NFL Stock Exchange: An NFL Draft Podcast - Early 2026 NFL Draft Edge Rusher Rankings

Episode Date: January 15, 2026

Subscribe to our YouTube channel! It helps us out a bunch. Join our discord to connect with us and fellow addicts! https://discord.gg/WMJFjz4DQP https://discord.gg/PxSFVtWEwW?feature=description timestamps: 0:00:00 Intro 0:04:23 6-10 0:06:08 R Mason Thomas, Oklahoma 0:12:00 Romello Height, Texas Tech 0:19:59 Gabe Jacas, Illinois 0:25:53 LT Overton, Alabama 0:31:53 Zion Young, Missouri 0:36:41 Derrick Moore, Michigan 0:40:36 Western and Southern Financial Group 0:42:05 T.J. Parker, Clemson 0:47:51 1-5 0:49:01 David Bailey, Texas Tech 0:58:13 Ahkeem Mesidor, Miami 1:04:10 Cashius Howell, Texas A&M 1:09:58 Keldric Faulk, Aubrurn 1:14:31 Rueben Bain Jr, Miami 1:20:04 Recap & Honorable Mentions 1:23:11 Outro Follow us on X: https://x.com/NFLSEshow https://x.com/TampaBayTre https://x.com/ConnorJRogers PFF's Mock Draft Simulator! https://www.pff.com/draft/nfl-mock-draft-simulator Help the show by going to subscribe.pff.com and using the code: nflse25 You get 25% off an annual subscription at checkout AND you help the show out a ton! We appreciate each and every one of you ADDICTS :) Thanks to Western and Southern Financial Group for sponsoring today's episode. For business or other inquiries, reach us at [e-mail] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Oh, you gave Jackson Dart an A plus. Hey, my A plus was Jackson Dart. Whoa. Jackson Dart was great this year. I mean. Yeah. I mean. No Malik neighbors.

I mean. Eventually no Cam Scataboo. I mean. A B plus. I mean. B plus. Yes. I mean.

Welcome to the opening bell. The NFL Stock Exchange podcast. Trevor Sigma. That's Connor Rogers. Me yelling, I mean, was essentially what I was doing to my microphone for the last 15 minutes because for some reason, it picked this show to not want to work.

Folks, technology tried to get in the way. Technology tried to keep you from hearing our top 10 edge rushers for the 2026 NFL draft. But we didn't let it happen. No, we're here. And here we are. Connor, I'm excited for this one, man. A premium position, edge rushers,

so many different ways to be an edge rusher in today's NFL. It's always a good time. How you doing, my friend? I'm good, man. I'm glad you didn't crash out. This is... Yet, yet, yet. Close with no cigar.

I mean, oh, man, as the chef... I'm holding on by a thread, people. By a thread. It's good to be me. You just stop caring about literally anything. You just say it's good to be me. Yeah, no Dante more in this draft. Oh, dude.

Jets will be starting Marcus Mariotta and Tim Boyle and Brady Cook for this season. I'm really not crashing out over it. I already did a reaction on Badlands is there's another pathway for the Jets, which makes today very relevant because I think this edge class, I don't know how you felt about it, but while

watching it, I thought this was a really strong group and some of the top talent in this draft is specifically in this group. Yeah, I agree. I think that this is, it's no secret to anybody who's been following this program or the NFL draft throughout the college football season. This is a defensive draft. And especially the

that the quarterbacks have gone. Yes, the wide receiver room is good. Like, you can get a premium wide receiver. If you get Jeremiah Love, fantastic. But, like, it's about it. Yeah. Either you're the Raiders and you're getting Fernando Mendoza or you need a wide receiver or maybe you luck into getting Jeremiah Love.

The rest of it, very defensive focus. But the edge rush group is one of those groups. It's really carrying this class. So if you need a pass rusher at all whatsoever, whatsoever, we got them in all different shapes and sizes here. We're going to go through our top tens. We'll talk about some guys that are just outside of the top 10 as well. We'll talk about different categories, scheme fits for these guys, any pro comps, early pro comps that we might have for them, things we're looking forward to seeing throughout the process, the All-Star Bowls, the Combine, all that great stuff.

