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The Arizona Cardinals selected a second defensive lineman in the fourth round, using the 131st overall pick to draft LSU defensive lineman Rashard Lawrence. It was the pick they received from the Houston Texans as part of the deal for DeAndre Hopkins.
He was a three-year starter and three-year captain for the Tigers, this year’s national champions.
They make a defensive line pick for the second time in the fourth round.
The Arizona Cardinals have made their second fourth-round pick of the day. They again use it to select a defensive lineman.
With the 131st pick in the draft, the pick they acquired as part of the DeAndre Hopkins deal, they select LSU defensive lineman Rashard Lawrence.
He is 6-foot-2 and 308 pounds and can move. He ran the 40 at the combine in 5.08 seconds.
He had 28 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks for the national champion LSU Tigers last season. He had even more production in 2018 with 54 tackles, four sacks and 10 tackles for loss.
He can play all over the defensive line, so he has some versatility.
He should be able to push for playing time as a rookie.
Before he was carving up opponents, Joe Burrow was forcing his LSU teammates into defense-only meetings, where they wrestled with self-doubt
“What’s really going on out there?”
“Are those guys that good, or are we that bad?”
“Are we a bad defense?”
“Is Joe this great of a quarterback?”
Before he was carving up opposing defenses on his way to a Heisman Trophy, a national title, and the most prolific season a quarterback has every had in the history of college football, Joe Burrow was forcing his own defense into private meetings, where they wrestled with self-doubt.
Burrow, the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, was making his defense look like soggy Quilted Northern after a hurricane.
“He killed us so much in practice,” defensive lineman Rashard Lawrence told Draft Wire’s Justin Melo back in February. “That was tough. We never got the upper hand on him. We couldn’t touch him in practice. Joe has all of the intangibles. He would see us in a certain coverage and just pick us apart. Whether we were only rushing three guys or bringing a five or six man pressure, he always had a feel for it. It definitely made us better. We knew that we were going up against one of the best players, if not the best player in LSU history. He definitely made me a better player. He’s the ultimate competitor.”
Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
LSU cornerback Kristian Fulton agreed with Lawrence’s account of those early days of practice prior to the 2019 season.
“Yeah, that’s exactly how it went in the beginning,” Fulton told Melo in early April. “We had a lot of defense-only team meetings after those practices. ‘What’s really going on out there? Are those guys that good or are we that bad?’ We had to get on the same page. That’s exactly how it went.”
Pass rusher K’Lavon Chaisson also backed up those claims, but acknowledged how much it helped the defense rise to another level.
“It helped us out a lot,” Chaisson told Melo earlier this month. “When you talk about a program like LSU, you’re talking about a program that’s used to fielding a dominant defense. When you go against Joe Burrow in practice, and he’s picking us apart every day in practice, we were out there trying to figure out what the issue was. ‘Are we a bad defense? Is Joe this great of a quarterback?’ Those are the questions we were asking ourselves during spring and fall camp. We eventually figured out that Joe was that great of a quarterback.”
The iron started to sharpen the iron in Baton Rouge, and Chaisson says the LSU defense started to take advantage of what Burrow was bringing to practice on a daily basis.
“It gave us the knowledge of what a great quarterback is looking for,” Chaisson said. “We understood how he tried to take advantage of the looks we were giving him in practice. He had an answer for every read and disguise we threw at him. Whatever we gave him, he took it away from us. Going up against a guy of that caliber was a tremendous help to our defense.”
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Not only did Burrow’s play make the defense better as a unit, but Chaisson took it upon himself to make sure it fueled his own personal goals to improve his game.
“Practicing against, and alongside his talent definitely improved my overall knowledge of the game,” Chaisson said. “The things he was doing against us in practice were just unbelievable. It taught me so much. I took that into the meeting room. I learned from it off the field as well. It was such a blessing. He’s such a special quarterback. He’s a rare guy with high level talent and a high football IQ to go with it.”
Burrow wasn’t the only pro talent on the LSU offense pushing the Tigers’ to challenge themselves on a daily basis. Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson and Terrace Marshall, Jr. were one of college football’s best wide receiver trios, and versatile running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire was a load to bring down. Three Tigers along the offensive line are sure to be drafted in Lloyd Cushenberry III, Damien Lewis and Saahdiq Charles. Tight ends Thaddeus Moss and Stephen Sullivan are also likely draft picks in 2020.
“For us as a secondary, we possibly saw the best collegiate offense of all time every day in practice,” Fulton said. “That’s how he made us better. To be honest with you, they had us questioning our abilities throughout spring and fall camp. We weren’t sure how good we were as a defense. Going up against those guys on offense helped us out tremendously. We started slow, but we had to adapt. That’s why we came on strong towards the end of the season.”
