With the NFL Draft about a week away, here are some defensive ends to take a look at:
· Cornellius " Tank" Carradine Florida State
Suffered a torn ACL in the game against Florida and if not that, would have most likely been a no doubt first round selection….is an explosive up the field player…has a burst to the outside…didn't show awareness for the trap block against Clemson…does a nice job as a wrap up tackler…plays well in space…plays his technique and responsibility…can get low and get around the corner to rush…did a nice job of playing the read option against Clemson…can make plays from the backside…chases the ball well…can work his hands inside when controlling the blocker…does a nice job of controlling the tight end to his side…will slide down the line…good rip move on the rush…fights the down block…has dropped in coverage….has nice lateral quickness…can change direction…can extend on the blocker…has a burst to the corner…finds the ball…can rush inside or out…will squeeze the hole from the outside…not fooled on read option…can retrace his steps…has played both right and left defensive end…
· Margus Hunt SMU
Older player that will be 26 years old when training camp opens….is a stiff moving player that will try and play his technique….good arm over move with some quickness…plays as the left defensive end…will get up the field…likes to try and bull rush but this is a struggle for him despite the fact that he has really good strength numbers…best rush is when he can work inside…shows more quickness this way…did a decent job of stacking the line against the run but there are times where he gets too high and gets washed out of the play…but will hold the point for the most part…much better upper body strength when on the move…is trouble when he rushes against running backs or is left unblocked like he was against Fresno State…had a hard time of breaking down Matthews of Texas A&M…really struggles when he rushes down the middle of the blocker…nice job of slapping hands down against Fresno State…played some nickel tackle in this game…hard up field rush from there…can run around slow footed tackles like he did in Fresno….would draft him in the first round off this game but wouldn't if you studied Texas A&M….is a defensive end only…watched Rex Ryan of the Jets work him out as an outside linebacker and there is no chance there….plays with outstanding effort and desire but his age and the stiffness to rush the quarterback would bother me….has rare height and speed for the position but against good tackles during the season and at the Senior Bowl, he really struggled and that bothered me a lot….
· Stansly Maponga TCU
Plays with initial quickness and a big time burst….will slide down inside to make plays…can really get around the corner and rush the passer…is the type of player that keeps coming at you…effort and motor…strong enough to control the blocker with one hand…can break tackle down with his rush…long arms and uses them well…plays with balance…will chase and close…can power back to the inside to rush…hard guy to stop when on the move…nice rip move to separate from blocker…will use a spin move as well…strong with his hands…has dropped in coverage some but need to keep him rushing the passer…beat tackle and running back for a sack against Kansas State….plays off the block with his hands…did get a little high and upright and allowed blocker to take him out of the play…took on the trap block…plays with upper body strength to get push with his hands…plays the low block well…had a play against Texas where he ran Goodwin down from behind in the open field…takes on a ton of double teams…
· Malliciah Goodman Clemson
Plays both defensive end spots…is a little late off the ball…will redirect and chase the ball…can get up the field and be disruptive…works quickly to the ball…plays his assignments…needs to turn the corner a little better and sharper…will try and use technique to free himself…swat move is his best one…good effort…needs to play the low block a little better with his hands…had some trouble in the Florida State game when he was asked to disengage from the reach block…will get push on the bull rush…will quickly jump inside to beat the blocker…does a better job of working inside than out…can stay square against the run…missed a tackler in the hole against South Carolina when he beat the block clean…can extend his hands…aware against the boot and [embedded_ad]
waggle…good job on the twist game…able to penetrate inside and beat the tackle for a sack in the LSU game…had another sack where his effort was relentless and he was able to bring the quarterback down in the same game…got pressure on the inside charge….would be a fit as the strong side defensive end because of his ability to play at the point but could kick inside and get push on the nickel from the tackle spot…