We're not going to do a mock draft here on the show. I know a lot of people are like, hey, Dante Moore's not in. Let's get a mock. Maybe we'll do it Monday. We'll kind of, we'll think. We have some plans. We just did a mock draft, and we do have some plans. This week was a wild week in the NFL.

and the NFL draft. So we'll see. We'll keep you guys on your toes for Monday. But I guess let's just dig right into it. Let's get into it. Are we doing 10 through 4? I actually don't know. I don't podcast a lot, so I don't,

I want you guys to lead the way. I would have loved to go through this with our producer, Tyler, before the show. If my mic worked. I didn't really see you until the show starts. I saw you on your earlier show. My earlier show in which the microphone worked as intended. We're not crashing out, though.

We're not crashing out about it. We're not going 10 to 6. We're going 10 to 6 first, then we're going 5 to 1. Thank you, Tyler, for getting into the chat and let us know that. 10 to 6, Connor. Let's do a little 10. Or do you want to do some shoutouts before we get to the rankings or afterwards? Let's do it after.

Okay, okay. All right. 10 to 6. It'll keep, I guess the surprise factor is a little better when we don't do the shoutouts. So here's 10 to 6 for me. Ramello Hyde from Texas Tech at 10, which might surprise some people in the chat, but I'll get into my reasons why he's, he was at 10 and almost on the outside looking in. Nine, R. Mason Thomas from Oklahoma, who sadly it appears has dropped out of the Senior Bowl as of today. I know that. I thought that event was kind of built for him. So, yeah, I don't, I don't know.

I know he had an injury down the stretch of the season. And it seemed like he came back early from. So maybe that factors in. Gabe Accus from Illinois at eight. R. Mason Pounder. Our Mason Pounder is still on the board. Gabe Accus, yes, soft J. Soft J, by the way.

Almost no J at all, actually. Almost no J at all for people who didn't listen to Summer Scouting. That's right. Yeah, a lot of summer scouting. callbacks on this group. Yes. 7 L.T. Overton out of Alabama.

Number six was Zion Young from Missouri. So of course you kind of have two undersized speed rushers at 10 and 9 and then three heavy-handed power edge-setting rushers from 8 to 6. So my 10 through 6 because so we'll do it.

I'll go 10 through 6 and then we'll compare. Oh, I also have Ramello Hyde at number 10. Wow. I almost did not put into the top 10. Man, it's going to be tough. We'll talk about it. We'll talk. We'll get it anyway to it.

Derek Moore from Michigan. Yeah, George from Michigan. I have him at number nine. Arm Mason Thomas right in front of him. So those are two kind of back to back. Smaller in. Oh. What?

Oh, man. The backstabbing of R. Mason Thomas. What do you mean? Eight? You got him in nine. I'm higher than you. you. I know ball. Yeah, but he wasn't even on my planet over summer. And that was on you. You said he was von Miller. You called him. First of all, first of all, first of all,

Vaughn Miller couldn't even hold Ar Mason. No, I'm just kidding. I think that when I, when I watched him over the summer, and this is, it's obviously funny. I love that back and forth, but it does go into a little bit of how we've talked about this many times before. Summer scouting is a little different than when you do full reports on guys. When you're doing summer scouting stuff, there's a lot of hope involved. There's a lot of what could be. And then when you're doing final reports, you go, okay, this is what this player is going into the NFL. And so R Mason Thomas, I still like a good amount. And I'll be, I'll be transparent about it. He's eight. The difference in film score points out of a hundred that I have between him and the guy who's ranked third and fourth is like three

points. So there's not a lot in between like where he is and a lot of the guys in the top five. Now, obviously we'll talk about it. The things that he does well, explosiveness, pound for pounds, super strong. I think he's got great natural leverage, really good leg drive to him. That's actually why he's right in front of Derek Moore because I think Derek Moore from Michigan is a little bit better with his hands. He's got a little bit more passersh moves to him, a little bit higher passers IQ that you see on a consistent basis. But Armason Thomas, to me, he's just, he is such a freak when it comes to the strength