Come on strong they did, helping lead the Bayou Bengals to an undefeated season, closing out with three straight dominant victories over top-5 teams in Georgia (for the SEC title), Oklahoma (in the CFP semifinal), and finally Clemson for the national title.
If the Bengals indeed take Burrow at No. 1 overall Thursday night, what kind of player will they be getting?
“Joe is very humble,” Fulton said. “He comes to work every day ready to work. He doesn’t really say much around the building. Once he gets on the field, he turns into a completely different person. He’s the ultimate competitor. I just think Joe is different. He took a business approach in practice. That’s why he did what he did on game day. He practiced like he played. That’s how serious he takes the game.”
Then vote at the end for which mock you like best.
Self-quarantining may be a bummer, but some of the online content that’s emerged as a result has been pure gold. Perhaps the most notable comes courtesy of the music industry’s biggest names, who have taken to Instagram Live to go head-to-head in some heated beat battles. We’ve seen Timbaland vs. Swizz Beatz, Lil’ Jon vs. T-Pain and Scott Storch vs. Mannie Fresh, to name a few.
For our latest 2020 mock draft, we decided to follow their example and put out a mock draft battle between two of our Panthers Wire contributors: five-year veteran Anthony Rizzuti and the up-and-coming rookie Erik Williams.
Read on to take a look at their mock picks, conducted via the PFF Draft Simulator, to see how they ran their respective drafts for the Panthers. Then vote at the end for which mock you like best.
Round 1: pick No. 7 overall
Rizzuti: Isaiah Simmons, LB/S, Clemson
Carolina’s new head coach Matt Rhule places a premium on athleticism and versatility and there’s no player in this draft on either side of the ball who has a better combination of both.
Simmons’ blend of tools – particularly his physical abilities and natural feel for the game – have earned him a variety of reps as a linebacker, edge, both safety spots, outsite corner and even some slot corner. He’d make for an ideal fit for the positionless prototype being brought in by Rhule and defensive coordinator Phil Snow.
Whether you see him as Luke Kuechly’s heir apparent or as a Derwin James-like playmaker, it doesn’t really matter seeing as the team has needs at practically every single position on defense. Simmons offers depth at most of them.
Williams: Derrick Brown, DT, Auburn
This has been a popular mock pick this year, but Brown is simply too good to pass on, here. The Panthers get the best player available in one of their greatest areas of need: the interior of the defensive line.
Brown’s draft stock has taken a bit of a hit following his sub-par combine performance, but he is still considered by most to be the best defensive tackle in this class, if not a close No. 2 behind South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw.
Brown plays with unbelievable strength and explosiveness, tremendous gap penetration ability, and a motor that never stops. He is exactly the kind of prototype player Rhule wants to work with, and he can start right away.
Javon Kinlaw and Derrick Brown are certainly names to know, but who are the other top interior defensive linemen in the 2020 NFL Draft?
Up next in Touchdown Wire’s position-by-position look at the top prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft is the interior defensive line. While EDGE players get the bulk of attention during draft season, this year’s interior DL class has some impressive players who are getting more first round buzz than some of the outside pass rushers. Both Javon Kinlaw and Derrick Brown are considered to be first-round locks, and some view players like Jordan Elliott and Ross Blacklock to be potential early picks as well. How does this group stack up?
Bio: Javon Kinlaw chose the junior college route coming out of Goose Creek High School in South Carolina, enrolling at Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, Mississippi. During the 2016 season, he was a standout at defensive tackle, who was named a second-team All-America selection, a first-team All-Region 23 selection, and the MACJC South Division’s Most Valuable Defensive Lineman when he tallied 26 tackles (including 8.5 for a loss) and 4.5 sacks.
He committed to South Carolina for the 2017, and made 10 starts his first year on campus. He took on an increased role for the Gamecocks over the past two seasons, and had a career-year as a senior in 2019. He posted seven sacks and 26 quarterback hurries. Kinlaw rode that production to a spot in Mobile for the Senior Bowl, where it was apparently early on that he was arguably the best non-quarterback in attendance.
Stat to Know: According to charting data, Kinlaw was second among interior defensive lineman with a pass-rush win rate of 18.1%.
Strengths: Kinlaw explodes off the snap. Simply turn on South Carolina’s game against Alabama and you will see his burst off the line from the opening play of the game. He plays with incredible pad level, but it is his first step that attacks gaps and threatens the structural integrity of the offensive line from the second plays begin. Kinlaw commands double-team blocks in the run game, and constantly frees up those around him to flow to the football and make plays. He also brings incredible lateral agility to the table, and is going to be a problem against zone running plays, and you can imagine how a creative defensive coordinator could employ him in the stunt and twist game.
