12 players Giants should watch carefully at 2020 NFL Combine

Workout at the 2020 NFL Combine will begin on Thursday, and here’s a quick look at 12 players the New York Giants should watch carefully.

The 20202 NFL Combine is being held this week in Indianapolis and the New York Giants, holders of the No. 4 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, will be seeking their next class of presumptive stars.

What will they be looking for and what the rest of the football world believes they should be looking for are two distinct and separate things.

If I ran the Giants, I’d be looking specifically for two types of players first: ones that can make plays on defense and ones that can protect my young quarterback.

What is going through general manager Dave Gettleman’s mind is anyone’s guess. Like most, I’m under the assumption he knows what his team in lacking, but you can never tell with him. He falls in love with players and ends up reaching.

Here’s some players the Giants should be interested in this week.

Offensive Tackles

Jedrick Wills, OT, Alabama (JR, 6’5″, 320 pounds)
Andrew Thomas, OT, Georgia (JR, 6’5″, 320 pounds)
Mekhi Becton, OT, Louisville (JR, 6’7″, 369 pounds)
Tristan Wirfs, OT/OG, Iowa (JR, 6’5″, 322 pounds)

You can take them in any order you’d like. They all should be there at No. 4 when the Giants select. The favorite here is Becton, who is just so massive and imposing he’s hard to pass up. The question is can you trade down a few spots and still get one of these guys?

The answer is yes. Gettleman should trade back from No. 4 with a team looking for a quarterback, grab some draft capital and maybe take one of the above and perhaps one from the below list in Round 1:

Isaiah Simmons, Clemson (rJR, 6’4″, 225 pounds)
Kenneth Murray, Oklahoma (JR, 6’2″, 234 pounds)
Patrick Queen, LSU (JR, 6’1″, 227 pounds)
Zack Baun, Wisconsin (rSR, 6’3″, 240 pounds)
A.J. Epenesa, Iowa (JR, 6’6″, 280 pounds)
K’Lavon Chaisson, LSU (JR, 6’4″, 250 pounds)
Yetur Gross-Matos, Penn State (JR, 6’5″, 264 pounds)
Terrell Lewis, Alabama (rJR, 6’5″, 258 pounds)

Any one of the above players would walk right onto the practice field in East Rutherford and take someone’s job Day 1. Simmons would be the optimal choice, but the Giants might have to stay at No. 4 to get him, pending his Combine performance.

I love Epenesa and Baun, but they aren’t Top 5 worthy. The rest could be mid-late first rounders or even second rounders, but I’m putting Becton, Simmons, Baun and Epenesa on my dance card. I’ll also be interested to see how Chaisson fares as well.

For those who are into the best available player theory, Alabama wideout Jerry Jeudy and Ohio State defensive back Jeffrey Okudah are two players to watch.

Wisconsin Football at the 2020 NFL Combine

Zack Baun, Tyler Biadasz, Quintez Cephus, and Jonathan Taylor looking to improve their NFL Draft stock at the scouting combine.

With the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine occurring this week marks an important week for outside linebacker Zack Baun, center Tyler Biadasz, wide receiver Quintez Cephus, and running back Jonathan Taylor.

The four former Wisconsin products have important weeks ahead of them as they look to boost their NFL draft stocks in Indianapolis.

The testing won’t begin until February 27th as the first position groups that will work out in front of all 32 NFL teams will be the tight ends, quarterbacks, and wide receivers.

Of the four players invited to the NFL combine from Wisconsin Cephus has the most to prove and with a good week, he could see his draft projection go from a day three selection to possible day two pick despite the wide receiver draft class being deep.

Cephus will need to be able to ace his interviews with the NFL teams that he meets with and his 40-yard dash will also be important. If he does well in both of these areas he’ll move up on teams draft boards. Cephus certainly has the talent to have success in the NFL but his ability to prove that he can consistently create separation from NFL defensive backs will go a long way.

Friday will be Biadasz’s and Taylor’s day as the running backs, offensive line, placekickers, and special teams will perform.