that he has in his lower body, the pop that he can still generate when he's stacking these offensive linemen. The issue is just he still kind, he won more on athleticism or he just tried to win more on athleticism than I wanted him to during the summer. During the summer, I was like, man, this dude's a crazy athlete, really strong legs, love the power that he has in his hands, love the quickness that he has in his hands. I hope he develops a lot more pass rush moves, and he uses those to his advantage. He still uses those, but not as much as I wanted him to. So I still think that he could be a very good pro. The problem is, is just that when you are built

the way that he is, even as a speed demon. If you don't do everything you can to keep your hands clean, to keep yourself clean, then you run into a lot of the length issues that you can get. So I still think he's a great athlete and somebody who is like a really good, what would I give him? Like late second, early third round pick type of a player. But yeah, that's where I have him at number eight in these rankings, yes. It is funny.

You had them two over the summer. I had him 14th. We end up having them nine and eight. It all comes together, folks. That's why you get to listen to the pod year round, folks. We all get to where we need to be. But it's true. This is probably the most fascinating group when you put the whole puzzle together

from summer to the final rankings. Quarterback, you could say, but it's so, the volatility of a quarterback is just insane. Like you have a guy that looks like he has QB3 traits in a class and then he'll not even be healthy enough to be picked or whatever like that. With that drusher, it feels like you can get a little more narrowed down. For R Mason Thomas, who had a really, really good year,

I mean, obviously missing three games and he had a 20.2 pass rush win rate. You brought up the quickness, the speed. Because he's 6'2, it works to his advantage to rush low. It's very hard, like you said, the leverage game for him. The only thing that you, not the only thing, but one of the things you just,

you get concerned about, like there are times where he is playing small in the front seven. There were times where I saw tight ends just blow him up. And I was like, oh, man, like that's, but that's, it's going to happen when you're an undersized player playing as a true edge defender. I think the reason why I ended up being a little bit lower on him, is because the more that I watched him,

the more I saw Mo Kamara from Colorado State. And I can't remember how high you were on Mocha. I liked him. He was definitely in my top 100. I did too. I liked Mo Kamara a good amount. But Kamara goes in the fifth round. And it's very early in his career,

but it's not like he's gotten a shot to really prove himself and what he's able to do. And I remember I went back in, just because he reminded me a lot of Kamara, I went back and I watched some Colorado State film. And then I also watched some film of him in the preseason at Miami. And a lot of the ways that he's winning in the preseason are like, man, this is how our Mason Thomas wins. And so I think it's going to be another case where we were higher on Kamara than clearly the league was with Kamara getting drafted in the fifth round.

But I think the truth is probably somewhere around him being a third round pick type of a great where you like the athletic potential of him. You like the pound per pound strength. You like the quickness. But unless his hands get even more active and he could stay clean more often, you just run into a lot of troubles against guys who are built like they are in the pros. That's exactly right. And it kind of brings us to not the same combo, but maybe in the same vein, Ramello height, who we both have at 10?

Because Romello Heights, so Romello Heights's spring. numbers that I had are pretty jarring, right? From the spring, and this is someone that has played for Georgia Tech, USC, and Auburn. He is a 60-year senior. He will be 25 years old on draft night. He, in his spring measurements, he's not even the highest 25-year-old that I have on these rankings. I know you're going to get to leather helmet.

Yeah, right. It's amazing. That's coming. That's coming. Six, two and a quarter, 228. Now, I don't think he, you see him listed 2.30. I think he weighed more than that this season. And he's very muscular.

Like, it's not like Romalo Heights, like, 20 years old and filling out. He's 24 and clearly lives in the gym. He's got muscle on muscle. But sub 240 is sub 240 on the edge. Chats had Romello age. You guys ridiculous. They called, you see they called R Mason Thomas Non Miller before? No.

Yeah, they loved that one. I hate to give it to him. But I have no choice but to give it to him. That's good. That's good. That's good, chat. I hate you for it, but that's good. I'm actually going to print that out and send it to Armason Thomas's representation, like his agents.

