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The top of the DE big board is really personal preference as all of them are pretty good and worthy of a first round pick. Also for this particular exercise, I'm making no difference between DE and OLB prospects when noted. Welcome to the first of my positional big boards! Let's begin with my boy.
1. Bjoern Werner DE/OLB Junior Florida State University
Height/Weight - 6'4 255
Analysis - Werner was the most consistently dominating pass rusher in all of college football this year. He posted a ridiculous stat line of: 13 sacks, 42 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 8 passes defensed, 1 each of fumbles forced and recovered. Werner did all this while being the primary end that got the most attention from OL after another potential draftee, Brandon Jenkins went down in the preseason with a foot injury. The year he had should wave off the stigma that he had Jenkins to occupy blockers for him. He lost weight in 2012, coming in at 255 from 275. I wish he had stayed for one more year but as near certain top 10 pick, you have to go pro. It's too risky to come back.
2. Damontre Moore DE/OLB Texas A&M Junior
Height/Weight - 6'4 250
Analysis - Von Miller who? Moore quickly made some people forget what Von Miller did in college. Like Miller, Moore played both end and linebacker for the Aggies with major success. Unlike Miller, he's not as explosive as Miller is (granted, not many guys are). Moore put up a great stat year: 85 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, 2 passes defenses, and 1 fumble recovery. Moore has declared early as a junior.
3. Barkevious Mingo DE/OLB LSU Junior
H/W - 6'5 240
Analysis - A less than impressive junior campaign for Mingo this year after an all world sophomore year. It seemed like he disappeared at times. A moderate red flag there but his Chik-Fil-A bowl performance against a heavily loaded Clemson offense has eased my concerns. I see him as a pure standup pass rusher in a 3-4 scheme unless he adds more weight to the frame.
4. Sam Montgomery DE LSU Junior
H/W - 6'5 260
Analysis - A more consistent year for Monty than his buddy Mingo but Mingo's bowl performance has him edging Montgomery out by a hair. The one concern I do have is that he was shut down by A&M's Luke Joeckel. It's a minor red flag but worth watching over the process. He has the ideal frame to be a 4-3 DE.
5. Alex Okafor DE Texas Senior
H/W - 6'4 265
Analysis - He had a solid and consistent year for the Longhorns as their only true pass rushing threat after Jackson Jeffcoat's injury. Okafor had a standout game against Geno Smith and West Virginia. He did not play that well against Oklahoma however (not many Horns did). Okafor probably has the biggest arsenal of pass rush moves of any DE in this class.
6. Dion Jordan DE/OLB Oregon Senior
H/W - 6'7 243
Analysis - The most intriguing end/linebacker prospect to watch over the draft tour. He is a bit undersized for DE and needs to add more weight to his 6'7 frame to be an OLB. If he can do this and not lose any of his agility, he'll be a good one. The best scheme fit for him would be as a standup 3-4 OLB at this point. A fast riser through the boards this year.
Other prospects to watch:
DE Margus Hunt SMU
DE/OLB Corey Lemonier Auburn
DE Ezekiel Ansah BYU
DE Tank Carradine FSU
DE John Simon Ohio State
DE/OLB Brandon Jenkins FSU
DE Datone Jones UCLA
DE/OLB Devin Taylor South Carolina
DE Wes Horton USC
{Note} - I'd like to thank everyone who read and commented on my Titans fan guides during the season. It was a joy to make them every week. This idea is kind of piggybacking off of Winni's err Daniel R's survey idea but what would MCM like to see in terms of draft material? Please leave any suggestions in the comments. Thanks!