2022 NFL Draft Ultimate Preview: Outside Linebackers
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – With Preston Smith and Rashan Gary, the Green Bay Packers have one of the top pair of outside linebackers in the NFL. What they don’t have is depth. An incredibly deep group of outside linebacker candidates awaits in the 2022 NFL Draft.
State of the Packers
Gary, the hotly debated first-round pick in 2019, has blossomed into a star. He led the team with 9.5 sacks and 28 quarterback hits, the latter figure almost doubling Preston Smith’s second-ranked 15. Of the 80 edge defenders with at least 214 rushes, Gary ranked third in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap. He ranked second in the NFL in pressures (81).
After a dismal 2020 season in which he collected only four sacks, Smith returned on an incentives-laden restructure and had a superb season with nine sacks and two forced fumbles. He was excellent in every way. He tied for 15th in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity and tied for ninth with a career-high 62 pressures.
If they could play every snap, the Packers would be set.
Ranking the Draft Need
Out of 11 position groups, outside linebacker ranks as the third-biggest need. With Za’Darius Smith in Minnesota and Whitney Mercilus in retirement, the Packers simply have to do better than Jonathan Garvin and Tipa Galeai as the primary backups. Garvin, Galeai, LaDarius Hamilton (also back with the team) and Chauncey Rivers (not with the team) combined to play 665 snaps. That’s only 16 fewer than Gary. They combined for 34 pressures – 47 fewer than Gary.
Perhaps You Can Forget These Prospects
Based on Green Bay’s draft history, the likes of South Carolina’s Kingsley Enagbare (4.87) and Ohio State’s Tyreke Smith (4.86) might not be a consideration in a class that’s otherwise filled with high-level athletes. Texas A&M’s Micheal Clemons and Alabama’s Christopher Allen weren’t listed because of their injury histories.
Ranking the Edge Defenders
There aren’t many certainties in the draft but it’s a sure thing that Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson, Georgia’s Travon Walker and Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux will be long, long gone before Green Bay is on the clock. So, fast-forwarding ahead …
Jermaine Johnson, Florida State
Measureables: 6-4 5/8, 254. 34 arms. 4.58 40, DNP shuttle, 21 bench.
Analytical stats: It’s not just the splash plays, though he’s got those with 12 sacks, 18 tackles for losses and two forced fumbles. The ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year led all FBS linemen with 70 tackles. According to Pro Football Focus, 112 edge defenders in this draft class rushed the quarterback at least 275 times. Johnson ranked 45th in its pass-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap.
Who’s tough to block? Players who draw a lot of holding penalties. Johnson drew nine – three more than anyone else in the draft class, according to Sports Info Solutions. SIS has a run-stop metric called adjusted tackle depth plus, which compares actual tackle depth to the expected tackle depth based on personnel, intended run gap, and the defender’s pre-snap alignment. Of 32 edge defenders in its draft guide, Johnson ranked 24th (but only slightly below the average). Runs to his gap were bounced elsewhere 21 percent of the time, which ranked seventh.
Personal touch: The third time was the charm for Johnson. Because of bad grades in high school, he started his career at Independence Community College. In 2019, he landed at Georgia. After two years with the Bulldogs, it was off to Florida State. Finally, he found stardom.
“I didn’t really know what a big-time college was like,” he said at the Combine. “I was at Independence Community College for 18 months. Then, boom, I pop on the scene at Georgia. That was like the biggest flip you could make. That was pretty crazy. Then things kind of didn’t go as I hoped at Georgia in terms of snap count, rhythm, stuff like that. Then I ended up going to Florida State, so that’s a second transfer. Like I said, it’s a bad stigma to go from the SEC to another conference. I knew what the stigma was. I knew what the perception was. So, I control what I can control.”
Stigma? Maybe. But Johnson bet on himself and won. “Last year at Georgia, being a spot player, he was more what scouts refer to as a flash guy,” Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy told The Associated Press. “He made plays in flashes and then he’d be off the field. Now he’s in a more prominent role. He’ll be playing a lot more snaps. It was good for him, having that first game against Notre Dame, on a nationally televised big stage, having all the eyes of America on him, and really showed up early in that game, being disruptive, making plays behind the line of scrimmage.”
Independence was featured on Season 3 of Netflix’s “Last Chance U.” The population of Independence, Kan., is about 8,700. There wasn’t much to do besides play video games and dream about getting to the NFL. “I wouldn’t be the man or player I am today without that journey,” he said at the Combine.
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Johnson is an athletic playmaker on the defensive line with a muscular build and long arms giving him a physical advantage. Johnson excels versus the run, playing from 4, 3 and 2 point stances from both the strong and weak side. He has tremendous play strength due to his build and technique - regularly playing with low pad level and gaining inside hand placement to create a pop at the point of attack and then stack his block. Johnson’s raw physicality and power overwhelms tight ends and some tackles and he is a terror to block throughout the full play.
George Karlaftis, Purdue
Measureables: 6-3 3/4, 266. 32 5/8 arms, 4.77 40, 4.34 shuttle, 21 bench
Analytical stats: Karlaftis had two big seasons. He was a Freshman All-American in 2019 with 7.5 sacks and 17 TFLs. In 2021, he was a second-team All-American with five sacks, 11.5 TFLs and three forced fumbles. In PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, Karlaftis ranked 13th out of 112. According to SIS, he ranked seventh out of 32 in ATD-plus and second in bounce rate. He drew two holding penalties. He missed a total of six tackles the last two years.