Motivation. And he's going to get back in the senior bowl because you guys said that. So thank you, actually. Ramello Heights, sixth year senior, it all just worked out for him at Texas Tech. this year. I mean, he's a true sixth year breakout. He had six and a half career sacks in his previous five seasons. And this year he had 10. And it wasn't just the 10 sacks. He had 40, you watch the tech front. Like the amount of pressures him and Bailey on the edges generate is hilarious. 22.2% pass rush win rate. He's so quick and furious off the ball. He does rush with

a different energy. He's angry. He's got burst. He could dip his shirt. He could dip his shoulder. He throws out a wide array of moves. You'll see a swipe. You'll see a spin. But man, at the end of the day, he's just undersized in height, mass, and length. And when the run becomes a phone booth battle, he got massacred. And the problem with that is, and then also in the run, one more underlying thing was when he was so quick to get to the ball carrier, rather than having to set an edge, he just won on quickness, which is, that counts the same. He doesn't drive-through ball carriers. He missed a lot of tackles. He kind of like reached an upper body lunged. So the problem when you look at players like these is they are so fun and so dangerous

to watch in college. But when you accept the reality of all these teams playing 12 personnel at the NFL level and just running right down your throat, like Romello Hyatt right now at best is just a third down situational pass rusher in a Robert Sala style defense. And even, And that role, he's still smaller than a lot of the guys that play that role. So I tip my cap to the college tape and how hard he plays and the moves and quickness he has. But I just wonder if he can ever, I don't think he could ever expand from a very, very, like, NASCAR package role. Chats on one today. They said, Romello Light.

They're on one. I also saw Romello height doesn't matter. I saw somebody say this is the mic. sounds like the Mike Evans of head rushers. A little bit of a background on Romila Heights. So he's a four-star linebacker in the 2020 class. One of state championship when he was a senior in Dublin, Georgia. Originally committed to Miami, but flipped that to Auburn.

Played in one game in that 2020 season and got that COVID red shirt in that season. Played nine games to next year. Transferred to USC. Started two games but missed the rest due to a shoulder injury in 2022. Played in 12 games in 2023. Transfer to Georgia Tech in 2024. all 12 games there. Then he tracks for it at Texas Tech where you mentioned.

Like that's where basically all of his production came from is this past year when he was in Texas. I think that he is a quick pass rusher. I think he's a slippery pass rusher. Like he's got that slippery style to go in between gaps and really be able to attack the half man of an offensive lineman by getting across their face or just having a really nice first step and a finesse rush to just attack the outside shoulder. I think he is a really nice finesse rusher.

He's got those long arms to him. He's got that long build. He's tough to stay in front of. He's got a really nice first step to him. But the problem is, like you mentioned, he gets washed out in the run games. Any sort of double team, he doesn't stand a chance. Tight ends can handle him one-on-one in the run game. He just does not play with a lot of strength.

He is truly, like you mentioned, a situational finesse type of pass rusher on the line of scrimmaging. I liked his tape in the middle of the season a lot. but after going through the full review of it for this, there were too many times where his lack of strength showed up and his lack of weight showed up. He reminds me in the early comp that I have for him, and I like this, so I think I'm going to stick with it, is Austin Booker coming out of Kansas.

You remember Austin Booker was the same thing? He was like 6 foot four. He was bigger, though. Who? Booker. Not by much, though. This is two inches and that longer arm. Oh, I like I was saying.

But there's a like weight profile. Booker was what, 20 year old prospect that you look at and go, he can gain 20 pounds. Romo height is going to be 25 and like this is who he is. But so the reason why I thought of Austin Booker though is, yes, he is a little bit taller. Their body types is very much the same with them being like long and skinnier edge rushers. The issue was a lot of the same things that Booker stood out with in college are what Remel height stands out with. But the thing about Booker is everybody went, okay, like you just said, your 20-year-old edge rusher, we're going to put some weight on you when you get into the NFL,

you're going to be good to go. I watch him with the Chicago Bears now. They've put the necessary 15 pounds on him. He looks slow. He's not the same player. Interesting. So like with height, if I tell you he has to put on 10 pounds at a minimum to become a three-down lineman in the NFL. I don't like that because I don't think he's going to be the same athlete. So now you have a player who's just kind of washed out, doesn't really have strength or weaknesses. I would rather him just lean into, hey, this is who he is. These are the strength parts of his game. And I just think that he's going to be a designated pass rusher, which, yeah, puts him a lot closer to the mid-round range, especially when you bring his age

