STRENGTHS
Darrian is a multifaceted, multi-position defensive player. He has excellent size and speed to play more than one position in your defensive front seven. Darrian is very smart and shows the agility to rush the passer from off or on the line of scrimmage. He has those long arms and legs that makes it easy to cover ground quickly without having the blazing speed and quickness that most teams will be looking for in workouts. In spite of playing numerous positions on defense, his instincts are better than most would expect. Darrian is patient and doesn’t get fooled into taking false steps when tracking where the ball is against play action. He has very good cover skills (for a linebacker) to go up against those pass-catching Tight Ends that cause so much trouble for most defenses. Darrian is a bit of an anomaly for the linebacker position and most teams’ evaluators, struggle with anomalies.

CONCERNS
Darrian is very good in coverage against the quick routes, close to the line of scrimmage. He also is surprisingly good in coverage on deep routes because, with his long arms and legs, he covers so much ground he can eliminate the cushion and trail the play and still knock the ball down. He will struggle to cover the intermediate pass routes because of his long legs and lack of quickness to change directions. That being said, because he covers ground so quickly, separation in those routes will not last long before recovers. If you use Darrian on the line as an edge rusher he will have to learn better pass-rushing moves and this will affect his draft status if a team, is projecting him at that position and not as a linebacker.

BOTTOM LINE: 1.72
The definition of the word “anomaly” is something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected. Darrian because of his size and athletic talent, deviates from what is the standard, normal, or expected athletic talent for those who “check all the boxes” when evaluating players for the draft. His workout numbers might not be what is the norm for a linebacker but because of his size, length, instincts, and high football IQ, on the field, those workout numbers will not reflect how well he plays, and how much of an impact he can have. Those workout numbers might not show the norm or standard to play the linebacker position. They may not show the perfect numbers to play Edge Rusher. They may not show the norm or standard for him to be good in coverage. All I can tell you is to forget the freaking numbers, stop checking the freaking boxes, and turn on a game he has played in and you will see him show more than the normal and standard player who impacts a game and makes a defense better.

STRENGTHS
Jermaine is a complete Defensive Lineman who has the natural strength to overpower his opponent. He’s the real key, he also has the athletic talent to speed rush and power rush from the outside or inside in any style defense line scheme. He reminds me a lot of the Saints Cameron Jordan in that he is strong enough to play inside or outside against the run as well as having the ability to pass rush from the outside or inside with quickness, agility, and effort on every down. Jermaine does an excellent job setting the outside, shedding tackles, and make the play behind the line of scrimmage. He changes the line of scrimmage in his favor off the snap on almost every down and distance. In short, Jermaine is a quality football player with the physical talent and mental strength to impact on any down at any point in a game. He’s is a defensive playmaker.

CONCERNS
Jermaine needs to…ah crap I’m not going to nit-pick just to write something. Interviews will be big for Jermaine…that’s all I have to say.

BOTTOM LINE: 1.41
If your team wants to pass on selecting a player who plays the game like Cameron Jordan then all I can say you better have a good reason to tell the fans why in a few years. As far as I’m concerned unless something comes up in his interviews I would not hesitate to select him early in this draft. But that’s just me, doing public profiles for the draft since 2004. Cameron Jordan wasn’t selected until the 24th pick of the 1st round in the 2011 draft. I rated him as a top 10 pick in that draft another “I told you so”…what can I say it’s a gift and a curse. I’m not sure why Jermaine is not being thought of as a top 10 to top 15 pick but maybe after the Senior Bowl showing he put on it will happen. For me, if I’m looking for a defensive lineman who can rush the passer from inside or outside, and can stop the run playing inside or outside, I’m selecting Jermaine before any other Defensive Lineman in this draft. But that’s just me and we all know just because I’ve been doing public profiles for 18 years doesn’t mean I know any more about players in the draft than anyone else. Then again…maybe it does…Mmmmm