Personal touch: Karlaftis was born in Athens, where he played practically every sport under the sun. Football, though?
"[Football] was perceived as very dangerous, barbaric," he told ESPN. "A little bit of fear tactics for us not to play." When his father died at age 44, the family moved from Greece to West Lafayette, Ind. – his mom’s hometown. To help with the life-changing chain of events, he joined his classmates on the football field. "To think back on how things have gone, it's c'est la vie, right? That's life," Karlaftis said. "It's been a lot, everything that's happened, from the time I was 12, 13 years old to now, certainly massive changes in my life and a lot of other people's lives. I had to grow up almost overnight and become a man."
Before he was a football star, he was a budding star in water polo. “I played water polo for a long time – five, six years,” he said at the Combine. “Growing up, that’s what I did. That’s what I was committed to. The U16 National Team in Greece as a 13-year-old, something I’m really, really proud of, and I was damn good at it, too. I was a goalie. So, my training was a little different than everyone else’s. I was 10, 11, 12 years old, I had to hold a chair with my shoulders out of the water, my chest out of the water for 10 minutes in a row. That’s what I attribute my strong legs, too.”
His younger brother, Yanni, plays for Purdue. In Greece, he was a judo champion. “Growing up, we would always find ways to fight,” Yanni told The Purdue Exponent. “Our dad would say, ‘I have to break you guys up, or one of you is going to kill the other.’”
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Karlaftis has consistently won since reaching the college level, in part, because of his active and precise hands. He initiates contact with NFL length, flashing dominance when he wins leverage. What’s more, he frequently strings moves together. In general, the Purdue standout is a very dangerous power rusher. Karlaftis properly identifies and attacks an offensive tackle’s soft inside shoulder. He has heavy hands to put linemen on their heels and excellent speed to power to flatten to the passer through engagement.
Logan Hall, Houston
Measureables: 6-6 1/8, 283. 32 3/4 arms. 4.88 40, 4.44 shuttle, 25 bench.
Analytical stats: Is he an edge defender? An interior defender? Whatever. As a senior, he posted 6.5 sacks and 13.5 TFLs. In PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, he ranked 57th out of 112 while rushing from the interior and edge. According to SIS, he ranked 21st out of 32 in ATD-plus and third in bounce rate (by moving his numbers from interior to edge). He drew two holding penalties.
Personal touch: The son of military parents, Hall moved from Oklahoma to Belton, Texas, after his freshman year of high school. “As soon as he walked in, I said, ‘These are the types of move-ins I like to see,’” Sam Skidmore, then the offensive coordinator at Belton High School, told The Houston Chronicle.
He played up and down the line of scrimmage. “(Hall’s) unique in the fact that he can play every position on the defensive line,” defensive coordinator Doug Belk told The Daily Cougar. “That’s very unusual for a guy with his length and size to be able to play every position on the D-line and be effective. He’s very disruptive. He can become a matchup issue inside and then he has speed and power on the outside.”
He is a man of few words, the coaches at Houston said, but lets his play do the talking. “I always wanted to be the hammer and not the nail,” he told The Draft Network. “You want to initiate the contact and really strike your opponent. Maintaining and creating gap leverage, knocking back your opponent, all of these things go into being a high-level run stopper. I can’t say that enough. You have to fight for what’s yours in the trenches. If you’re knocking your opponent back, you’re going to set the edge. It comes with the territory. Coming out with that mentality helped me a bunch.”
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Hall a solid first step and wins with lateral agility into and off of hand moves to beat offensive linemen with poor feet. That said, Hall’s best trait is his impressive effort. He has extremely active hands, often stringing moves together. He uses his above-average length to, at times, initiate contact. When he times them well, Hall’s hand moves are effective. His best attack is a well-timed swim that capitalizes on an opponent’s poor weight distribution. He also has a decent counter spin.
Boye Mafe, Minnesota
Measureables: 6-3 3/4, 261. 32 5/8 arms. 4.53 40, 4.46 shuttle, 21 bench (and 41.5 vertical).
Analytical stats: Mafe broke out during the COVID-abbreviated 2020 season with his 4.5 sacks, 5.5 TFLs and two forced fumbles in only six games. In 2021, he played in 13 games with nine starts and tallied seven sacks, 10 TFLs and one forced fumble. In PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, he would have ranked fifth had he reach out snap threshold. According to SIS, he ranked 28th out of 32 in ATD-plus and 28th in bounce rate. He drew one holding penalty. His missed-tackle rate was just 5 percent.
Personal touch: Mafe’s father came to the United States rom Nigeria in the 1970s. A few years later, his wife came to America. So, when Mafe was 13, he moved to Nigeria for a year at a boarding school. “[The trip] was something that was new to me,” he told Gophers Guru. “Being in a country by myself without my family there, without my brothers and sisters, and to be on my own for the first time at a young age, it scared me a lot It was something that really changed my life.”
He continued: “I’ve learned a lot about the culture and the way my parents raised me and why they raised me that way. It makes a lot of sense to me now after going through that. It showed me a lot of eye-opening events and things that I didn’t understand before.”
His mom died of cancer in 2018 before he played in his first collegiate game. Before each game, he pays tribute to her. As detailed in the Pioneer Press:
Wherever he finds it, Mafe will use American Sign Language to express, “I love you” and “mom,” and the Hopkins native will share another message to Bola, who passed away from pancreatic cancer on Mother’s Day 2018.