into it than it does anything in the top 50. I want to shout out, Will Cairion for this awesome super chat here. Thank you so much, Will for the $100 super chat. Oh, Will. Will said, sup, pipsqueaks dropping in to say hello, but got to go. That's why I wanted to read it now. Got engaged last Wednesday. Congrats, Will, which is why I didn't drop in after coming in hot last Monday. Really, uh, congrats to you, man. Connor, I too am from New York and a fan of the teams you like with one exception big Giants fan. I even like uncrustables. Good lad. You are, Will. I was just saying. I hope you get John Harbaugh today. I really do. He's there right now.

I hope the best for you on your engagement day or week. Congratulations, Will. That's awesome. Congratulations on getting engaged. Congratulations on having Jackson Dart, even though everyone will tell you that I hate him and that he's not a real football player. Connor at least gave him an A-plus when we did the episode on Monday.

But we appreciate you being an addict. We appreciate you supporting the show. Will, thank you so much, man. We really appreciate that. Yeah, thank you, Will. Let's get back to the top tens because I want to see who the next prospect is that we should shout out. I guess Accus, right? We both have him. I have him seven, you have him an eight.

Yeah. I really like Cabacchus. There's a lot to like. I think he's still putting it together, obviously, as a pass rusher. But man, what's the official height? Six foot three, 275 pounds. I mean, this dude's a monster. That first step for being 275 pounds is really impressive. He's way more fluid than you would think for an athlete who's six, three, two, 75. but that's why Illinois has him as a two-point rusher. I remember watching him during summer scouting and I was like, I want you to be a three-four defensive end, but they don't play you like that.

And then the more you watch, you go, okay, I guess I get why you don't play it, why you don't want to limit him as just a two-gapping player in an odd front. You want him to get after the passer. And I thought he did it at a pretty high level. He wins with strength. He wins with some nice pass. I think he gets fooled too much with misdirection, with RPO's, with play action.

I think there are too many times where I'm watching him react instead of really anticipate what's going on and where the ball is going. But man, if you tell me that that's still coming for him, which it absolutely could, I think this is, he has built the way you want an NFL edge rush to be built. And physically, he brings you a lot of what you would want. as a versatile player at that position. Yeah, I think he's pretty tough, too. Like, you watch him play and you see the pass rush production with his size, length,

and power. He's not going to bend and be this flexible finesse rusher, but he uses his size, length, and power. His big strides close on quarterbacks. Yeah. Clearly quicker than the smaller guys. Yes. There was a couple times he won, and you blink, and you're like, whoa.

He, he, between the. big strides and the big reach, he was able to turn a quarterback hurry into a quarterback sack or hit in a different way compared to the other guys. And I thought you see the run stop percentage there, like not afraid to crash into a pulling guard, starting to learn with his hand usage, how to set the edge and control the point of attack, which shout out to Illinois. Illinois has been really good at coaching up their defensive players hand usage over the years.

If you think of Johnny Newton, even the way Witherspoon crashes against the run in that Seattle defense now. Illinois has a really great reputation for this. And Accus was somebody that right away, if you go back to his freshman year, he popped on tape because of the raw traits and ability that he has, God-given, shout out to McCoy Lemon. But now he's actually learning how to play the position. So I'm obviously with you, Trevor, you had him seven, I had him at eight. I think what I like about Accus is there's a pathway for him to easily being a three-down starting edge defender in the NFL. I agree. And it's not often that you say that. this about a player who, like you mentioned, he's still ascending, he's still growing. I would agree

with you completely. And you don't often say that about a player who has been starting since his true freshman season. He started eight games as a true freshman and was a freshman All-American. He started 10 games the next year. He started 13 games next year. He started all the games that he played in this past season. So it's not like this guy doesn't have a lot of football under his belt. He's just still growing. Like it's taking him a little bit of time, but you like the ascension that he's on. And even if what he is is what you get in the NFL, so useful football player. So I like him a lot. He's got the state championship wrestling background as well.