STRENGTHS
Kyler reminds me a lot of the #Bills Tre’Davious White. He has the size and length teams look for in their defensive backs along with excellent athletic talent and a high football IQ to play any Defensive Back position in any style of defense. He can be physical when he needs to be and is an excellent tackler. Kyler can play on the outside because of his length or inside in the slot because of his tackling skills. He has solid change of direction agility and excellent make-up speed and burst when he gets fooled. Kyler can make the interception because he has good eye/hand coordination. He is smart and because of his ability to cover and tackle, could be used as a safety up close to the line to cover those big slot receivers and tight ends. He works well with his teammates and does an excellent job communicating when used in zone coverages. Kyler has the ability to be a franchise cover corner/ slot corner/ safety, for the team that selects him.

CONCERNS
If he played in the SEC there would be no doubt about his cover skills and most teams will downgrade him because of that issue. For me its not an issue.

BOTTOM LINE: 1.81
I believe after the combine Kyler will be considered as one of the top defensive backs in this draft by most, if not all teams. Nevertheless, because of his teammate cornerback, Kyler is not being looked at on the same level. Big mistake because, Kyler is bigger and just as athletic, can be used at any position in the defensive backfield, and has cover skills similar or equal to the Bills Tre’Davious White. Kyler is a sleeper, hiding in plain sight starting and playing in a division one school. I guess we will all have to wait for the combine for anyone to notice. Not me, I believe he has 1st round talent and I would not hesitate to select him at any point in the 1st round especially if I were a cold-weather team.

STRENGTHS
Chad reminds me a lot of former LB standout Sean Lee. He has the size, speed, athletic ability, and the high football IQ to be a coach on the field as well as your best player on the field. He shows an excellent burst to the ball and has just enough coverage skills and anticipation skills to play any one of the linebacker positions in any style of defense. Chad has the athletic talent, speed, and size equal to any of the linebackers in this draft. Add that to his high football IQ, instincts to play the position like a defensive coordinator, and his leadership skills and you have yourself a player who just might be one of the best in this draft. So, let the nitpicking begin.

CONCERNS
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah yes, I know most will question the level of competition. I know most will question selecting a linebacker early because of the value of the position. I know most will suggest he is tight in the hips and will struggle to cover like a cornerback as if comparing his cover skills to a cornerback when he is a linebacker is logical! I know what I see on film, and I don’t nit-pick the obvious when I see the obvious, I draft them instead and, in this case, I would draft this one early.

BOTTOM LINE: 1.43
Cowboys selected Sean Lee at the 55th pick in the 2nd round. I had Sean listed in that draft as one of my top ten players. Panthers selected Luke Kuechly as the 9th pick in the 1st round in that draft. I had Luke listed on my board in the 2nd round because I felt he wasn’t strong enough against the run and seemed to always be tackling players after they gained the yardage they needed. I didn’t think his instincts were that good and he was late to react. Luke became an outstanding instinctive linebacker and Sean was an excellent linebacker when he was on the field. Both linebackers had the size, speed, agility and high football IQ to make the players around them better and to make plays and impact a game. My guess is Chad with these same talents and abilities will be selected at some point between the 9th and the 55th pick of this draft all because of one reason…level of competition. For me, he is a top 10 to top 15 pick on my board and right now sits as the 6th best player in this draft. That could change as I continue to do profiles but it will not change his talent nor will it change what I feel will be his impact at the next level. My guess is once I finish all the profiles Chad will still be sitting in my top 10. Level of competition my ass. That’s what they said about Josh Allen too, not me…those so-called “experts”

STRENGTHS
Trent is a quick-twitch athletic defensive back with the high football IQ to play more than one position in your defensive backfield. He is an excellent tackler with a passion for making tackles behind the line of scrimmage, striking with the quickness of a mongoose going straight to its prey. Trent is a hunter looking to make a play on every down whether it’s a run or a pass. He shows the quick feet, lateral agility, mental toughness, and physical strength to be used in single coverages against any size receiver. Trent also has a high football IQ for zone coverages and shows leadership skills in his play working in concert with his teammates. He has excellent hands to make the interception and should be a special team’s impact player on both the return and cover units.