I know you are watching over me.
I know I’m going to go out there and perform for you.
I miss you every day.
I think about you every day.
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Mafe equips a fairly long frame that is coveted by decision-makers at the next level. He has great lateral movement from the edge to drift inside or outside from his starting alignment. Hands are extremely active and intense from the snap of the ball to the whistle. He gives opposing linemen a tough test every play when his hands get free range to work. Overall solid athlete and even showed the ability to be competent in coverage dropping into the flats. Mafe shows initial quickness, burst and good timing of the snap right off the line of scrimmage. He wins with motor and effort.
Drake Jackson, USC
Measureables: 6-2 5/8, 254, 34 arms. DNP 40, 4.28 shuttle, DNP bench.
Analytical stats: Jackson was second-team all-Pac-12 all three seasons. In 11 games (nine starts) in 2021, he recorded five sacks, eight TFLs, one forced fumble and one interception. He had 12.5 sacks in 28 career games. Had he met our playing-time threshold, he would have finished 10th out of 112 in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity. According to SIS, he ranked seventh out of 32 in ATD-plus and but only 29th in bounce rate. He drew only one holding penalty. His missed-tackle rate was just 5 percent.
Personal touch: Jackson’s road to USC was clear from birth. Really. Check out this story from Spectrum News:
Dennis Jackson is always dressed in cardinal and gold from head to toe during game week. It's the two colors he's been pretty passionate about for decades.
He has believed in his son's USC journey pretty much from birth.
"When we had the baby, they asked me, 'What's the baby's name?'" Dennis said. "I told them I wanted it to be Drake Jackson from the University of Southern California, starting linebacker coming in at 260."
"The lady goes, 'That's kind of long, can we shorten it?' So, I said, 'OK, Drake Jackson,'" he recalled.
His grandmother, Cynthia Cavitt, provided the inspiration. “She’s the one who taught all of us how to work, how to be down and dirty, how to hustle,” Jackson told The Los Angeles Times. Added Dennis Jackson: “Drake was her little celebrity.”
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: The talented pass rusher boasts special lateral agility and change of direction ability. The Trojan star is difficult to touch when he employs head fakes, jab steps and body language to force an offensive lineman into false steps. What’s more, Jackson has fluid hips and powerful bend to work through half-man engagement. Moreover, the California native has impressive power and leg drive. Jackson enhances his well-rounded skill set with long arms and an advanced understanding of leverage.
Arnold Ebiketie, Penn State
Measureables: 6-2 3/8, 250. 34 1/8 arms. 4.65 40, 4.24 shuttle, 21 bench
Analytical stats: Including his redshirt season, Ebiketie spent four years at Temple and recorded six sacks and 10.5 TFLs. Having earned his degree, he transferred to Penn State and was a second-team All-American in 2021 with 9.5 sacks, 17 TFLs, two forced fumbles and two blocked field goals. In PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, he ranked out of 112. According to SIS, he ranked 27th out of 32 in ATD-plus and 15th in bounce rate. He drew one holding penalty. His missed-tackle rate of 4 percent trailed only Oregon’s Thibodeaux, according to SIS.
Personal touch: “I’m originally from Cameroon. That’s where my family is from,” he said at the Combine. “I moved to the United States when I was around 12 or 13 years old. Soccer was my first love. I always played sports. I transitioned into football my sophomore year of high school. I think my passion for the game came from the fact that I love competing. Every time I go out there, I like to give my best and the lessons that the game teaches you are enough to feel good or bad. You learn something out of it. That’s where it came from for me, just going out there competing and the process that comes with it.”
It was his father who encouraged him to try football. Why did he start at Temple, even though he had 21.5 sacks as a junior and 25.5 as a senior? “I think given the fact that I went to a small, small high school and my weight – I was around 200 pounds then – is one of the reasons why some of the schools looked past me. Looking back, I’m glad I went through the path that I did. I learned a lot along the way. I’m here now. That’s all that matters.”
He was second-team all-conference during his final season at Temple with four sacks and 8.5 TFLs in just six games. Seeking a bigger challenge, he decided to transfer for his final season. "A part of me didn't want to come back and kind of get complacent because you have the accolades now," he told The York Dispatch. "You want to be the best on the team and I was trying to find a way, how do I remain competitive? How do I find a new challenge for myself? I felt like in order for me to reach that goal, the best thing to do was to enter the transfer portal and go to a team that would give me the opportunity to compete at a high level week in and week out."
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Ebiketie lines up in a plethora of ways at the line of scrimmage including in a stand-up two-point stance, three-point stance and four-point stance. He is really quick out of the blocks, no matter what his starting stance is. Arms look to be long for his frame, good indicator of being able to maintain leverage on the edge. Uses his explosiveness well to convert speed to power when rushing the passer.
David Ojabo, Michigan
Measureables: 6-4, 250. 33 1/2 arms. 4.55 40, 4.45 shuttle, DNP bench (Achilles).
Analytical stats: A one-year wonder if there ever was one. He redshirted in 2019, had one tackle in 2020 and 11 sacks, 12 TFLs and five forced fumbles in 2021. In PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, he ranked 11th out of 112. According to SIS, he ranked 17th out of 32 in ATD-plus and 19th in bounce rate. He drew one holding penalty.