Dude just loves physicality. And I think that that will always play in the trenches. And I think that he's got inside out versatility for an odd front. If you run an odd front, he can play anything from a four eye to a five technique. He can stand up as a six, seven technique. Like whatever it is. I just farmed that. Like whatever it is.

You get one of the day. Probably not because it's a defensive line day. But I just think that he brings so much to the table. And there's some unrefinement there, but you mentioned it. The plays where he hits all of it, whew, beauties, absolutely impact caliber at the NFL level. So, yeah, I'm a gay backist guy with you, 100%. Matt Curran, I'm Trevor Sycamma. Welcome to Accus.

You have to be a certain age for that one to hit. You do. And if you are, that absolutely. I'm not going to explain it, but if you are, I literally just saw the clip. This wasn't from Jackass, but it was from the Bamar Jarrah show, where the episode starts. And it's like Bam and two other people holding onto a hot, the basket of a hot air balloon. I just saw this. It was in my algorithm recently. Yeah. And they're holding onto it as, and two of them, two of them let go and fall off.

And then the third one still just hanging on as the air balloon goes. up and the family's freaking out bam's mom is yelling at him she's like and they're like they're grabbing onto the rope to make sure he doesn't float away into space this is as the opening credits are on the bottom of the screen this wasn't like the main thing in the episode this is a throwaway at the beginning of the episode the B roll that they must have locked away somewhere of the things that didn't make the show oh my god yes Viva LeBam Viva Bain was a show not So freaking good. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. You have L.T. Overton and Zion Young on your list. I do. I have them just outside of my top 10. Okay. So let's talk about those two guys there. I'll hit on Derek Moore really quick. And then I assume that you have T.J. Parker top five?

I do. I have T.J. Parker at five. So let's talk about them together. Okay. We'll do that after. So hit me with LT. Overton, the defensive lineman from Alabama. Tell me what you think about him. And then I'll give you my thoughts and why he was just outside of my top 10. B.L.L.T. Overton, man. Nice. Yeah, dude.

You got to have some protein when you talk about this. Dude, that's actually good. Again, I got to give it to you. He is every bit of 275 pounds. I have his spring measurement, 6-2 and 3 eighths, 275, 35, 33 and a half-inch arms, 10 and 3 eighth inch hands, so big hands, big frame. Do you know his family background? His mom was a really good volleyball player for Kentucky.

Okay. His dad played offensive line for Oklahoma, but his dad is now the athletic director at Kennesaw State. So, yeah, it's pretty good genes here. Damn, you want to go play for his dad's school? I know. I was thinking that. I was like, mad.

You're like, sorry, pop. No loyalty. I'm going out in the scouting report. Sorry, Kennesaw State. I'm going to play at Alabama. L.T. Overton, former five-star recruit, you probably have heard about him for a while now

because there's been big hype around this guy. It's almost one of those ones where it's gone full circle. He had a lot of hype. Then he didn't really have the year. He was hoping for last year and didn't declare after he was thought of he could have. Goes back to school.

He doesn't have crazy pass rush production on the box score, like regular pass rush production, sacks. But man, the tape is, really good for BLT. I mean, this is somebody that just heavy hands, you can move them up and down the line of scrimmage.

He will set the edge, he'll win at the point of attack, he'll take on and drive through pollers. He's already got NFL lower body strength. You can't really move them. I would describe LT Overton's game as being in control. He plays with his head up. He understands, like, he understands run development and had a stack and shit.

and control the line of scrimmage. And that's, you know, when you play for Alabama, like you're going to be asked to do some pro things. You're going to be asked to play some grown man football in this conference. I think he's got, I've said this over summer, I believe. He's got more Twitch than you'd expect, especially when they let him rush from the interior. I think if I was drafting L.T. Overton,

I would play him as that big jumbo edge on early downs. And then I think he'll give you more as a pass rusher than he did in college. if you play him as a true interior rusher because he's got good agility against guards and centers. So I have him listed as a 3-4 defense event. That makes sense. I know he doesn't have the longest arms,

but everything that you said, winning with the power profile, winning with leverage, a little bit of added quickness against interior players, being able to two-gap. I don't think when I've watched him as a true edge rusher,

like even when they put him in wide six, a lot or seven alignments give a little bit of space there he doesn't really threaten the outside shoulders ever it's not really his game to do that he's more of a hey if i have that big of a runway i'm just going to take it i'm going to bull rush you and then i'm going to give you a little push pull and i'm going to get free and get to the quarterback so just basically all of the ways that he wins with power and when you really don't win against the outside shoulders i have a hard time like liking you as an edge rusher, but I still like him a lot as a football player. I think I'd just rather have him inside.