CONCERNS
You would love to see him a little bigger but being bigger does not necessarily mean he would be any better, it just means teams would not nit-pick about his size.

BOTTOM LINE: 1.83
Size is everything when it comes to rating players in a draft. Many talented and hall of fame players will fall out of the 1st round just because of their size and not because of their ability to impact on the field. That’s why Rob and I invented the 2-board system. Trent is listed at 5’11” and if he comes in smaller than that at the combine he might not be selected in the first round just for that reason. For me it’s really simple, Trent has 1st round talent and will play as if he is selected in the first round no matter what round he is selected in. But that’s just me. I don’t look at size, or level of competition to be that much of a factor in evaluating players for the draft. I will admit those issues do enter into my evaluations but only if I don’t see 1st round talent in that player when I’m watching the film. Understand, putting a 1st-round grade by me does not mean a player will be selected in the 1st round. Almost every year I have 40 to 50 players with 1st round grades while most analyst will suggest there are only 10 to 15 in every draft. That’s just BS. Think about it, there are about 5 to 10 seniors and then you add the Juniors and most of the time there are at least 10 to 20 listed as potential 1st rounders. That gives you about 20 to 30 players with 1st round grades, then add the players who are nit-picked to death because of their size, weight, competition level, or any other excuse but on film, are impact players and you have 40 to 50 players who could be considered in any draft as 1st round talent. Trent is one of those players who might not be selected in the 1st round because of his size or lack thereof. Nevertheless, he has 1st round talent and will be an impact player no matter what round he gets selected in. I would look for him to be selected at someplace in the 20’s of the 1st round but you never know.

STRENGTHS
DeMarvin is a solid Defensive Lineman. He has good athletic talent and size and is an excellent teammate. He has the natural lower body strength that makes it easy for him to collapse the pocket when he plays inside and the hand quickness to keep offensive lineman off his body when pass rushing from the outside. DeMarvin also has the required balance, quick feet, and lateral agility to string plays to the outside. As I stated before DeMarvin is a solid all-around Defensive lineman and with a little more attention to playing just one position, could become a core player and fan favorite for the team that selects him.

CONCERNS
Two issues that concern me, I think his medicals need to be scrutinized and the team that selects him is going to have to decide what position he can impact the most at. Deciding where he can be most effective will be a team-by-team decision and that will affect his draft status. There are also technique issues that he has to correct because of some very bad habits going from position to position. He stands up instead of firing out off the snap giving up his chest to his defender when playing inside and he is very slow getting off blocks to make tackles. He also takes on double teams but does not try to defeat them with the needed intensity for the next level.

BOTTOM LINE: 3.39
DeMarvin is a rotational defensive lineman who can become more than that if a team can figure out what position he plays and correct all the bad habits he has accumulated from playing more than one position. But, for the purposes of this draft, and from what I see on film, he needs time and development. That is not unusual for any defensive lineman coming out but he seems to need more at this point of his career. At least that’s what I see, others I’m sure will disagree.

STRENGTHS
Phidarian is the most technically sound defensive tackle in this draft. He has excellent size and strength and solid feet, balance, and lateral agility to string out plays against the run. If you don’t double team him on passing downs he will bull rush his opponent into the backfield like a rhinoceros looking for a mate. He uses mature and consistent techniques to keep lineman off his body to shed and make tackles at the line of scrimmage. He has solid foot speed that goes along with all-out effort on every play to disrupt plays and run-down players from behind. He works well with his teammates on stunts and understands his role on every play. Phidarian is an excellent overall football player and the type every team needs on their defensive line to make the players around him better.

