Packers 2016 Draft: Ranking the top-25 edge rushers
By Dan Dahlke
Tier 4: Late-Round Edge Rushers
20. Matt Judon, DE, Grand Valley State (6-3, 275, 4.73)
Judon is a guy I’m trying to find reasons to place higher on my board. He’s a fun player to evaluate on film. He has a great combination of size, speed, and physicality on the field. He dominated at his level of competition, leading all of college football in sacks with 20 last season, while also recording 81 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, and three forced fumbles. He consistently whipped Division 2 tackles off the edge, but it’s still difficult to project whether or not he can do this on regular basis against NFL caliber offensive linemen, which ultimately hurts Judon’s draft stock. (Projection: Round 5)
21. Alex McCalister, OLB, Florida (6-6, 239, 4.80)
McCalister is an interesting prospect. He plays with good bend and burst off the snap, beating tackles with speed around the edge to get his hands on the quarterback. In his last two seasons at Florida, McCalister recorded at least six sacks in each year. However, the former Gator defensive end is a bit of a one-trick pony at this point. He needs to work on getting stronger at the point of attack, add a bull rush or power move to his repertoire, and work on using his hands better to disengage from blockers. He still has plenty of raw physical ability to take a chance on in a late round. (Projection: Round 5)
22. Victor Ochi, OLB, Stony Brook (6-1, 246, 4.86)
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve only seen a small sample size of Ochi’s game in college. It’s hard to find film on players from Stony Brook. Having said this, what I have seen of Ochi was nothing short of impressive. He’s an explosive edge rusher whose high motor makes him a handful for tackles on the edge. In his senior season alone, Ochi recorded an FCS-leading 13 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss. He could be an early day-three pick in the draft, but his smaller frame and slow forty time could hurt his stock for teams looking at him as a standup edge rusher. (Projection: Round 5)
23. Roy Robertson-Harris, DE/OLB, UTEP (6-7, 255, 4.80)
With a towering frame, long wingspan, and good athleticism, Robertson-Harris is an intriguing edge prospect with a lot of upside at the next level. However, he only recorded 9.5 sacks as a three-year starter, and the lack of production for such a gifted player has to be concerning, especially for a guy who played in the Conference USA.
Despite this, Robertson-Harris still flashes some playmaking ability on the little film I’ve seen of him. It would still be nice though to see evidence of him making plays against Power-5 competition on film, making it hard to accurately project where he fits in this draft class. (Projection: Rounds 5-6)
24. Tyrone Holmes, OLB, Montana (6-4, 250)
Holmes possesses the size and athleticism to excel as a 3-4 outside linebacker in the NFL. He recorded a whopping 18 sacks, 87 tackles, and 21.5 tackles for loss in 2015. However, Holmes still needs to get stronger in order to hold the point of attack better at the next level. And despite dominating the Big Sky Conference, Holmes failed to standout at the East West Shrine game in January. (Projection: Round 6)
25. Dadi Nicolas, OLB, Virginia Tech (6-3, 235, 4.74)
There was a lot of hype on Nicolas as a NFL prospect following the 2014 season–a year where he recorded 18.5 tackles for loss and nine sacks. However, Nicolas’s senior year was very disappointing. Playing around 220 pounds, Nicolas was a major liability against the run and he struggled to generate pressure off the edge, only recording 2.5 sacks in 2015. Nicolas still has some intriguing athleticism as a speed rusher, but his game needs a lot of work before he sees the field in the NFL. (Projection: Round 6)
Next: 2016 NFL Draft: Five sleepers Packers could target