Due to Wisconsin’s success in producing NFL offensive lineman will be a plus for NFL scouts. It also helps that Biadasz never missed a start during his career at Wisconsin as he won the Rimington Award this past season, which is given to the best center each year.

Biadasz checked in at 6’4″ and 314 pounds good size for a center as Biadasz currently is projected to go either in the second or third round. It will take an impressive combine for Biadasz to sneak into the first round as over the last five drafts only four centers have been taken in the first round as two were drafted in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Taylor like Cephus can boost his draft stock with a good time in the 40-yard dash. Taylor should have success in the other testing areas and he’ll interview well with NFL teams as his 40-yard dash time will either move him up in the draft and solidify himself as a second-round draft pick or move him down.

Baun will be the last Badgers to partake in the testing drills as he’ll compete on Saturday. Baun has the best chance of potentially moving into the first round. Baun had a strong week at the Senior Bowl and he’ll look to carry over his performance in Mobile to Indianapolis.

Wisconsin’s recent success of producing linebackers to the NFL in addition to Baun having a breakout senior season has led to him shooting up NFL draft boards.

As NFL teams are consistently looking for athletic pass rushers and if Baun can post some impressive numbers he could solidify himself to be the first Badger to hear his name called when the NFL Draft opens on April 23rd in Las Vegas.

2020 NFL draft: Why Zack Baun is a good fit for Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks need more pass rushing off the edge, and Wisconsin’s Zack Baun could be the man to give it to them.

The Seattle Seahawks were among the worst pass rushing teams in the NFL last year, a fact they’ll need to rectify before the start of the 2020 season if they want to stay afloat in the competitive NFC West.

While this year’s draft class is not nearly as ripe with pass rushers as the 2019 class was, there is still impactful players to be found in the first few rounds.

One player who appears to be a good fit for the Seahawks is Wisconsin edge defender Zack Baun.

Baun has already been mocked to the Seahawks a handful of times this offseason, and it’s not hard to see why he could appeal to Pete Carroll and company.

Although some scouting reports believe he’s better suited as a 3-4 outside linebacker, Baun has shown the flexibility to move around all seven frontline spots – a trait that always appeals to Carroll. He could line up as a SAM linebacker if needed, and could also rush off the edge on obvious passing downs.

Baun’s burst, athleticism, power, and variety of counters allow him to get to the quarterback quickly, which would give Seattle what they desperately need as soon as next season.

He probably needs to add mass in order to be an effective every down defender – as his run defense doesn’t project to be great at the next level – but if the Seahawks are looking for a rookie to come in and immediately get to the quarterback, using a second round pick on Baun is the perfect plan.

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5 EDGE prospects Bears should watch at NFL Scouting Combine

While defense isn’t the overwhelming concern for the Bears this offseason, but edge rusher still needs to be addressed.

While defense isn’t the overwhelming concern for the Bears this offseason, there are still position groups that need to be addressed, among them edge rusher.

Khalil Mack remains a force, despite a statistical dropoff in 2019, but the Bears need to find an edge rusher opposite Mack to really breathe life back into the pass rush. While Leonard Floyd remains on the roster — he’s due to make $13.2 million in 2020 — can the Bears justify retaining Floyd with his lack of production?

With that said, here are five edge rusher prospects the Bears should watch at the NFL Scouting Combine next week:

1. Yetur Gross-Matos, Penn State

The Bears need someone opposite Khalil Mack that can take advantage of one-on-one opportunities, and perhaps Penn State edge rusher Yetur Gross-Matos is the guy for the job. Gross-Matos has a reputation for getting after the football and making plays, especially in pursuit. In the last two years at Penn State, he had 34.5 tackles for loss and 17 sacks.

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Wisconsin has Four Players Invited to NFL Combine

Wisconsin has four of its former players invited to the 2020 NFL Draft combine.

With the NFL season now in the rearview mirror, it is officially NFL Draft season and with the college football all-star games completed, the next step in the process is the NFL scouting combine.

Wisconsin had four players invited to Indianapolis in running back Jonathan Taylor, wide receiver Quintez Cephus, center Tyler Biadasz, and outside linebacker Zack Baun.