So he's more of an interior guy, in my opinion. And I listed him as a three, four defensive end, but sort of in that like probably third round range, maybe a little bit higher. Yeah, I thought he was better than that in the end. But that's kind of where I had him is just he can do a lot of the dirty work for you. He's a really nice defensive lineman. I don't know how much he's going to give you in pass rush. But I think it sounds like the big difference is you like his pass rush, you

a little bit more than I do. Yeah, and it's once again, like this is somebody that had a very low pass rush win rate this year. It was about 9%. Right. But what he's asked to do is different than, you know, Ramello Hyde and a lot of other undersized Ed rushers that didn't even make my list.

I almost gave some of them away, but I want to save it for the end of the show. Where, like, this is what a NFL body type is going to look like for a lot of defensive coordinators. You're going to ask him to get, you know, it's guys always say you got to earn the right to rush. And this is the guy on first and second down that's going to give you the luxury of being able to rush the passer on third down. You got to have a couple of those. I agree.

I just don't know if he's the one who's going to rush the passer. Right. And that's why I, not on the edge, like I said. I think you do need to kick him in if you want pass rush help from, yeah, man, there's going to be a couple combos like that where it's you're projecting past rush. Now, he will not turn 22 until halfway through. through his rookie season. So good. That's like, that's something that's in his pocket.

I think Overton by the draft is going to go top 50. Okay. All right. I think he's going. Maybe top 60, but. Yeah, maybe top 70, you know, maybe top 80. Well, this brings me to Zion Young. Who is.

Well, hold on. Hold on. I have one chat said the LT stands for Lieutenant Tran Overton. And then I have another one, this one from Tate says, Overton's Spag's defensive end, 100%. Chiefs would love this player. Any defense. Like, yeah, Dennis Allen would with Chicago Bears. I think there's leftover of that from like the Saints.

Like the Saints have a lot of heavier personnel defensive linemen. So yes, I think if you need a heavier defensive lineman, he is your cup of tea. But yeah, go ahead and get to Zion Young. That brings me to Zion Young, who I have at 6th. who just has more pass rush skill than L.T. Overton. And he's still big. Zion Young, 6.5 and an 8th, 255, 33-inch arms.

His pass-rush win rate this year went up from last year of just 11.1% to 17.5 this year. With Zion Young, there's an argument, not an argument. He is one of the best run-defending edge players in this draft. like day one NFL run defender on the edge. He's thick. He's very strong. He can play standing up or with his hand in the dirt. He absorbs contact as well as anybody on this list, in my opinion, against the run.

He kills guys like those slice blocks and pullers. He wants to murder you. And I think this is someone that, like I said, I haven't talked to him. And I haven't really asked people about him. but when you just watch the tape, like this dude is about that life. And if you need even more point in an era where nobody wants to play in bowl games anymore,

and I get it. Like you did enough, you could sit out, go to the draft. This guy played in the bowl game against Virginia and played his ass off against the run and as a pass rusher. I mean, all out, every play,

nonstop. As a pass rusher, he has some limitations, but he converts speed to power. And what gave me hope, Trevor from summer to now is what I didn't see in 2024 that I see in 2025, he started to develop an inside move that I think that's why the win rate went up from 11 point something percent

to almost 18. It's not going to be a 12-sack kind of player. But if he's an above-average run defender and an 8-sack power rusher, like that's a damn good NFL player at 6-5. We're probably going to play closer to 260. I, by the way, you said you were just listening out to measurable. there. L.T. Overton's like official weight has been 275. Like we've got official weight measurements from him of being

275. Alabama lists him at 275. So a lot of people looked at L.T. Overton, there's like there's no way he's 275. He's bigger. I think he's just 275. That's what I've seen basically everywhere for him. But anyways, Gian Young, I agree with everything that you said. I love this player. I wanted to love him more and have him higher. I think there's some athletic limitations with him when it comes to like total speed up the arc, how well he's going to threaten the outside shoulder. You're not drafting him to do that.

