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Earlier today, I broke down my grades for the 2022 DL class, so if you haven’t checked that out, feel free to click on the hyperlink to see for yourself. Now, we’re taking a look at my favourite position in this year’s class- the EDGE group. The EDGE class is a bit like an ice cream shop, there’s something for everyone. Speed-to-power guys, hyper-athletes, projection guys, run defenders, and everything in between.
NFL teams can never have too many guys who can get to the QB and we’ve seen EDGEs come from the second and even third days of the draft to become productive pass rushers in the league. Who will be this year’s Maxx Crosby? Shaq Barrett (yes, I realize he went undrafted)? Let’s see.
First Round Grades:
1. Kayvon Thibodeaux, Oregon Red Flags: None Player Comp: Improved Josh Allen (The one for the Jags- not the QB) & Aldon Smith hybrid
Ideal Role: 3-4 Stand-up rusher
I think everyone wanted to label Kayvon Thibodeaux as the next Myles Garrett or Jadeveon Clowney or Chase Young in that often overused “generational” talent group and while he’s been great in college, he’s still a tier below those guys. The thing is that’s fine. He’s still a damn good player. Josh Allen was still my 3rd overall player in 2019 and has carved out a nice career for himself in Duval County.
I don’t buy the questions that are being put out there about Thibodeaux’s interests outside of football being a “distraction” because nowadays, most athletes have interests outside of their sport of choice. It allows them to be seen as more than just an athlete and I don’t think that’s a negative in any way. As for the alleged effort issues with Thibodeaux, I still am waiting for someone to show me instances of them being anything other than figments of the imagination. Thibodeaux’s been hyper-productive since the moment he got to Eugene, he’s got a great motor and a refined pass rush game. Is he going to be a guy to contend for the league’s lead in sacks? Maybe not. I do think he’s got a well-rounded game and would be a consistent 10-12 sack-a-year player at the next level for the next 5-10 years.
2. Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan Red Flags: None Player Comp: Super Charged Sam Hubbard
Ideal Role: 4-3 DE
I know it may not seem like a generous comp for Hutchinson given that he’s usually compared to one of the Bosa Brothers, but I liked Sam Hubbard coming out of college as a round 1-2 player and he’s done well in the pros. I think Hutchinson’s floor is what Hubbard is right now. I think he’s somewhere between Hubbard and Nick Bosa, but closer to the former. He’s a good run defender and this year he exploded onto the scene and put himself in Heisman contention with a phenomenal season. He’s got a wealth of moves in his arsenal and I think he has the chance to be the best overall player from this class- not just the EDGEs, the whole class.
3. Jermaine Johnson, Florida St. Red Flags: None Player Comp: Preston Smith
Ideal Role: 4-3 DE or 3-4 OLB
Johnson is one of the best run defenders in the EDGE group this year and when you watch the film, you see a player that’s a round 1 fringe player. Then he went to Mobile and was the best player at the Senior Bowl, causing folks to go back and re-watch the film. Johnson’s first-step quickness and explosiveness jump off the screen when studying him and gives coaches plenty to work with as they develop him into more of a pass rusher, a role he never was truly allowed to flourish in at Georgia or at Florida St.
4. George Karlaftis, Purdue Red Flags: None Player Comp: Ryan Kerrigan/ Antwan Odom
Ideal Role: 4-3 DE who can kick inside and rush from the interior in sub packages
I know, he has shorter arms, and he didn’t test all that well and he missed time in 2020 with Covid among other things, but I still really like George Karlaftis. He’s been good- never a 10+ sack guy, but steady with production throughout his career. He’s got good off the snap explosiveness and is a disrupter. Once he figures out a pass rush plan, he’ll be a more consistent player. Until then, he’s on pace to be a Derek Barnett type early in his career.
5. David Ojabo, Michigan Red Flags: Achilles tear in the pre-draft process Player Comp: Brian Burns
Ideal Role: Stand-up EDGE rusher. DPR early in his career as he develops pass rush plan
If it weren’t for the fact that Ojabo tore his Achilles at his pro day last month, he would be EDGE3 for me and a top 10 overall player in the class, so yeah, it’s safe to say I like David Ojabo. He’s raw as sushi, but the baseline traits are there begging to be developed. Ojabo hasn’t been playing football for that long, only beginning to play the sport at age 17. His past background as a basketball player is evident on film with his explosiveness. I’m not sure if he’ll go in the first round due to injury, but he’s destined to become the first Nigerian Scotsman to be selected in the NFL Draft.
