cincinnati Bearcats.

He played right away for Cincinnati, appearing in all 11 games as a true freshman and snaring three interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. Over his career with the Bearcats, Gardner grabbed three interceptions in each of his three seasons on campus, and never allowed a touchdown pass.

His nickname Sauce was given to him by a youth football coach, reportedly due to Gardner’s love of dipping sauces.

Stat to Know: If you want a cornerback in this class with press coverage experience, Gardner is your player. Pro Football Focus charted him with 397 press coverage snaps this past season, tops among cornerbacks.

Strengths: We can begin there. Gardner is, as PFF noted in their draft guide, a cornerback who was built in a laboratory to play press man coverage. His size, length and footwork make him ideal to play on an island, isolated against a team’s top receiver in press alignment.

But size is not his best trait as a cornerback, although his frame puts him in a position to step into an NFL defense and play in such a press-heavy scheme. What really stands out to me watching Gardner is his feel and technique for the position. Gardner uses his length extremely well, always keeping a hand on the receiver and maintaining ideal positioning.

In press, Gardner is patient and rarely panics. He can play physical off the line as well, as he does here on this snap against Notre Dame where he is aligned on the left side of the defense:

Perhaps my favorite snap of his from this past season was this play against Temple, where he covers the crossing route working left-to-right well initially, but his response to the sudden scramble-drill move from the receiver gets to his movement skills:

On this play you see how Gardner’s technique — keeping a hand on the receiver — puts him in position to immediately flip his hips and stay on the receiver as the offensive player makes the sudden turn upfield. It is one thing for a cornerback to mirror a conventional route, or even a double move, with change-of-direction skills. But when a receiver makes a more unexpected move, such as a vertical break in a scramble-drill situation, and you can mirror it the way Gardner does here? That truly stands out.

While the bulk of his experience is playing man from a press alignment, there are moments where Gardner showed schematic versatility, and the ability to play in zone coverage or from off alignments. On this play against East Carolina, that ability was on display as he sinks under the corner route from the tight end in a Cover 2 scheme:

Still, his strength is what he offers in man coverage, as well as how he plays in press alignment. Gardner offers “island cornerback” potential, something that many teams are probably hoping they have on the defensive side of the football.

Weaknesses: There are not a ton of weaknesses to his game, as you might expect when discussing some of the top players in the draft class. He has more experience in press-man than zone, which might have zone-heavy teams a bit wary. There were some snaps against Alabama where his aggression got to him, as receivers were able to get past him on double-moves. He does not have elite, track-level speed, so burners at the receiver position might be able to get open deep downfield, but the 4.41 40-yard dash at the Combine “checked the box” for him.

Conclusion: What Gardner does in press alignment and/or man coverage checks a lot of NFL boxes. Gardner believes he is the best player in the entire draft class, and you need that confidence as a cornerback in the NFL. Plus, when Richard Sherman names you CB1, you have every right to be confident.

Comparison: For me, Sherman is the comparison. The length, movement skills and ability to align in press and stick on a receiver are the reasons why.

Houston Texans select LSU CB Derek Stingley Jr. with the 3rd pick. Grade: B

The Houston Texans have selected LSU CB Derek Stingley Jr. with the third pick. Grade: B

With the third pick in the 2022 NFL draft, the Houston Texans select LSU CB Derek Stingley Jr.

GRADE: B.

This is a bit of a surprise, as Cincinnati’s Sauce Gardner is still on the board, and I think that Gardner has been the better and more consistent cornerback of late. The Texans obviously hope that Stingley can capitalize on his 2019 tape, which was first-overall pick stuff, and get past the last two seasons of injuries and relative ineffectiveness.

Mark Schofield’s scouting report: 

Height: 6’0″ (70th) Weight: 190 (42nd)
40-Yard Dash: 4.37 seconds*
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: 38.5 inches*
Broad Jump: 10’2″*
3-Cone Drill: 6.98 seconds*
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.19 seconds*

*Denotes Pro Day testing numbers (unofficial)

Bio: Derek Stingley Jr. comes from a family of athletes. His grandfather Darryl Stingley was a wide receiver in the NFL whose career was cut short after a hit from Jack Tatum in a preseason game caused a spinal cord injury. Stingley’s father, Derek, played both baseball and football professionally. He played nine seasons in the Arena League, and also played in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, before becoming a football coach.

