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2022 EDGE Thread

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
what are your thoughts on hutchinson if you've got any?
I haven’t watched enough to feel too strongly about my opinions, but from what I’ve seen I think he’s madly overhyped right now, if he’s being talked about as potential #1 overall I think that’s madness. He shouldn’t sniff the top 5 from what I’ve seen.
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
I like what I've seen from the Cameron Thomas tape - he does what you want of a smaller-school prospect which is to dominate the competition

really love what he does with his hands, love the combination of explosion and power and effort and length and does all sorts of stuff well and i think there's some technical stuff to work on in the running game if he were to become a raven i think that's highly coachable and i see traits that suggest he can do that

my 1 concern from what ive seen is that all his success seems to be working inside - often either swimming or transitioning off a long-arm which is great but i dont know that ive seen him legitimately threaten outside more than once or twice which makes me wonder whether he'd be somewhat restricted to rushing mostly reduced inside or as an edge designed to attack inside with a db blitz or looper coming outside behind him

not necessarily damning of him but just not something that im seeing on tape at all so far - i see him threaten enough outside to get tackles to open up inside but ive not actually seen him win outside as a pass rusher more than once so far (not that he's really tried much)

and if that's what he is (an edge setter who reduces inside to 4i or 3t to rush) then that's fine but that somewhat limits his value to me if he's not a threat outside

hopefully the senior bowl lets him get some reps working outside and doesnt just push him inside working over guards and stuff

certainly the most dynamic edge guy ive studied so far though
 

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
Not as impressed as i was expecting to be by this senior bowl group of edges yet...

done jermaine johnson, myjai sanders and kingsley enagbare and not particularly into any of them so far
I like myjai sanders in that group, he needs to pack on some weight and bring his pads and hips down but I like his burst, length, finesse and general pass rush moves, good bend and quickness and active hands, great finisher too.
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
I like myjai sanders in that group, he needs to pack on some weight and bring his pads and hips down but I like his burst, length, finesse and general pass rush moves, good bend and quickness and active hands, great finisher too.

i dont see it with sanders tbh - i dont think he's a good bender at all and looks pretty inflexible to me - he's got some sparky athleticism and occasionally flashes some good hands but too often seems content to just have 2 hands in the chest and let himself be stonewalled - doesnt look to me like he's got a rush plan either - and in the run game i see him getting blown off the ball a ton

it's early but not been impressed with him at all tbh

my 2 favourites of the group so far have been Boye Mafe and Cameron Thomas - Mafe's a little bit more of a project than some other edges might be and Thomas has that question around him that i put in the post just above this but they're the ones who show me the most traits and nuances so far that get me excited about them as potential playmakers in the NFL
 

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
i dont see it with sanders tbh - i dont think he's a good bender at all and looks pretty inflexible to me - he's got some sparky athleticism and occasionally flashes some good hands but too often seems content to just have 2 hands in the chest and let himself be stonewalled - doesnt look to me like he's got a rush plan either - and in the run game i see him getting blown off the ball a ton

it's early but not been impressed with him at all tbh

my 2 favourites of the group so far have been Boye Mafe and Cameron Thomas - Mafe's a little bit more of a project than some other edges might be and Thomas has that question around him that i put in the post just above this but they're the ones who show me the most traits and nuances so far that get me excited about them as potential playmakers in the NFL
I may need a 2nd look at sanders… I really like
Both Thomas and mafe, I think mafe is being slept on as an early day 3 guy and he could make a huge leap with the senior bowl
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
I may need a 2nd look at sanders… I really like
Both Thomas and mafe, I think mafe is being slept on as an early day 3 guy and he could make a huge leap with the senior bowl

i mean its only a pre-senior bowl preliminary grade on all of them but i just havent seen it with sanders (and i know many agree with you on him) - if you can point me to games that you think demonstrate those qualities you like id love to hear it so i can check those ones out because i didnt love him at all

i 100% think mafe's being slept on - think the senior bowl he's gonna show that he belongs and then he's gonna blow up the combine and he's not gonna go on day 3 after that lol

what really stuck out to me about mafe was that i could see him get better season-by-season, game-by-game - he's clearly coachable - like i'd watch ohio state in 2021 and wonder about his ability to move in space, his lack of a plan and some slow processing and then he'd get better each game and you see it all come together - he looks fluid moving in space and dropping in coverage, rushes with a plan and uses nice hand placement to get himself home - i still think he's not active enough with his hands with counters and stuff and i dont think his processing in the running game is particularly advanced (think he could use his length better to stack too) and his strikes arent overly powerful like some other guys but he's the first guy ive seen with the tools that genuinely made me think he's got a chance to be an impact guy in the pros - a lot of the other guys ive watched so far seem really stiff to me

jermaine johnson is a great run defender but not sold on him as a pass rusher and sanders and enagbare (the other 2 ive done so far) look overly stiff and unimpressive to me
 