Second Round Grades
6. Travon Walker, Georgia Red Flags: Lack of Production Player Comp: Rashan Gary
Ideal Role: Pass Rushing Unicorn (just figure out where he works best and do that)
I just know my mentions are going to be flooded here (it’s @DanteCollinelli by the way), but please, before you come at my neck with your pitchforks and before you push your glasses so far up the bridge of your nose that you can clean your lenses with your frontal lobe while going “well, actually he’s going to go top 3”, LET ME EXPLAIN. There is definitely something to work with when it comes to Walker. You don’t find guys who are 6’6 280 with the wingspan of an airplane all that often. On the other hand, he has almost no pass rush production. According to PFF, his pass rush win percentage is 11.2%. For comparison, Hutchinson and Thibodeaux are around 20%. That being said, we said similar things about Rashan Gary back in 2019 and now Gary has blossomed into an elite tier EDGE with the Packers. Gary is the exception, not the rule. Walker can become Rashan Gary, he also could be Gaines Adams. I’m far more comfortable taking a player like that in round 2.
7. Logan Hall, Houston Red Flags: None Player Comp: None
Ideal Role: Outside Pass rusher in base defense who kicks inside in sub packages
8. Boye Mafe, Minnesota Red Flags: None Player Comp: Taller Josh Uche
Ideal Role: DPR who develops into a 4-3 Base end
9. Cameron Thomas, San Diego St. Red Flags: None Player Comp: None
Ideal Role: 4-3 End
Third Round Grades:
10. Nik Bonitto, Oklahoma Red Flags: None Player Comp: Poor Man’s Haason Reddick
Ideal Role: 3-4 Stand-up Rusher
11. Myjai Sanders, Cincinnati Red Flags: Size Player Comp: Kemoko Turay floor with a Yannick Ngakoue ceiling
Ideal Role: 3-4 Stand-up EDGE
12. Arnold Ebekitie, Penn St. Red Flags: None Player Comp: Josh Sweat
Ideal Role: Developmental 4-3 end
13. Kingsley Enagbare, South Carolina Red Flags: none Player Comp: Damontre Moore
Ideal Role: Developmental 4-3 end
14. Drake Jackson, USC Red Flags: Production drop off in 2021 Player Comp: None
Ideal Role: Developmental 3-4 OLB
15. Josh Paschal, Kentucky Red Flags: None Player Comp: None
Ideal Role: Developmental 4-3 end
16. Alex Wright, UAB Red Flags: None Player Comp: None
Ideal Role: DPR
Fourth Round Grades
17. Sam Williams, Ole Miss Red Flags: Suspended in 2020 for sexual battery arrest Player Comp: None
Ideal Role: 4-3 Pass-Rushing End
18. Isaiah Thomas, Oklahoma Red Flags: None Player Comp: None
Ideal Role: 4-3 DE
Fifth Round Grades:
19. Amaré Barno, Virginia Tech Red Flags: None Player Comp: None
Ideal Role: Stand-up rusher
20. Kyron Johnson, Kansas Red Flags: Size (6’1 230) Player Comp: Ogbonnia Okoronkwo
Ideal Role: Pass Rushing Linebacker
21. DeAngleo Malone, Western Kentucky Red Flags: None Player Comp: None
Ideal Role: Developmental 3-4 OLB
Sixth Round Grades
22. Dominique Robinson, Miami (Ohio) Red Flags: None Player Comp: None
Ideal Role: 3-4 Developmental OLB
Seventh Round Grades
23. Jeffrey Gunter, Coastal Carolina Red Flags: None Player Comp: None
Ideal Role: Run Stuffing EDGE
UDFA Grades
24. Adam Anderson, Georgia Red Flags: Dismissed from Georgia in the Fall (rape charges)
Player Comp: None