Stingley himself was a highly-recruited cornerback coming out of The Dunham School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was graded as a consensus five-star recruit, and the top player in the entire 2019 recruiting class by Rivals. He chose to stay close to home and play for the LSU Tigers, and walked right onto the field as as starter for a team that would go on to win the national championship. As a true freshman, Stingley was named a Consensus All-American and a First-Team All-SEC selection. He led the SEC with six interceptions that year, again as a true freshman.

Stat to Know: I mentioned the six interceptions in the SEC as a true freshman, right? Just wanted to make sure…

Strengths: If you turn on that 2019 film, you see a player that looks every bit the part of CB1. Stingley was a true lock-down cornerback that season, and showed the press coverage chops, change-of-direction skills, and all-around game you want to see from a player many believed would be the first-overall selection at some point in his career.

Take this interception against Georgia in the SEC Championship game:

Stingley plays this vertical route extremely well, showing patience off the snap, the speed to match the vertical release and then the ball skills at the catch point, as he gets his head around for the interception.

Stingley also has the ability to run the receiver’s route, based perhaps on his extensive experience. On this play from 2020 against Texas A&M, watch as he mirrors the corner route from the receiver:

The corner sees and mirrors the inside release, but gets himself to the lower hip off of the break, and is in perfect position to prevent the completion.

While not to the level of Gardner — perhaps due to the injuries the past two seasons — Stingley also offers a wealth of experience in press alignment. Pro Football Focus charted him with nearly 50% of his career snaps in press-man.

Weaknesses: We start with the injuries. After that first season, where he was a consensus All-American, Stingley played in just ten games over the next two seasons. He missed the season-opener in 2020 with an illness, and then the final two games of the season with a leg injury. Then his 2021 campaign was cut short due to a Lisfranc injury.

Now, Stingley recovered from that Lisfranc injury and put up an impressive performance at the LSU Pro Day, but that injury history might have some wary.

Then there is what we saw on film from Stingley in 2020 when he was healthy. It was not the same level of play, or at least as consistent, as we saw from him in 2019. Now, LSU did take a step back after winning that national championship, as players like Joe Burrow and Justin Jefferson were in the NFL and Ja’Marr Chase sat out due to COVID, but Stingley did not match what he did as a true freshman. His game against Alabama that season was not his finest hour, and my notes from that game are filled with remarks like “seems to lack urgency.” As PFF noted in their draft guide, however, that was not unique to Stingley on LSU’s roster that season…

Conclusion: Is the injury history and sub-par play the past two seasons enough to overshadow what we saw in 2019? Probably not. If a team believes they can get that kind of performance from Stingley on a consistent level as he transitions to the league, they might have him as CB1 on their board. If, however, a team is uncertain whether they are getting the 2019 version or the 2020-2021 version, they might be more skeptical.

Comparison: The Draft Network went with Stephon Gilmore, and the 2019 version of Stingley makes that comparison apt.

Detroit Lions select Michigan EDGE Aidan Hutchinson with the 2nd pick. Grade: B+

Detroit Lions select Michigan EDGE Aidan Hutchinson with the 2nd pick. Grade: B+

With the second pick in the 2022 NFL draft, the Detroit Lions select Michigan EDGE Aidan Hutchinson.

GRADE: B+.

I love Hutchinson as a culture-definer and a speed rusher with the most ridiculous counter in this draft class. He does have some power with his speed-to-power moves, but he’s more of a T.J. Watt type than a true aggressor who’s going to slip inside and beat up on guards. So, while I would have preferred Jermaine Johnson II or Kayvon Thibodeaux in this spot, the fit is obvious.