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
i mean its only a pre-senior bowl preliminary grade on all of them but i just havent seen it with sanders (and i know many agree with you on him) - if you can point me to games that you think demonstrate those qualities you like id love to hear it so i can check those ones out because i didnt love him at all

i 100% think mafe's being slept on - think the senior bowl he's gonna show that he belongs and then he's gonna blow up the combine and he's not gonna go on day 3 after that lol

what really stuck out to me about mafe was that i could see him get better season-by-season, game-by-game - he's clearly coachable - like i'd watch ohio state in 2021 and wonder about his ability to move in space, his lack of a plan and some slow processing and then he'd get better each game and you see it all come together - he looks fluid moving in space and dropping in coverage, rushes with a plan and uses nice hand placement to get himself home - i still think he's not active enough with his hands with counters and stuff and i dont think his processing in the running game is particularly advanced (think he could use his length better to stack too) and his strikes arent overly powerful like some other guys but he's the first guy ive seen with the tools that genuinely made me think he's got a chance to be an impact guy in the pros - a lot of the other guys ive watched so far seem really stiff to me

jermaine johnson is a great run defender but not sold on him as a pass rusher and sanders and enagbare (the other 2 ive done so far) look overly stiff and unimpressive to me
Enagbare I see as a 5tech/4i through and through, he will need to pack on some pounds and has potential there, but he doesn’t have the skillset to be a legit nfl edge rusher. If we were able to land him in the third then I’d be very intrigued with him as a 5tech type
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
Enagbare I see as a 5tech/4i through and through, he will need to pack on some pounds and has potential there, but he doesn’t have the skillset to be a legit nfl edge rusher. If we were able to land him in the third then I’d be very intrigued with him as a 5tech type

i mean either way he looks like a high risk project to me - if he's a 5t/4i type guy then he needs a ton of technical work (and need to see if you can add some weight to his frame without losing explosion) just to make sure he doesnt get blown off the ball because he's constantly getting moved

he looks like a day 3 project to me - he might go higher because of the athleticism but i dont see it right now
 

Edgar

Ravens Ring of Honor
Arnold Ebiketie (penn State) is a guy that will begin to move up. Man, I've watched 3 games and I am loving this guy off the edge. A guy that if we got him in round 2 it would be a steal...Im guessing you'd have to move up for him in round two....somewhat raw and mechanical vs. run but watch out off the edge...natural
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
Arnold Ebiketie (penn State) is a guy that will begin to move up. Man, I've watched 3 games and I am loving this guy off the edge. A guy that if we got him in round 2 it would be a steal...Im guessing you'd have to move up for him in round two....somewhat raw and mechanical vs. run but watch out off the edge...natural

love the speed off the edge and the rip move - but most of all im excited about the bend - gonna be excited to watch him at the senior bowl - not sold on him as a run defender at the point of attack

but not done any study of him yet - just a quick look a few days ago
 

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
Arnold Ebiketie (penn State) is a guy that will begin to move up. Man, I've watched 3 games and I am loving this guy off the edge. A guy that if we got him in round 2 it would be a steal...Im guessing you'd have to move up for him in round two....somewhat raw and mechanical vs. run but watch out off the edge...natural
Just discovered him recently myself, he’s very exciting
 

rossihunter2

Staff Member
Moderator
Just discovered him recently myself, he’s very exciting

just been finishing up a preliminary grade on him and i really do worry about his play-strength at the point of attack - feel like he's going to get beat up on the edge in the running game

i do really like how much of a threat he is outside and the way he plans and sets tackles up with (and for) his inside counter and he developed a nice speed-to-power - wish he used his length better though... so often he does everything with both hands

he's certainly the flashiest of the pass rushers ive graded so far - of the 6 senior bowl edge guys ive got preliminary grades on... he and mafe are my favourites but i give the edge to mafe somewhat - ebiketie is the best bender and loosest-hipped rusher of the guys though

with ebiketie i think if i was a little more sure of his upper body strength and i saw more active hand work through the rush when his first move doesnt work, id be more confident in him - as it is he feels really developmental and maybe a guy who doesnt contribute much as a rookie

tbh ive been kinda disappointed - i thought id like this senior bowl group of edge guys more than i do... luckily i know there's 3 juniors who i definitely like a lot and probably at least a couple others lol
 
Ojabo is becoming a favorite of mine. I just don’t know if I can see EDC investing another 1st in a player pretty similar to Oweh. Although a pass rush consisting of Ojabo, Oweh and Madubuike could be the start of something interesting.
 

JoeyFlex5

Hall of Famer
Ojabo is becoming a favorite of mine. I just don’t know if I can see EDC investing another 1st in a player pretty similar to Oweh. Although a pass rush consisting of Ojabo, Oweh and Madubuike could be the start of something interesting.
I’m already beginning to sour on ojabo a little bit, I don’t see what makes him a whole 1-2 rounds more valuable than an Arnold ebiketie who’s almost identical.
 

RavensMania

Staff Member
Administrator
i havent watched any of cross yet but he's one of those big 3 that im excited to watch - ive seen some of ekwonu (obviously) and Evan Neal was magnificent yesterday against cincinnati

daniel faalele and trevor penning are going to be at the senior bowl so that's cool too

right now i get the sense that as long as a couple of QBs go ahead of us and we're in the top 16 somewhere that we're going to get a major talent at some position

but so far i get the sense that this class is absolutely stacked everywhere on defence - but especially at the top and especially at EDGE

what changed your mind on ekwonu?
Evan Neal may be the highest paid OL in 5 or 6 years.
 
I’m already beginning to sour on ojabo a little bit, I don’t see what makes him a whole 1-2 rounds more valuable than an Arnold ebiketie who’s almost identical.

I’ll have to look more into Ebiketie. How does he fare against the run? That was one of the things that I liked about Ojabo. I feel like he’s already a disciplined and good run defender
 
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