Personal touch: Who is David Ojabo? “I'm a Scottish guy, born in Nigeria and just trying to learn, learn this new sport and just be the best at it, honestly,” he said at the Scouting Combine.
Ojabo was born in Nigeria, grew up in Scotland and moved to the United States in hopes of taking “the next step” as an athlete. At Blair Academy, a private school in New Jersey, a fellow student persuaded him to try football. That student was Odafe Oweh, who wound up starring at Penn State and was a first-round draft pick last year.
Ojabo made quite an introduction. On the day he met Blair’s football coach, he announced, “My name’s David Ojabo,” Saylor recalled him saying in a story for The New York Post. “I’m tougher, stronger, more athletic than Jayson Oweh. Do you mind if I try playing football? … Not too often a 6-foot-5, 230-pound kid comes walking [in] your door. Figured he could do something to help us out.”
He did, but not right away. "I won't lie, when I first started in high school I was getting smacked around by little dudes," Ojabo said at the Combine. "That didn't sit right with me. The toughest thing was the contact aspect. Coming from basketball, if you bump someone it's a foul. Soccer, if you bump someone too hard, it's a foul. Football, if you're not bumping someone, you're not playing.”
On March 19, at Michigan’s pro day, Ojabo suffered a ruptured Achilles, an injury that throws his rookie season into peril.
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Explosive two-point stance rusher with very good length. Ojabo possesses a great get-off and burst to consistently threaten and win the outside shoulder of tackles from wide alignments. His speed causes tackles to be off-balance, allowing him to extend and knock them off balance at the top of the rush. Ojabo transitions his bull rush to an outside rip also preceded by a push-pull. His lateral agility and explosiveness make him tough to block on an island as he beats quick sets with an inside spin.
Nik Bonitto, Oklahoma
Measureables: 6-3, 248. 32 1/2 arms. 4.54 40, 4.23 shuttle, 22 bench.
Analytical stats: Bonitto had two banner seasons for the Sooners: eight sacks and 10.5 TFLs in 2020 and seven sacks, 15 TFLs and one forced fumble in 2021. Playing linebacker in 2019, he broke up six passes. He would have ranked third in the draft class (and first among Power-5 players) in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity had he met our snap threshold. According to SIS, he ranked second out of 32 in ATD-plus but only 22nd in bounce rate. His average tackle vs. the run was 0.5 yards downfield, tied for second in the draft class. He drew three holding penalties.
Personal touch: Bonitto played his high school ball at Florida powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas. His position coach was former Miami Dolphins great Jason Taylor.
Louisville and Kentucky offered him chances to play football and basketball. “It’s actually pretty convenient for me because they also want me to come play basketball there too, so that’s pretty big for me,” Bonitto told SB Nation at the time. “Not to say I’m looking for that, but they gave me the opportunity to do both, so it’s definitely a great opportunity.”
Bonitto became a face of the program. “His turnaround has just been fantastic,” OU coach Lincoln Riley said. “It’s a great story to see where he was, and I think it’s great for a lot of young athletes out there. They ought to read his story. Everybody thinks, ‘Well, I get highly recruited and I’m gonna roll into OU or any of these other places and I’m gonna be this (star) and it’s just gonna happen.’ And Nik was extremely highly recruited, came out of one of the best high schools in the country and was extremely successful coming in and then, man, it was rough. A lot of dudes would’ve quit. A lot of dudes would’ve transferred. A lot of guys would’ve went and done something else. He’s reaping the rewards right now.”
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: The Florida native is a fluid and quick mover with impressive transitions and change of direction ability. His explosive first step helps him in his pass rush and enables him to penetrate. Bonitto overpowers skill position blockers and can work through linemen if he forces them off-balance. When rushing the passer, Bonitto’s feel for leverage helps him manufacture power and length while reducing blockable surface area. The Oklahoma star sets up all of his rushes with body fakes and salesmanship.
Josh Paschal, Kentucky
Measureables: 6-2 5/8, 268. 32 3/4 arms. 4.77 40, DNP shuttle, DNP bench
Analytical stats: Paschal was a second-team All-American as a fifth-year senior with his 5.5 sacks and 15.5 TFLs. He finished his career with 37 TFLs in 52 games. In PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, he ranked 71st out of 112. SIS did not have any data but Paschal ranked No. 1 in PFF’s run-stop percentage, a metric that measures impact tackles and mirrors Green Bay’s win/loss system. His average tackle on running plays came 0.3 yards downfield, also No. 1.
Personal touch: Paschal was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma on the bottom of his foot in August 2018. He returned late in the season. The crowd roared when he made his first tackle.
“It caught me off guard a lot, but my family, especially my mother and my sister, they wrote up a lot of scriptures and put them on my wall,” Paschal told The Courier-Journal. “… Whenever I felt down about it, I just looked up to my wall and just get my power from God to just keep going through.”
He discussed his recovery at the Scouting Combine. “Being able to recover from that, it took a lot. There was a lot of wisdom in those trials. It made me appreciate this (sport and life) even more. I’m beyond thankful to be here."
He talked about his journey on the “Today” show. And speaking of TV, he did a fun commercial for a dentist.
Paschal’s older brother, TraVaughn, played linebacker at Kentucky in the early 2010s.