CONCERNS
Phidarian is the type of player who gets overlooked because he does his job completely. Most will think there is not much upside to his game and they are right, he is a plug-and-play type player and coaches love to select players who are projects earlier instead of plug-and-play types. Also, Phidarian plays for a program that most evaluators think the program burns the players out. That genialized thinking affects those player’s draft status. I prefer to evaluate each player on their own and not generalize a player because of a program.

BOTTOM LINE: 2.22
I tell you this all the time and still you don’t believe me. If you don’t have a Defensive Tackle who demands a double team on passing downs and running plays then you will not have a consistent pass rush and your linebackers will not stop the run. Everyone else will tell you it’s the speed rushes or the cornerbacks and there is truth to those theories, no doubt but a true pass rush needs the pocket to get collapsed first and linebackers need to be free to run to the play for both to be effective. There are some exceptional speed rushes that can consistently impact but if you look closely even the hall of fame edge rushers had a defensive tackle who collapse the pocket in most cases. Phidarian has the ability to stuff the run and on passing downs, collapse the pocket. He will fight through the double team on passing downs and running downs and THAT is the difference he will bring to your defensive line. You won’t see it in the stats but you will see it in the defense as a whole. To open a lock, you need a key and the Defensive Tackle position is the key to opening the lock that’s on a defense to perform at a high level. Phidarian could be that key.

STRENGTHS
Reminds me of Titans Taylor Lewan. He is nasty, with good size and length to play one of the tackle positions. He has good enough feet to be an excellent run blocker and shows leadership skills through his play on the field. Trevor has solid lateral agility and does a good job once he gets his hands on his opponent in locking him down and not allowing any depth on a bull rush. He has excellent strength in both his lower and upper bodies to be moved inside and become an impact player on the offensive line for the team that selects him.

CONCERNS
Trevor struggles with his balance, change of direction, quickness out of stance, and struggles against second moves. If you get Trevor going one way, he struggles to change direction. His lack of changing direction skills will also affect his ability to make his blocks at the second level too.

BOTTOM LINE: 2.61
My guess is that teams might select him thinking he can play one of the tackle positions but the truth is, I believe they will have to move him inside for him to be an impact offensive lineman. Most of it is because of his nastiness and the fact he will be committing penalties because of that nastiness. The other reason is that his techniques for the tackle position are not disciplined enough. Those techniques are not consistent enough, and he gets lazy and surprised by pass rush moves and when this happens he commits penalties. All of that being said I think he could be a hell of a guard and I think he has excellent potential to be a dominating pulling guard. Nevertheless, playing the tackle position is not totally out of reach for him in the future once he matures and understands what is expected of him to be a tackle in the NFL. I believe for the purposes of selecting him in this draft I would think most teams will be evaluating him as a potential impact guard. At least for me, that’s what I see. If most teams are looking at him as a tackle he will be selected earlier than I would select him so look at Rob’s board for that information but for me, I’m thinking he is a potential dominating guard.

STRENGTHS
Drake is all legs and arm’s coming at you down the field like a Flying Draco Lizard. (look it up, I can’t do everything for you) He is big and nasty and when the ball is in the air it is all his. Drake has the athletic talent to adjust to the ball in the air like a pipe cleaner. He has the strong hands to take the ball away and high point the ball. He shows good speed but more than anything his separation comes from his big size and physical route running. He has those long legs that allow him to play better than he will time. If he times as a 4.5 type, you get bet that on the field he plays like a 4.4 type because of his long strides. Drake is the type of receiver who is open all the time, just throw the ball up high and he will come down with it at any point on the field. Drake reminds me a lot of former Charges WR Vincent Jackson or for you young guys Buccaneers WR Mike Evans.

CONCERNS
Drake is very physical and that means he can be penalized at the worst time of a game impacting his team negatively. Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad. As long as this positive character trait on the field is not a negative character trait off the field, I don’t see a real problem.