The four will look to boost their NFL Draft stock as Taylor, Biadasz, and Baun are expected to be drafted in the top two rounds of the NFL Draft, which will take place over a three day period from April 23rd to April 25th.

With strong combines by Taylor and Biadasz, they could potentially be the first players selected at their respective positions. While Baun will look to build off of his Senior Bowl performance in Mobile, Ala. in order to solidify himself as a possible first round draft pick.

Cephus has the most work to do at the combine as the wide receiver class is strong. A strong combine and him interviewing well with teams should allow him to move up teams NFL Draft boards.

Chris Orr was not invited to the combine. Orr will still have his chance of working out for NFL teams whether that’s through workouts or at Wisconsin’s pro day, which still has yet to be announced when that will be.

The NFL scouting combine is set to take place in Indianapolis from Sunday, February 23rd to Monday, March 2nd.

NFL Draft profile: Zack Baun

Sizing up Zack Baun

As the NFL Draft draws closer, Badgers Wire is exploring draft profiles of those who have declared. The basic premise of these articles is to take a brief look at each player. Each column will take a look at each player’s football statistics as well as their physical statistics. Finally, we’ll give you a brief summary of what each player offers and where he can be expected to go in the 2020 NFL Draft. Next up is Wisconsin linebacker Zack Baun.

The Badger standout had a mixed performance at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, just over a week ago. Thanks to contributions from Joe Goodberry of The Athletic and Patrick Carlisle of LB3 Scouting, we were able to get quality coverage of Baun’s practice week before the game for Badgers Wire. What ultimately makes Baun a tempting pick is his versatility combined with his work ethic and on-field production in an NFL-ready defense at Wisconsin.

Carlisle said Baun “has continued to shine as a pass rusher consistently winning against some solid Senior Bowl offensive tackles with speed and technique. In linebacker drills he showed solid coverage skills for a guy who was more of a pass rusher in college.”

Goodberry said, “Zack Baun has been doing drills at both linebacker and defensive line and has had moments of success at each. Showing some nice speed to chase the ball, Baun has taken to playing inside linebacker.”

Several major outlets have projected Baun as a solid fit for two blue-collar franchises cut from the same cloth with owners who have a deep friendship. The NY Post said Baun would be a great fit for the Giants, comparing him to players like T.J. Watt, Ryan Connelly, and Joe Schobert, all of whom have a Wisconsin connection to Baun.

FanSided’s Pittsburgh site said Baun would be a great fit for the Steelers, comparing him to T.J. Watt and suggesting he could play well next to Buck linebacker Devin Bush. The Baltimore Ravens’ official site labeled him as one of the Senior Bowl Prospects (at Positions of Need) Who Have Stood Out, while the NFL’s official site interviewed him as key player. There is a clear need for the player in the upcoming draft.

Wisconsin Football Season Review: Inside Linebackers

How well did Wisconsin’s inside linebackers play during the 2019 season.

Wisconsin finished its fifth season under head coach Paul Chryst as Chryst improved his overall record to 52-16 and has a posted a 34-10 record in conference games. After not winning the Big Ten West Division title in 2018 the Badgers were back in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship game as the West representative for the fourth time in the last six years since the Big Ten went to its current format.

In this Badgers Wire feature we will examine the play of Wisconsin’s inside linebacker from the 2019 season and take a sneak into what the 2020 season may have in store for the position:

Wisconsin lost two impact players in inside linebackers T.J. Edwards and Ryan Connelly as the two led Wisconsin in tackles with 113 and 89 respectively last season. In addition, Edwards 11.5 tackles for loss and Connelly’s 10 tackles for loss ranked first and second on the team not to mention Edwards had a team leading three interceptions.

Despite losing two high impact players the expectation was that the Badgers were going to simply reload with Chris Orr and Jack Sanborn officially taking over at inside linebacker.

Those expectations were correct.

As the previous season, the top two tacklers by the end of the year were Wisconsin’s middle linebackers as Sanborn finished with 80 tackles and Orr registered 78 tackles.