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Paschal’s film showed a player with a relentless motor. He never took plays off and was always near the quarterback or ball carrier, no matter where they were on the film. As a pass rusher, Paschal can win in a multitude of ways. He has fantastic get-off and combines that with a bull rush and swim move to get after the quarterback. In the run game, Paschal does a great job of setting the edge. He is able to win the leverage battle with ease and then shed offensive linemen before making a play in the backfield.
Myjai Sanders, Cincinnati
Measureables: 6-5 1/4, 247. 32 5/8 arms. 4.67 40, 4.37 shuttle, 20 bench.
Analytical stats: Sanders’ best season came in 2020, when he had seven sacks, 10.5 TFLs and five passes defensed. As a senior, he had 2.5 sacks, 6.5 TFLs and six passes defensed while playing out of position. In PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, he ranked 16th out of 112. According to SIS, he ranked fifth out of 32 in ATD-plus and first in bounce rate by a wide margin. He drew three holding penalties. His missed-tackle rate of 17 percent was one of the worst in the class.
Personal touch: Sanders’ Twitter bio is short and sweet. “Rest In Paradise Armaletha Wesley.” That’s the name of his sister, who died in a motorcycle accident in September 2016.
What happened to his production in 2021? While the sacks were down, he finished seventh in pressures, according to PFF. “I really felt like I was used like more of a decoy this year, if you ask me,” he said at the Scouting Combine. “Also, some of the sacks were on me. If I had finished all my sacks, I think I would have had maybe 12 sacks this season. I was pressing a lot this season thinking I was behind in sacks, but I really led the whole nation in pressures. The good thing about it is I really don't determine what fans are saying about going from seven and a half sacks to two and a half because at the end of the day, I know I can cause pressure. Sometimes, it did feel like I was out of position, but it was more for the team's sake. I sacrificed myself to make the team better.”
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Defensive end who is accustomed to rushing from a two and three-point stance. Sanders is a high effort player who possesses very good play recognition skills, allowing him to play fast. He is able to extend and lockout in the run game and breaks the contact point to shed blocks. As a pass rusher, he can get underneath opponents when converting speed to power, uprooting them.
Alex Wright, Alabama-Birmingham
Measureables: 6-5 1/8, 271. 34 arms. DNP 40, 4.47 shuttle, 15 bench (injured pectoral)
Analytical stats: In three seasons, Wright was more than all right with 12.5 sacks, 19 TFLs and three forced fumbles. In 13 games (eight starts) in 2021, he had seven sacks, 7.5 TFLs and two forced fumbles. In PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, he would have tied Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson for third out of 112 had he met our playing-tie threshold. According to SIS, he ranked 19th out of 32 in ATD-plus and 14th in bounce rate. He drew four holding penalties.
Personal touch: In March, he donated math textbooks to his elementary school in Elma, Ala. “I always wanted to see change and positivity grow along, so that was the idea when I first got started with my process,” Wright said recently during a visit with students as part of his Impact 4 Change tour. “My message is always keep education first – always reach for the stars and don’t be afraid to follow your dreams. Just because you come from a small place doesn’t mean you can’t go out and explore the world and dream big. Don’t be afraid of change.”
Wright said he met with the Packers at the Combine. The small-school tag didn’t bother him one bit. As he told Pro Football Network: “People don’t realize that most NFL players actually come from small schools. They don’t all go to Alabama or Georgia. If you’re a good football player, the NFL is gonna find you regardless. They have scouts, eyes, and ears everywhere. The NFL will always identify talent no matter where it comes from. It doesn’t matter if you come from a Power 5 school or a Group of 5 school. They’ll find you. If you can play football on tape, you’ll receive an opportunity. That’s how I feel about that.”
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Displays good strength at the point of attack and can create good contact. Looks to have a dense build that can withstand hits and be durable. Good explosiveness and quickness off the edge to be able to make an impact in the backfield. Makes plays often from the backside of the defense because of the instinct to shoot inside and disrupt the middle of the line of scrimmage from his alignment. Shows versatility because of his ability and size. Plays his best ball as a stand-up defensive end with an attacking mindset.
Dominique Robinson, Miami (Ohio)
Measureables: 6-4 7/8, 253. 33 1/4 arms. 4.72 40, 4.19 shuttle, 25 bench.
Analytical stats: Robinson switched from receiver to defense in 2020. As a fifth-year senior, Robinson recorded 4.5 sacks and 8.5 TFLs in 13 games (zero starts). In PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, he ranked 54th out of 112. According to SIS, he ranked first out of 32 in ATD-plus but 27th in bounce rate. He drew two holding penalties. His missed-tackle rate of 15 percent was one of the worst in the class.
Personal touch: Robinson played quarterback in high school and spent his first three years at Miami as a receiver before volunteering to move to defensive end for the COVID-abbreviated 2020 season. So, he enters the draft having played 16 games on defense in his collegiate career.
“Oh, I’m the very top. I have a lot of growing to do,” he said at the Scouting Combine. “The great thing is the position is changing, we’re dropping a lot, we’re doing a lot of stuff. I played safety from when I was a kid until high school. Stopped playing my junior year because they wanted me to just play quarterback. Being able to have that background to be able to drop and show that out here, it’s going to be fun.”
Athletics are in the DNA. His father played basketball at Bowling Green, an older brother played Division II football and a younger brother played at Kent State.
“Coming out of high school, I was just an athlete, not the greatest quarterback,” Robinson told The Athletic. “I’m a very realistic person, but I can say I always wanted to play in the NFL. And not that I just wanted to, but I thought I’d be good enough to get there. So when I said I was going to switch from receiver to defense, yeah, my (thought) was that this was going to be my path to get there.”