Height: 6’6 5/8″ (96th) Weight: 260 (31st)
40-Yard Dash: 4.74 seconds (70th)
10-Yard Split: 1.62 seconds (70th)
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: 36 inches (80th)
Broad Jump: 112 inches (70th)
3-Cone Drill: 6.73 seconds (99th)
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.16 seconds (94th)

Wingspan: 78 1/8 inches (11th)
Arm Length: 32 1/8 inches (7th)
Hand Size: 10 1/4 inches (78th)

Bio: Hutchinson’s father Chris, who is now an emergency room physician in Royal Oak, Michigan, played defensive line for the Wolverines from 1989-1992, so Aidan Hutchinson’s decision to follow in his father’s footsteps was a natural one, despite the fact that the four-star recruit from Divine Child High School in Dearborn, Michigan could have his pick of major programs. He made Third Team All-Big Ten in 2019, was limited by an ankle injury in 2020, and blew up in 2021, winning Consensus All-American, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award, and First Team All-Big Ten. He was also named a team captain, and was a Heisman runner-up. Hutchinson’s 14 sacks in 2021 is the school’s single-season record.

Stat to Know: Only San Diego State’s Cameron Thomas had more total pressures (77) than Hutchinson’s 74 among draft-eligible edge-rushers in 2021.

Strengths: Hutchinson’s counter moves should be the envy of this class of edge defenders, and they show up a lot. The counter is his primary attribute, and it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that he tested off the charts in the three-cone drill and the 20-yard shuttle. This run stop against Wisconsin may have you wondering if we sped it up. We didn’t.

Hutchinson accentuates his speed at times by using the tackle as leverage to get a push, and additional momentum to the quarterback. It’s a savvy thing he can take right to the NFL.

He didn’t play inside a lot (24 snaps in 2021), but you can see how he could really mess with NFL protections as a multi-gap rusher with his lateral speed.

Hutchinson can also jump gaps from the outside, as he showed against Western Michigan. His lateral quickness is rare, and quite productive.

This lateral agility extrapolates to his ability to close in the open field — Hutchinson is fast linebacker-fast in this regard.

Weaknesses: Hutchinson is not a power player outside of a speed bull-rush at times, and his 100-MPH play demeanor can get him in trouble. Such as when he’s going for a speed rush against Ohio State, and he gets nuked by a tight end in motion.

Here’s another example against Maryland. Hutchinson doesn’t have a true power aspect to his game if you reduce the effects of his speed and quickness. If we can pick these plays out, you can bet that Hutchinson’s more enterprising NFL opponents are going to counter him with moving blockers until he figures that out.

Conclusion: I’m not surprised that Hutchinson is frequently mocked to the first overall pick; given his on-field effect and leadership attributes, he looks to be a franchise-definer wherever he goes. And if your team needs a speed rusher who can shoot his way to the pocket with everything from raw speed moves to counters that will have offensive tackles wondering what just happened, you can’t do any better in this class. However, I do wonder if NFL teams in need of more powerful men with more gap versatility might look elsewhere. That’s not to denigrate Hutchinson; he’s very defined in what he does, and he’s amazing with it. It’s a matter of scheme and taste.

NFL Comparison: T.J. Watt. I’m not comparing Hutchinson to the T.J. Watt that is now playing at a Defensive Player of the Year level for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But there are a lot of similarities to the Watt that came out of Wisconsin and was selected by Pittsburgh with the 30th overall pick in the 2017 draft. Back then, the word on Watt was that he had so many of the attributes you want as a speed-rusher, but things were lacking on the power side. Watt was able to solve those issues, and I’d like to think that Hutchinson can as well — perhaps to the point where he becomes just about as scheme-transcendent as Watt is now. Until then, Hutchinson’s status as EDGE1 is a bit of a projection — at least in this space.

Jacksonville Jaguars select Georgia EDGE Travon Walker with the 1st pick. Grade: A-

The Jaguars have selected Georgia EDGE Travon Walker with the 1st pick. Grade: A-

With the first pick in the 2022 NFL draft, the JacksonvilleJaguars select Georgia EDGE Travon Walker.

