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SEC Debate: Who is the SEC’s top NFL defensive line prospect?
By Ethan Levine
Published:
The NFL Draft is now just two weeks away, and as usual former SEC stars are stacked at the top of most draft boards.
We’re just one year removed from a former SEC defensive lineman — South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney — going No. 1 overall in the 2014 draft, and there are a handful of SEC defensive ends projected to be taken in the first round this time around.
In honor of Defensive Line Week at SDS, we asked our SDS staff to project the success of current SEC defensive linemen at the NFL level.
WHO IS THE SEC’S TOP NFL DEFENSIVE LINE PROSPECT?
Players in the current draft class — like Dante Fowler, Shane Ray and Bud Dupree — were eligible for this debate.
Brad Crawford (@BCrawfordSDS): Derek Barnett, Tennessee (draft-eligible in 2017)
For sake of not answering ‘Georgia’s Lorenzo Carter’ to every offseason SEC debate involving defense and future production, I think Tennessee’s Derek Barnett will have a bright future at the next level. He moves well for a guy with such a wide frame at strong-side defensive end and has a nose for the football — the utmost important quality for a pass rusher and backfield monster in my opinion. Routinely, Barnett blew up plays off the snap as a true freshman in Knoxville, a scary sign for the upcoming season with a year of extensive technique and further development under his belt.
Christopher Smith (@csmithSDS): Myles Garrett, Texas A&M (draft-eligible in 2017)
Dante Fowler, Robert Nkemdiche and A’Shawn Robinson were strong considerations for me, as well as a handful of other players. We’ll have to see what happens with Garrett, but I don’t know that he’ll even be a defensive lineman in the NFL, unless he can add significant — and I mean significant — weight in the next two years. But as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense? Garrett has a chance to be a Von Miller type of player who gets double-digit sacks every year at the NFL level. His speed and athleticism should allow him to drop into coverage as well. He needs to improve his run defense, but that will be less of a negative if he’s a linebacker rather than an end.
Ethan Levine (@ELevineSDS): Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss (draft-eligible in 2016)
Between the players entering the draft this year and the players still starring in the SEC, I can think of about 15 guys I expect to enjoy lengthy careers in the NFL. However, if asked to name one guy above the rest, I can’t ignore Nkemdiche. He’s the former top high school player in the nation, has since been moved from defensive end to defensive tackle, and has served as one of the most dominant forces in all of college football since his career began in 2013. He’s 6-foot-4 and 280 pounds of pure power, and he’s built to fill the role of an every-down defensive lineman at the next level in either a 4-3 or a 3-4 scheme. He can occupy multiple blockers, he can get after the passer in the backfield and he can stuff the run at the line of scrimmage. His numbers at Ole Miss don’t show it, but he’s as complete a player at the defensive tackle position as anyone coming out of the SEC. With some help alongside him in an NFL front seven, it’s hard to imagine him failing in the pros.
Brett Weisband (@WeisbandSDS): Garrett
I’ve been pretty clear since last fall that Garrett has a ways to go until he’s a consistent, every-down terror on the defensive line. But given that he smashed Jadeveon Clowney’s sack record as a true freshman with sometimes-iffy technique and needing to pack on a good amount of weight is what makes his ceiling sky high. He’s one of the best all-around athletes at any position in the SEC, and he has physical tools that can’t be taught. I’m very excited to see what John Chavis can coax out of him, and as he gets more consistent, the rest of the conference should be shaking in fear.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