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: A converted wide receiver, Robinson is a great athlete for the edge position after putting on roughly 30 pounds since he entered college in 2017. He has an explosive get-off that he can take to the outside or inside rushing lanes. He also shows strong hands at the point of attack to rip off of blocks. Within his body type, he has long arms to set the edge. Shows good body control to move in and out of cuts. As a pass rusher, he shows extremely good lateral agility to manipulate his body to catch offensive linemen off-balance.
DeAngelo Malone, Western Kentucky
Measureables: 6-3 1/4, 243. 33 1/8 arms. 4.54 40, 4.36 shuttle, 23 bench.
Analytical stats: You want production? Malone piled up 32.5 sacks, 58.5 TFLs and nine forced fumbles during his final four seasons. He was the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 (11.5 sacks, 21 TFLs) and 2021 (nine sacks, 17.5 TFLs, four forced fumbles, four passes defensed). In PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, he surprisingly ranked only 54th out of 112. According to SIS, he ranked 30th out of 32 in ATD-plus and 15th in bounce rate. He drew three holding penalties.
Personal touch: Malone only had a couple scholarship offers. He chose WKU because of the Hilltoppers’ “chrome domes.” There’s no secret why there was so little interest. He arrived on the Western Kentucky campus tipping the scales at 198 pounds. A year later, he had a breakout 2018 season with six sacks and nine tackles for losses. “I can hold my ground,” Malone said in 2018. “They can’t push me around like they used to, which is great.”
He added 10 pounds to get up to 240 for the bonus COVID season. “He’s made an over-the-top commitment to his body, just going through the process of wanting to harden his body, toughen his body, so he can sustain an entire season and be dominant like he was a couple years ago,” WKU defensive coordinator Maurice Crum said during the spring. “He’s not a secret anymore. Last year everybody kind of knew who he was, knew where he was going to be, knew his moves, so he felt that, in order to get where he wants to get, he needed to change his body.”
As the numbers continued to pile up, he was struck by a frequent feeling of “For real?”
“You always dream about doing things like that, so it’s just a blessing,” Malone said. “It feels good. They depend on me to do my job and I can’t let them down.”
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: He is relentless in pursuit, displaying great effort to chase from the backside of the play or out in space. Strong hands at the point of attack to rip off of blocks. Plays with good upper body strength at the line of scrimmage which makes him a physical run defender to deal with. Malone shows flashes of getting off the line quick with explosiveness.
Amare Barno, Virginia Tech
Measureables: 6-4 5/8, 246. 34 arms. 4.36 40, 4.45 shuttle, DNP bench.
Analytical stats: Barno moved from linebacker to defensive end in 2020 and dazzled with 6.5 sacks, 16 TFLs and two forced fumbles. He wasn’t as impactful in 2021 with 3.5 sacks and 5.5 TFLs. In PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, he would have ranked 78th out of 112 had he met our playing-time threshold. He was surprisingly good against the run, though that’s not his forte. According to SIS, he ranked ninth out of 32 in ATD-plus and 10th in bounce rate. He drew four holding penalties. His missed-tackle rate of 15 percent was one of the worst in the class.
Personal touch: Barno’s father died of prostate cancer when he was 10. One of six kids, it was an incredibly difficult time. “He would just go up to his room, ignore his friends and not talk to anybody,” his mom, Tonia Barno-Middleton, told The Roanoke Times. “He would clam up. He's not a talker, and I think that's what happened from that. He handled his feelings like that.”
A zero-star recruit, he spent two years at Butler Community College. "Oh my gosh, if you get five words out of him you’d be lucky, but they always say still waters run deep” Butler Community College coach Tim Schaffner said. “There's a lot going on there, but he's not flamboyant, not a bigger talker on the field, off the field or anywhere. He's very dialed in to what he's doing.”
His mom later remarried. Now, he’s one of 11 siblings in the blended family. Barno, who moved from linebacker to defensive end in 2020, ran 4.36 in the 40 at the Combine. It the fastest for an edge defender in almost 20 years.
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: The South Carolina native boasts impressive quickness off the line. Similarly, he has notable downhill closing speed to the tackle point. He has solid length to make tackles through engagement at times. He is capable of stacking and windowing against some tight ends. For the most part in run defense, Barno displays the requisite patience to play assignment football. He waits out the mesh point and exhibits a hot motor to chase ball carriers down.
Cameron Thomas, San Diego State
Measureables: 6-4 1/8, 267. 32 1/2 arms. DNP 40 (hamstring), 4.25 shuttle, 24 bench.
Analytical stats: After two solid seasons, Thomas was a monster with 11.5 sacks and 20.5 TFLs as a senior to earn second-team All-America and Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year. He had 21 career sacks but only two forced fumbles. In PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, he ranked 21st out of 112. His 77 total pressures were No. 1 in the nation. According to SIS, he ranked ninth out of 32 in ATD-plus and fourth in bounce rate. He drew three holding penalties. He was tied with Paschal for No. 1 in PFF’s run-stop percentage. His missed-tackle rate was just 6 percent.
Personal touch: Thomas and his brother, offensive lineman Zach, were teammates at San Diego State and both figure to be drafted.