Orr outside of outside linebacker Zack Baun was one of the clear leaders of not only Wisconsin’s defense but also the team. Orr was able to find a way of consistently making impact plays for Wisconsin’s defense.

Orr who appeared in 50 career games started all 14 games for the Badgers this past season as he posted career highs in both tackles for loss (14) and sacks (11.5).

Orr’s ability to generate pressure up the middle complemented Baun well on the outside and made it difficult for opposing offenses to move the football down the field consistently against Wisconsin’s defense.

Sanborn who played as a true freshman made a nice jump from his freshman to sophomore season. Sanborn with Orr made it difficult to rush the football up the middle. Sanborn did a good job of diagnosing plays and then hitting the rushing lanes for him to execute at a high level.

Fellow inside linebackers Mike Maskalunas and true freshman Leo Chenal were able to make positive contributions on the inside too.

Maskalunas appeared in 14 games finishing the season with 16 tackles and registered 2 pass breakups and recovered one fumble. Chenal missed three games because of a head injury but still finished the season with 20 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, two quarterback hurries and recovered a fumble too.

2020 Wisconsin Inside Linebackers

Losing Orr will hurt as he was a great leader for Wisconsin as he had the respect of all of his teammates. But at the same time with Sanborn returning and the expectation that Chenal will slide in at the other inside linebacker position the Badgers once again should be set at the position like they have been the last few years. Maskalunas will return for his senior season as he’s a reliable player that the coaches can count on as he has a comfort in Wisconsin’s 3-4 defense. The Badgers will need to have a reliable fourth inside linebacker as that responsibility could fall to redshirt freshman Maema Njongmeta or Malik Reed, Jordan Turner, or Preston Zachman as the three will be true freshman. Turner and Zachman both enrolled early at Wisconsin, which will give themselves a good chance of seeing the field early if they can gain a comfort in Wisconsin’s defense.

Seahawks select linebacker in 1st round of Mel Kiper’s Mock Draft 1.0

ESPN’s Mel Kiper is projecting the Seattle Seahawks select linebacker Zack Baun with the No. 27 overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Draft talk is in full swing now that ESPN’s Mel Kiper has released his 2020 Mock Draft 1.0. After losing to the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round of the playoffs, the Seattle Seahawks will select at number No. 27 in the first round come April.

Kiper projects Seattle will select linebacker Zack Baun out of Wisconsin.

“It’s fair to say the early returns on 2019 first-round pick L.J. Collier, whom I ranked outside my top 50, were disappointing; he played just 142 defensive snaps and didn’t have a sack,” Kiper writes. “Put that next to an injury-plagued season from Ezekiel Ansah and an inconsistent year from Jadeveon Clowney, and the Seahawks produced a very un-Pete-Carroll-like 28 total sacks, tied for second-fewest in the league.”

2020 Mock Draft 1.0: https://t.co/NZGhHyChP2

— Mel Kiper Jr. (@MelKiperESPN) January 24, 2020

“This front seven could be depleted in free agency – Jarran Reed is another who could leave – which means Baun, whom I really wanted to find a way to sneak into the first round here, makes a lot of sense,” Kiper continues. “He’s not going to be a traditional hulking 4-3 defensive end, but he gets after quarterbacks in different ways. His 2019 breakout season (12.5 sacks) included a few “wow” moments from his relentlessness, and he’s going to get some comps to former Badger T.J. Watt. If he lands in Seattle, he’d play outside linebacker, but he’d get plenty of opportunities to get after quarterbacks.

“I thought about Oklahoma defensive tackle Neville Gallimore, who has had a good week at the Senior Bowl as a Reed replacement, but I’ll stick with Baun.”

With a significant increase in the salary cap this upcoming season, it’s foreseeable the Seahawks could renew a contract or two as opposed to losing so many players to free agency.

What Seattle manages to do come March will have a huge impact on the Seahawks’ draft board.

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6 Senior Bowl prospects the Jets should target in the draft

Temple’s Matt Hennessy and LSU’s Lloyd Cushenberry III are among prospects at the Senior Bowl that the Jets should priortize come April.

