17. Yetur Gross-Matos, EDGE, Penn State
NFL teams looking for a versatile pass rusher who can move inside and disrupt as he can outside might want to consider Gross-Matos in the second half of the first round, or certainly in the second round. Last season, he lined up 98 times inside the tackles and 462 times outside. He racked up a career-high nine sacks, five quarterback hits and 22 quarterback hurries. Gross-Matos will have a bit of technique work to do at the next level, but he also has the potential to bring a lot of power as a strong-side edge defender and movable chess piece.
18. Kenneth Murray Jr., LB, Oklahoma
Murray is an intriguing player in that he brings equivalent elements of the old-school inside linebacker with his ability to play the run at 6 feet 2 and 241 pounds, and the ability to break off and cover screens and short passes as a curl/flat defender. He can also wreck pass protection with explosive gap blitzes. Last season, Murray lined up 663 times in the box, 120 times on the defensive line and 39 times in the slot.
19. Jaylon Johnson, CB, Utah
Few cornerbacks in this class are as battle-tested as Johnson, who has amassed a total of 1,256 coverage snaps over the last three seasons. He’s played a relatively equal amount of man and zone coverage, and he’s never allowed more than two touchdowns in a season, or an opponent passer rating higher than 57.6. He also has enough experience in the slot to make him an immediately valuable and versatile addition to any NFL team. Johnson’s name gets a bit lost in a loaded cornerback class, and because he doesn’t play at a bigger-name school, but his refinement and talent are undeniable.
20. Ross Blacklock, DT, TCU
At 6-3 and 290 pounds, Blacklock has the body type that creative defensive coordinators will love to move all over the line. His tape shows explosiveness that could have him excelling at big end, but where he really loves to eat is at the three-tech position, where he can pin his ears back and head after the quarterback. In 2019, he put up nine tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 20 run stops, three quarterback hits and 24 quarterback hurries. That he did this all with no real pass-rush moves to speak of says a lot about his potential when he gets the nuances together.
21. A.J. Terrell, CB, Clemson
Terrell will be bothered by recency bias as few other 2020 draft prospects will, as the last memory of his on-field performance came in the national championship against LSU, when he allowed five catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns. However, people should not sleep on the rest of Terrell’s 2019 — take out that disaster against Joe Burrow and his targets, and Terrell allowed just 18 catches for 249 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the rest of the season. He’s an aggressive outside cornerback who wins in press coverage, and while he can be exploited when he’s playing off his receiver, there’s a lot to work with here.
22. Terrell Lewis, EDGE, Alabama
Before Lewis headed to Mobile, Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy made a point of singling out Lewis’ talent, saying that the Alabama alum “has really, really heavy hands. When he gets into you, he gets into you. He’s so explosive out of his stance, he can beat you with speed.” The only real question with Lewis is his durability — he missed 10 games in 2017 with an arm injury and was out the entire 2018 campaign with a torn right ACL. But he came back strong in 2019 with six sacks, seven quarterback hits and 35 quarterback hurries. As Nagy said, Lewis has the speed to beat tackles off the edge, the power to move inside and disrupt, and the quickness to exploit open gaps on twists and stunts. He has top-three potential at the edge position if health isn’t an issue.
23. Kristian Fulton, CB, LSU
Fulton sat out the entire 2017 season after it was discovered that he had tampered with a drug test, but he returned well in 2018 and 2019, allowing a total of 48 receptions on 111 targets for 675 yards. The five touchdowns he allowed to just two interceptions in that time is a bit of a concern, but Fulton has held up well against some of the best receivers in the last two draft classes. A natural press cornerback who needs work with the off-coverage aspects of his game, Fulton could develop into a No. 1 NFL cornerback over time.
24. Ashtyn Davis, S, Cal
Davis didn’t receive a single collegiate offer to play football, decided to run track at Cal and made the football team with an opportunity that presented itself when he traded emails with the school’s football athletic director. From there, he used his track speed and agility to become an excellent deep-third defender, as well as the slot, the box, and occasionally the defensive line. At 6-1 and 202 pounds, Davis thinks like a safety and hits like a linebacker, and any NFL defensive coordinator who likes to move his defensive backs around should be looking hard at Davis’ tape.
25. Jordan Elliott, DT, Missouri
Elliott has just 5.5 sacks in his college career, but his 16.5 tackles for loss and 47 hits and hurries over the last two seasons show a player with a severe upside as an interior defender. At 6-4 and 302 pounds, Elliott brings it everywhere from head over the center to either side of the offensive tackle with an interesting blend of forward momentum, quickness to blast through blockers, and a relatively advanced sense of pass-rushing moves.
Honorable mention:
Jeremy Chinn, S, South Illinois
Curtis Weaver, EDGE, Boise State
Julian Okwara, EDGE, Notre Dame
Marlon Davidson, EDGE, Auburn
Kyle Dugger, S, Lenoir-Rhyne