“Me and my brother grew up really competitive, even when it came down to eating [laughs],” Cameron told USA Today’s Draft Wire. “We’re always competing at that. You could definitely tell that we were going to be linemen growing up, there was no doubt about that. Being able to grow up around an offensive lineman, you get a good feel of who you’re gonna be playing against every week, and vice versa. I think he has a pretty good idea and a feel for what a defensive lineman will be like.”
Who won those frequent battles on the practice field? “I think I win most of them,” Zach said with a laugh to the San Diego Union Tribune. “I like that answer. But I think word for word, he’d come up with the exact same answer.” Plus, they can share the tricks of the trade. “I played with my brother (at Ball State),” Aztecs coach Brady Hoke said. “… It was fun. Now, we both played on defense. This is even more fun because Zach, being a left tackle, and Cam … I have a great time getting after whichever one of them that their little brother beat ’em or their big brother’s whoopin’ their butt.”
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Versatile defensive lineman who aligns in a four-point stance anywhere from zero to seven technique, most frequently at three and five-technique. From the interior he is quick and urgent off the ball, getting quick penetration. Thomas plays with very precise hands, often beating the punch of blockers. Recognizing lanes, he takes advantage of oversetting blockers to counter inside. He combines his quick get-off with an effective swim move. His push-pull move works thanks to violent hands. On the edge, Thomas extends to keep tackles hands out of his frame.
Isaiah Thomas, Oklahoma
Measureables: 6-4 7/8, 266. 33 1/4 arms. 4.70 40, DNP shuttle, 23 bench
Analytical stats: Thomas had a pair of strong seasons with 8.5 sacks and 13 TFLs in 2020 and eight sacks, 11.5 TFLs, three forced fumbles and four passes defensed in 2021. In PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, he ranked 57th out of 112. According to SIS, he ranked 13th out of 32 in ATD-plus and 11th in bounce rate. He drew one holding penalty His missed-tackle rate of 24.0 percent is the worst among those listed in this story.
Personal touch: Thomas isn’t related to the former NBA star but that hasn’t stopped the confusion. A key member of the “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons, he wasn’t exactly painted in a favorable light in “The Last Dance” documentary. And viewers took it out on the football player via social media.
Thomas grew up hoping to be a basketball star. He went to a basketball-mad high school in Tulsa, Okla. But, as happens frequently to basketball-turned-football players, he stopped growing. "It was, like, the biggest thing that ever happened to me," he said of being offered a scholarship for OU’s football team.
What’s he going to bring to the NFL? “It’s never easy to start a new process of something and there’s always going to be adversity,” he told The Tulsa World. “There’s never been a time in my life where I hadn’t prevailed through that, from a kid to middle school to high school to college and, now, going into the league. Those key points right there are definitely the type of guy that they’re going to get.”
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Thomas was an impact player at one-tech, nine-tech and everywhere in between along the Sooners’ defensive front. Thomas’s linear athletic profile gives him the versatility to rush the inside or outside track and makes him disruptive as a gap shooter, penetrator and run defender. He has solid downhill closing speed and decent lateral burst. When he wins leverage at engagement, Thomas threatens a long-arm bull rush. The Oklahoma native’s best trait is his pass-rush technique.
Sam Williams, Mississippi
Measureables: 6-3 5/8, 261. 33 1/8 arms. 4.46 40, 4.34 shuttle, 25 bench.
Analytical stats: In three seasons with the Rebels, Williams tallied 22.5 sacks, 33.5 TFLs and six forced fumbles. He was a second-team All-American as a senior with 12.5 sacks, 16 TFLs and four forced fumbles. In PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, he ranked 21st out of 112. According to SIS, he ranked 26th out of 32 in ATD-plus but fourth in bounce rate. He drew five holding penalties.
Personal touch: The Packers had a predraft visit with Williams, a sign of a team needing to learn more about a talented prospect. He was arrested and suspended in July 2020 for sexual battery; he was reinstated in September 2020 after chargers were dropped. He also was expelled in high school for what he described as a minor incident involving a knife.
After that incident, he moved in with the family of a substitute teacher, Tiffani Cain. Cain, and his young son, provide the motivation to get his life pointed in the right direction.
“You don’t really understand it until that little person is right there in front of you,” Cain told The Daily Journal in a lengthy feature about Williams. “The day after he was born, (Williams) was like, ‘This is the one person in my life I need to make sure is OK.’ This is when you understand you’re a parent. He’s made a promise to himself that he will never put his child in situation that he was in. In (his) mind, this is (his) shot to get it right.”
Williams played basketball growing up; he only started playing football as a senior at his new high school. Said Williams in September: Looking into my son's eyes and going through all of the things I've been through in life...I'm like, if I had a chance to change that...would I do it, you know?...When he gets older...and when people talk about me...it's always your dad was a great man, your dad was a hard-working man."
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Long defensive end who lines up anywhere from three technique to wide nine. Williams displays good snap timing, giving him an advantage over blockers. He converts speed to power and creates knockback. Williams uses his length and frequently attacks the chest of blockers like with his long arm which opens up an inside track. He can attack the outside shoulder with a stab rip. Strong hands allow him to enforce his will and twist blockers to create angles for himself.
Carson Wells, Colorado
Measureables: 6-2 3/4, 241. 32 5/8 arms. 4.59 40, 4.56 shuttle, 16 bench.