As a pass rusher, his ability to convert strength to power as well as his bull rush move might be unparalleled in this class. His hands are constantly moving, forcing blockers to counter and second-guess their own actions. Proponents of the concept that “pressure equals production” are going to enjoy seeing plays like this against North Carolina:
If your interior defensive lineman is going to get double-teamed when the QB drops to pass, you’ll love seeing him fight through the first blocker with violent hands, spin into the second blocker and manage to drive him backward – initially with his back – and still get the QB to move off his spot. Leading to a big sack from the defensive end, left isolated with the right tackle. Pressure equals production.
Weaknesses: Kinlaw often loses track of the play and gets caught peeking into the backfield, which leads to him missing some misdirection plays and running away from the football. He has tremendous hands, but relies on his bull rush too much as a pass rusher. You can see evidence – such as in the above video – of him having other options in his tool kit as a pass rusher but he relies on the bull rush far too much to be a complete player right now.
Conclusion: Kinlaw’s length and size cannot be taught, nor can his explosiveness. This is a tremendous foundation for a disruptive force on the interior of NFL defensive lines. His explosiveness, coupled with that hand work he has developed to date, is enough to make him productive as a rookie. What he learns along the way is can make him special.
Comparison: Retired NFL defensive end Stephen White, in this meaty breakdown of Kinlaw, compared him to current Chicago Bears’ defender Roy Robertson-Harris. This makes a ton of sense, as Robertson-Harris began as an edge rusher before moving inside, and Kinlaw’s disruptive ability on the interior compares to the finished product that Robertson-Harris is now.
Arizona ends up with two extra third-round picks after trading down and landing one of the top corners in the draft.
Another week gone by means another look at simulating the NFL draft for the Arizona Cardinals. Last week, there was a trade scenario in the first round, moving down and picking up a second-round pick. In this new seven-round mock draft simulation, the Cardinals move down from the eighth overall pick to the 15th overall pick, swapping with the Denver Broncos and picking up two third-round selections in the deal.
How does the draft play out for the Cardinals after that?
Round 1, pick 15: Florida CB CJ Henderson
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
All top four tackles were off the board, as were receivers CeeDee Lamb and Henry Ruggs. Defensive linemen Derrick Brown and Javon Kinlaw were also already drafted. Here the Cardinals land one of the most talented cornerbacks in the draft. It isn’t a 2020 need but with Robert Alford coming off a broken leg, it creates potential competition and Henderson would line up as the starter in 2021.
Luke Easterling’s picks for the most underrated prospects at every position in the 2020 NFL draft class
We’re two weeks away from the 2020 NFL Draft, and while there are plenty of top prospects getting their well-earned attention in the first-round conversation, others are flying under the radar.
Here are my picks for the most underrated prospects at every position in this year’s draft:
QUARTERBACK
Jalen Hurts | Oklahoma
It’s hard to imagine a player with Hurts’ resume being underrated, but he’s still not getting enough respect as a top quarterback prospect in this class. Hurts made huge improvements as a passer in his senior year, similar to what we saw from Dak Prescott in his final season at Mississippi State.
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Hurts has a similar skill set to Prescott, too, and has the ability to make a similar impact at the next level. Hurts should be in the second-round conversation after one of the most incredible careers of any college quarterback in history.
Everything NFL draft fans need to know about LSU defensive line prospect Rashard Lawrence
Rashard Lawrence | DL | LSU
Elevator Pitch
Lawrence is a big man who plays in the middle of the defense in that 1-technique role in a 4-3 defense. Could play some nose or a 5-technique defensive end in a 3-4. Another talented LSU Tiger who will like be selected in the the third-fifth round range. Will provide some depth as a rotational piece early on in his career.
Lawrence is a wide body in the middle of the defense that can be disruptive while also eating up blockers to allow the linebackers to roam. He can shed blocks with his constant work with his hands. Despite playing in the one technique, he provides plenty as a pass rusher. He recorded nine sacks over his four seasons with LSU.
He makes plenty of disruptive plays in the backfield. During his four years, recorded 20.5 tackles for loss. He is able to win off the line with his quickness and great first step. Lawrence does possess some pass rush moves that allow him to get free. High motor and high character player. Lawrence doesn’t give up on plays.
Weaknesses
There are some durability concerns in Lawrence’s game with injuries in 2017 and 2019. Teams will wonder if he can stay healthy enough to count on him to be a contributor on the defensive front of a defense. Despite the knee injury in 2019, he still appeared in 12 games for the Tigers.
His footwork and balance are a concern. His leverage isn’t what some would expect it to be. He will need development on his technique as he can play a bit high which allows blockers to get the better of him.
