Looking at The NFL Draft

Some of my list of players to watch?

1 - Denzel Ward, Ohio State - 5'10 & 190 lbs, position CB

2 - Troy Apke, Penn State - 6'2" & 198 lbs, position S 

3 - Saquon Barkley, Penn State - 6' & 233 lbs, position RB

4 - Harrison Phillips, Stanford - 6'4" & 307 lbs, position OL  

5 - Vita Via, Washington - 6'4 & 347 lbs, position DL 

6 - Kylie Fitts, Utah - 6'4" & 263 lbs, position DE or OLB

7 - Mile Gesicki, Penn State - 6'5" & 247 lbs, position TE

8 - DJ Clark, LSU - 6'3" & 199 lbs, position WR  

9 - Oren Burks, Vandy - 6'3" - 233 lbs, position LB

How about a few more!

Roquan Smith - OLB - Georgia - 6'1 - 225

Here are some highlights from the NFL website:

STRENGTHS
 Former high school wideout with elite athletic ability. Speed demon who walks down backs looking to race him to the corner. Fluid and explosive in space. Block-slipper. Praised by his head coach as being a "tremendous leader" who holds himself accountable. Has instincts and football intelligence. Laser-sharp focus to finds the football when sifting through zone reads and jet sweeps. Plays with discipline. Senses when running backs are prepping for screen and fires downhill to stop it. Face-up tackler who sticks his nose in noise. Rare stop-start and change of direction talent. Flips pursuit from one target to the next seamlessly. Gets early bail into coverage against play-fake. Able to mirror and match against the most athletic running backs in coverage. Gets early jumps to join crossing routes and has the speed to carry them across the field. Searches out and squeezes receivers when playing zone.

WEAKNESSES

 Is a little undersized. Has to stay one step ahead of the blocking scheme or he can be engulfed by size. Will need to diagnose and trigger just a hair faster on the next level. Occasionally comes in hot rather than breaking down in space as a tackler. Will need more schooling on hand work when taking on blocks. Needs to do a better job of recognizing oncoming blocker in his periphery. Gets touched up by second level traffic and needs to continue to improve finding more efficient routes to the ball.

My Highlights: - Speed!  Leadership!  Able to match running backs!  Issues? - Undersized?

Arden Key - EDGE - LSU - 6'6 - 231

Here are some highlights from the NFL website:

STRENGTHS

 Long-limbed with plus flexibility throughout upper and lower body. Uses long levers to find his way to the other side of a blocker's edge. Good job of timing up snap for a head start. Plays slippery and is hard to keep centered. Disappears from blockers with upper body turns. Unorthodox movement confounds blockers. Earlier in career, would set up tackles with inside jab step that forced them into unbalanced position and allowed him access to the edge. Shows ability as a two-way rusher both inside or outside. Able to lean in and around the edge at top of the rush. Could be scary if he learns to use length consistently. Surprisingly effective change of direction. Has range to rope in running backs who try to scurry around him towards the corner.

WEAKNESSES

 Evaluators are worried about his personal discipline. Left team for four months in spring of 2017 for "personal reasons" and had shoulder surgery during that time. Saw weight balloon up to 270 pounds. Segmented mover and lacks fluidity. Liability in run game. Struggles to dominate tight ends at point of attack. Slow to shed. Tightness in hips as an upfield strider. Lacked juice even after losing 20 pounds during the season. Upfield rush plan was predictable and sluggish in 2017. Shows lead hand early allowing tackles to slap it away before landing. Two-hand swipe ineffective at greasing edge. Telegraphs spin move. Plays with wasted motion on the edge. Uninspired when dropping into coverage. Plays upright and is lackadaisical in zone.

My Highlights: - Size & Long-limbed!  Could be scary!  Issues - Lazy?

Harold Landry - EDGE - Boston College - 6'3 - 250

Here are some highlights from the NFL website:

Lacks height, but arm length makes up for it. Fluid athlete with good twitch. Flies out of the gates with no false steps. Long-strider who takes early leads on races to the edge. Uses loose hips and upper body turn to create an angular, leaning target that is hard to punch squarely. Limbo-stick edge-bender. Has flexibility to drop way under a tackle's hands and can corner with a tight turn and plus burst to the quarterback. Expected to show out at the Combine. Willing to attack the throwing arm and not just the quarterback. Creates strip sacks and batted balls with his long, active arms. Uses athletic ability to ramp up a secondary rush and scoop up scrambling quarterbacks. Rangy with plus pursuit speed against the run. Has experience standing and dropping into space. Plays with good change of direction and quick lateral movement to track down bootlegs.

WEAKNESSES

 Burst-oriented rusher in need of a more diverse rush approach. Still learning to string moves together. Primary rush counter is a basic, inside move. Hasn't learned to tie edge burst with hand work to help soften the edge. Long tackles can be a deterrent. Upper body strength is below average. Hasn't shown consistent ability to convert his edge speed into power. Rides on blocks for too long. Lacking consistent grit at point of attack. Would rather chase and tackle than have running play come downhill at him. Can get to tackles but needs to do a better job of wrapping and finishing. Landry's effort level this year didn't seem to match his 2016 tape even before he suffered an ankle injury.

My Highlights: - Speed & good athlete!  Could be scary!  Issues - Needs strength!

As you can see in my mind defense & pressuring QB is critical!!!