GRADE: A-.

There are pass-rushers with more finished traits in this class, but perhaps nobody with more potential, both inside and outside, than Walker. Not only can he blow things up from every gap, but he’ll be asked to be more aggressive in Jacksonville’s defense than he did in Georgia’s containment fronts. I think that Florida State’s Jermaine Johnson II is the better edge defender, but it’s hard to argue against Walker’s potential.

Height: 6’5″ (78th) Weight: 272 (66th)
40-Yard Dash: 4.51 seconds (98th)
10-Yard Split: 1.62 seconds (70th)
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: 36 inches (80th)
Broad Jump: 123 inches (87th)
3-Cone Drill: 6.89 seconds (93rd)
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.32 seconds (76th)

Wingspan: 84 1/4 inches (95th)
Arm Length: 35 1/2 inches (95th)
Hand Size: 10 3/4 inches (95th)

Bio: Yury “Travon” Walker was a five-star recruit out of Upson-Lee High School in Thomaston, Georgia as a multi-position defender, running back, and tight end. He passed on Alabama, Clemson, and South Carolina to go with his home state school of Georgia, and he made Freshman All-SEC in 2019. But he didn’t start a single game in the Bulldogs’ loaded defenses until 2021, when he started all 15 games in the NCAA’s most loaded defense. Then, he amassed 7.5 sacks, nine quarterback hits, and 20 quarterback hurries on 381 pass-rushing snaps. As much potential as he’s shown to date, Walker may be the biggest upside prospect in this entire draft class.

Stat to Know: Walker amassed 11 total pressures in his three final games with the Bulldogs — against Alabama in the SEC Championship game, against Michigan in the Orange Bowl, and against Alabama again in the College Football Championship.

Strengths: It’s very easy to see why NFL teams will fall in love with Walker’s preposterous traits. This sack against Michigan has three Wolverine hats on Walker at one point, and he somehow wriggled out of it to take the quarterback down when the quarterback was running away from him. Yikes. Walker taking Mr. Quarterback down with one big paw at the end was the denouement.

Missouri’s right guard is in a very, very, very bad place here, and he probably knows it pre-snap. He’s singled up on Walker on the inside, and you can guess how that turned out — with a decisive bull-rush, and the guard on his butt.

Weaknesses: There’s an entirely legitimate argument to be made that Walker benefited to an insane degree by the fact that he was surrounded with generational first-round defensive talent all around him. How do you sort that out? Look at the plays where Walker was double-teamed, and see how he reacted. Against Alabama, he did not display the techniques required to knife through the double. It’s an area of concern in his short-term value if he’s drafted by a team requiring him to be the alpha dog from Day 1.

Another example — this time against Texas, where Walker doesn’t really have an answer to getting doubled on an inside stunt.

As athletically impressive as Walker is, there are times when this actually gets in his way — he’s still learning to combine his ferocious burst and next-level speed with timing and spatial awareness, which leads to “cat on a kitchen floor” moments like this rep in which he tries in vain to catch up with Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. You’ll also see this too often when he’s defending in space.

Conclusion: Every draft class had its “traits vs. production” players, and there are few more obvious examples in recent years than Walker. There are times when he looks like the EDGE1 in this class, and it’s not even close. Other times, his lack of advanced tools will show up, and you realize that he’s a work in progress — like every other draft prospect in football history. But those traits will have him drafted highly, justifiably so, and I can’t wait to see what he looks like after some time with NFL-level coaching.

NFL Comparison: Jason Pierre-Paul. When Pierre-Paul came out of South Florida in the 2010 draft, he was seen by most as an athletic freak with raw technique that would take time to develop. The Giants selected him with the 15th overall pick, betting on the upside, and that went pretty well for them when Pierre-Paul was at his best. Teams are going to be falling all over themselves for Walker based on his raw traits, but there’s a bit of caveat emptor here — Walker may be one of those pass-rushers who needs a year in the NFL to sort things out. If he does, he could easily be the most disruptive edge defender — perhaps the most disruptive defender — in this class.