Analytical stats: In four seasons, Wells had 15.5 sacks, 38 TFLs, 14 passes defensed, three interceptions and one forced fumble. He had an astounding 14 TFLs in six games during the COVID-impacted 2020 season. In PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, he ranked out of 112. According to SIS, he ranked 16th out of 32 in ATD-plus. He drew four holding penalties.
Personal touch: Will his versatility be a blessing or a curse? Obviously, Wells sees the positive. “I brought up that same exact point to coaches because I’ve seen a lot of football,” he told The Spun. “There are only so many ways you can play your base defense. Every coach would bring a different aspect to the team in terms of their pressure packages and things like that. But my experience in different schemes is a big selling point that I’ve tried to bring up too. I think that’ll make my transition to the NFL a bit easier.”
Wells graduated from CU with degrees in accounting and finance and is pursuing a master's degree in organizational leadership. In high school, he was valedictorian with a 4.6 weighted GPA. He sat out, as the school termed it, “significant practice time” due to a leg infection in 2017.
In a Q&A with Blue Chip Scouting, Wells said, “To me it comes down to “want to”. Every play pretty much I’m getting blocked by somebody bigger than me or trying to cover somebody that is smaller than me in space. At the end of the day it comes down to how bad you want it, and nobody is going to beat me in that category.”
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Wells shows good versatility to line up as a true edge defender and an off-ball linebacker. Best fit as a weak side edge defender in a 3-4 scheme. He sets the edge with excellent base, hand usage and leverage. He is nuanced with extending his arms to keep his chest clean while maintaining half man relationship while locating the ball carrier. Good gap discipline and overall processing of run concepts. Proactive zone awareness and shows plus hands to disrupt route timings and pass off to other zones while still processing route concepts. He was asked to man up TE’s and carry them vertically as an edge defender. Keys and diagnoses screens well and shows good effort. Best pass rush move is speed to power.
Jeffrey Gunter, Coastal Carolina
Measureables: 6-4 3/8, 258. 33 arms. 4.70 40, 4.35 shuttle, 30 bench
Analytical stats: Gunter spent four nomadic seasons at Coastal Carolina. In 2018, 2020 and 2021, he notched 18 sacks, 36.5 TFLs and nine forced fumbles. He led the nation with six forced fumbles in 2020 and closed his career with back-to-back seasons of 6.5 sacks. In PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, he would have ranked 32nd out of 112 had he reached playing-time thresholds. According to SIS, he ranked 11th out of 32 in ATD-plus. He drew two holding penalties.
Personal touch: As a senior in high school, Gunter played at 190 pounds. So, recruiting interest was minimal. Coastal, in fact, was his only Division I offer. “They took a chance on a little kid that nobody else really would,” he told hometown MyHorryNews.com.
In 2019, Gunter took a chance on himself. He transferred to Syracuse. However, he never played for the Orange and instead moved on to North Carolina State, which was much closer to home. “Not a lot of people know this, but my mother was going through a divorce at the time and it was stressful on her, and she really couldn’t take care of the kids as best as she wanted. I remember her calling me crying at the end of the season and how she was having such a tough time.”
Even though he couldn’t play as a transfer, he enjoyed his year at NC State but re-entered the transfer portal. In 2020, it was back to Coastal. He considered the players there his brothers. “They couldn’t be any closer if we were blood,” Gunter said. “When I had the opportunity to come play with them again, it was a dream come true. I couldn’t turn it down.”
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Edge defender with average size and above average length who lines up in a two and four point stance. Gunter possesses above average ankle flexion, giving him the necessary agility to change directions and turn corners. As a pass rusher, he is best with a quick inside counter, taking advantage of oversetting tackles. Good strength in the run game, allows him to take on blocks and set the edge by extending his inside arm.
James Houston, Jackson State
Measureables: 6-0 1/4, 244. 34 1/4 arms. 4.70 40, 4.48 shuttle, 22 bench
Analytical stats: Houston’s an interesting case. He spent his first four seasons at Florida, serving a season-long suspension as a freshman as part of an investigation for credit card fraud. (The case was dismissed following restitution and probation.) Playing linebacker, he had 4.5 sacks the next three years. Then, with degree in hand, he joined Deion Sanders at Jackson State. He was a first-team All-American with 16.5 sacks, 24.5 tackles for losses and seven forced fumbles. His PRP at PFF was No. 1 among FBS pass rushers, though he obviously faced lesser competition. He’s really short but he’s got length.
Personal touch: Houston grew up playing linebacker but Sanders moved him to the edge. "He saw something in me that not too many people did," Houston told The Clarion Ledger. But, “I wouldn’t say I was excited” about changing positions, he told Andscape. Sanders won Houston over by comparing him to Cowboys star Micah Parsons. "He blitzes so much ... I analyze versatile players in the NFL to see how teams use them and see how they use their versatility to progress as players," Houston told SI. "Parsons is a great player. He did phenomenal this year and I cannot wait to see what he's got in the next couple years."
Nicknamed “The Problem,” all Houston wants is a chance – regardless of position. "I’ve been getting it all. Edge rusher, d-end, inside linebacker, outside linebacker," Houston said. "I just chalk it up to I’m a football player, man. Wherever you want to put my on the field I’ll play."
NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Houston is a rangy player that uses his length to his advantage. He will flow to the ball and stick his nose in the pile early and often. Houston does a stellar job dropping his hips and beating linemen around the edge or as a blitzed inside linebacker. Hands are tools for him, showing a variety of placement and technique with them as he works his pass rush moves.