BOTTOM LINE: 1.42
Drake gives you everything you need in a playmaking receiver. All you have to do is put him on the field with any style of arm strength QB and he will score touchdowns. Because of his pipe cleaner-type agility to adjust to the ball in the air, he can and will catch the ball in the RedZone even if he struggles to separate. I’m of the belief that you can find a potential pro bowl receiver at any point in the draft. That doesn’t mean you pass on a talent like “Draco the flying Lizard” just because you think you might find one later on in the draft. That’s just dumb. Remember what I always say, when you see the obvious, you draft the obvious. You have to always do your homework but don’t nit-pick yourself out of selecting the obvious.

STRENGTHS
Kaiir is tall and long with that quick twitch athletic talent to be an excellent cover corner for the team that selects him. He also has very good track speed and make-up speed that allows him to trail an opponent and still make a play on the ball with his long reach. He shows on film good hands to make the interception. He has good football intelligence in zone coverages and does a good job communicating with his teammates. Kaiir likes the challenge of playing in single coverage and covering the top receiver on the opponent’s team. His impact at the next level will be in single coverages more so than in zone coverages.

CONCERNS
Kaiir does struggle with his lateral agility and at times will stumble but because of his quickness and speed to recover and long length, he recovers quickly. Because of this lack of lateral agility, he struggles to take the correct angle in open space when tackling and this is a problem when he plays in zone coverages. Kaiir is not a “form tackling type” of defensive back, and suggesting that will change at the next level is not likely. This lack of form tackling will limit his ability to play in any style of defense until he improves. Kaiir also is a penalty machine waiting to happen and panics and becomes overly physical when he feels he is going to get beat in the middle of a route or off the line of scrimmage.

BOTTOM LINE: 3.72
Kaiir has excellent overall talent but I question if he will accept the coaching needed for him to improve on that talent. His ability to panic when in single coverage is strong and his lack of passion to tackle in open space is troubling also. That being said, if in interviews a team feels that he will improve then by all means, select him early because his physical talent and size suggest that he can be an impact cover corner if he works hard enough and develops the passion to tackle in open space with some consistency. I think after 4 years you should defiantly be able to find that out.

STRENGTHS
Nakobe is an instinctive football player. He shows on film, excellent leadership, instincts, quickness, and burst to the ball along with a high football IQ to play bigger than his size. He’s a strong tackler. He is more quick than fast but has good speed. When he is used to attacking the line of scrimmage his size is an advantage along with his unique strength and leverage to defeat and overpower blocks. His quickness and change of direction agility are also an advantage in coverage. When used in coverage, his ability to read the receiver and read routes and once again anticipate, are advantages. He’s a playmaker who reminds me a lot of former Panthers LB Thomas Davis and for you young guys, he’s a lot like Raven’s playmaking LB, Patrick Queen.

CONCERNS
Nakobe will be downgraded because he is not 6’ 2” and for some teams, it will affect his draft status. If he measures another 2 inches, Nakobe could be considered by most teams as a top 10 to top 15 type player. At least on film, he plays like that.

BOTTOM LINE: 1.57
When both Thomas Davis and Patrick Queen came out most teams struggled with what position they would play at the next level. Davis bounced back and forth between safety and linebacker but had the speed most teams looked for at either position so he was selected as the 14th pick in that draft. Queen was listed as 6ft – 229LBs at the combine but played linebacker and most teams look for bigger size players when selecting early in the 1st round so, he wasn’t selected until the 28th pick. Nakobe falls into the same range of size, speed, quickness, etc., as both of those players. As far as I’m concerned when I look at the film he plays like a 6’3” 230lb linebacker with the instincts, football IQ, and leadership skills to be the focal point of your defense. Nakobe can be used all over your defense in coverage or attacking the line of scrimmage and he will make plays. You can try to block him but, in most cases, he will take the blocker on, and with unique strength and perfect leverage, will defeat it. I don’t care what position you think he should play, I would select him early, put him on the field right away, and watch him as he makes plays all over the field. That’s what I would do because playmakers come in all sizes so suggesting that Nakobe is not the right size, seems pretty foolish to me.