Senior Bowl week is upon us down in Mobile, Alabama, which means scouting efforts will be in full force for the Jets and the NFL’s 31 other teams.

This is Joe Douglas’ first opportunity to shine as Jets general manager. He has his work cut out for him, whether it’s scouting the impressive offensive line class or finding new weapons for Sam Darnold.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at six players the Jets should have their eyes on at the Senior Bowl, which takes place Saturday.

C Matt Hennessy – Temple

Matt Hennessy, the brother of Jets long snapper Thomas Hennessy, would love to return home and be teammates with his brother for the first time on a football field.

Hennessy is quickly becoming a hot name in a rather weak center class. Washington’s Nick Harris has consistently struggled in one-on-one drills, while Hennessy has stood out. He has arguably been the best offensive lineman in Mobile thus far, consistently stonewalling opposing defensive linemen, as he did in college.

The Jets have struggled to find a mainstay to bark out signals on the offensive line. The team has gone through five centers in the past three seasons and have failed to replace the stability and production that Nick Mangold brought to the position for over a decade.

What stands out with Hennessy is his football intelligence and his pass blocking skills. At Temple, Hennessy was one of the most consistent pass blockers in the nation, not allowing a sack in 828 snaps. He allowed four total pressures during his junior campaign, per Pro Football Focus. He graded out as PFF’s top-ranked center in the FBS this season (86.9).

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Wisconsin Football Season Review: Outside Linebackers

How well did Wisconsin’s outside linebackers play during the 2019 season?

In this Badgers Wire feature we will examine the play of Wisconsin’s outside linebacker from the 2019 season and take a sneak into what the 2020 season may have in store for the position:

Zack Baun was simply terrific for Wisconsin’s defense in 2019. If the Badgers were going to be improved as a defense the Badgers were going to need Baun to deliver.

Baun certainly did and then some as he finished his season leading the team in both tackles for loss (19.5), sacks (12.5), and quarterback hurries (10) as his 76 tackles ranked third on the team.

With Baun having such a strong season he was able to earn First team All-Big Ten and earned All-American honors as well.

Most importantly with Baun being dominant at times the Badgers were going to need someone opposite of him at the other outside linebacker position to take some pressure off of him.

Initially, that responsibility appeared that it was going to go to redshirt sophomore Izayah Green-May as he won the other starting outside linebacker position out of fall camp. However, Green-May suffered an injury early on in the season causing him to miss the game against Central Michigan.

With Green-May out with a right arm, injury opened the door for Noah Burks. Burks took his starting opportunity and ran with it as he finished out the season as the starter along with Baun.

Burks finished the year with 36 tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks, three pass breakups, and one interception, which he returned for a touchdown.

Green-May only ended up playing in 10 games finishing the season with five tackles and a sack. Wisconsin also relied on at times at the outside linebacker position in Christian Bell and Tyler Johnson the two combined for 11 tackles and each had a sack.

With Baun consistently getting in opponents, backfields was one of the reasons why the Badgers were able to average 3.3 sacks over conference play, which ranked second. Creating that pressure on the outside also led to forcing quarterbacks to hurry up their decision making process in the pocket. As Big Ten quarterbacks completed an average of 50.3 percent (145-for-288 of their passes as that percentage was the second-lowest over Big Ten play.

Losing Baun to graduation hurts but Burks was able to make some nice strides between his redshirt sophomore season and redshirt junior season. Burks will need to continue to develop and take that next step in order to continue to find ways of getting in opponents backfields. Although it wasn’t the season Green-May was anticipating after he won the starting outside linebacker job out of fall camp he’ll need to continue to add weight and strength in order to hold up over Big Ten play. The Badgers will also need to see the continued development out of redshirt sophomore Jaylan Franklin and redshirt freshman Spencer Lytle as both will be counted on to take on a bigger role in Wisconsin’s defense. True freshman Nick Herbig enrolled early at Wisconsin, which will allow for outside linebackers coach Bobby April the chance to start working with one of Wisconsin’s prized recruits on the defensive side of the football.