And that's why it's like, he was quite literally 11 for me. Him and Ramello High, I mean, their grades are basically like 0.5 apart, but they are kind of different players. So I think that you'd be drafting a different guy either way. Anyways, the competitiveness that this guy plays with is off the charts. I mean, you see him jawing at other players during the game. You see him making a big play and letting the other team. no. I mean, there was the game. God, what game was it? The Kansas game? Let me just remind.

I see someone in the chat saying the numbers I'm saying don't match the screen. Tyler, and I appreciate he does this, does 2024 and 2025 combined. Yes. So I'm just reading the years and I know that can be confusing. So I just want to kind of give everyone a reminder. And I like having the bigger sample size. But I was just explaining the improvement from last year to this year. This is both those years mesh together. Just to help everyone. Yes. Yes. Yes. the theme with a lot of these numbers, guys, is bigger sample sizes always matter more because it tells you a clearer picture of the player when you have a bigger sample size. But the reason why we go with a two year, the last two years is a standard for these numbers, and then sometimes

we'll talk about maybe the one year in 2024 or the one year in 2025 is because there's some context of both. So I'm glad that Connor, you pointed out the fact that the passers win rate went from 11 almost up to 18. Like that's a big deal and that's some, that's really important context from him. So it was just one of those things where I, somebody said in the chat, culture fit,

100% man, I'd love this due to my football team. And I'm, and I'm gonna tell you, I'm probably gonna watch at least two more games as I on Young because I want to be even higher on him. I would love to have him like where you have him in the rankings. It's just,

I just saw limitations with him as an athlete and I go, is that going to be something that holds him back from being as impactful as I think the rest of his game can't be. But this is one hell of a football player and he's somebody that you want in the locker room on the D-line and just the energy and then competitiveness he plays with. He's awesome. Yep. Yeah. Like you said,

I think we, for the most part, kind of have a lot of these guys pretty similar on the back end from six to call it 14, 15, whatever it may be. It's just a matter of. of like trying to hold on to what they're really good at and what their role will be. Because you have Derek Moore on this list

and Derek Moore was 12 for me. Not that far off, and I know exactly why you're going to like him. Right. I'd love to hear you talk about him so everybody else can know what you like that. A little bit smaller of a player. So he's the Edgircher from Michigan. It was really him and Josiah Stewart that were phenomenal last year.

Josiah Stewart leaves. Obviously he's in the NFL now. He's at the Rams. But Derek Moore stayed. Now it's his senior year for him. he's listed 6 foot 3 260 pounds I bet he's a little under

63 and closer to like 250 255 I think I've spread this one surprised me because I thought the same thing as you and I looked back at a spring sheet I had Is he that beefed up? Is he that beefed up? I this is the peak player of does not look this way on tape but his spring list that I had was 6.3 and 3 eighths

260. Okay. Almost 34 inch arms. Nah, we're living. Like he, you had him, and you had him 12? He's like a, oh, what's it like being wrong? I had these before I ranked him. I'm like, why aren't you better? What do you be better?

No, I mean, yeah, I think Derek Moore's pretty great and you see the numbers on there. I think he's a really efficient football player. He's kind of one dimensional in the fact that he's got to be an outside linebacker type. Now, Michigan will reduce him to play as like a four eye and a five technique at times, but that's not really where his home is. He's much more of a two-point stance, stand-up outside linebacker type in those three-four defenses where he gets a little bit of an advantageous angle towards the quarterback. You're forcing the offensive tackles to really be able to meet you in a kick slide. And often that means that they're going to be one-on-one on an island.

And when that's the case, ma'am, more comes in there with momentum. And he is so fantastic and consistently either bull rushing you, if he doesn't feel like you're going to be able to anchor or hitting you making contact with a bull rush. and then it's just a boom, like a subtle, a quick, smooth little push pull or a two-handed swipe something where he's getting around one of the shoulders. I think he's got really good hands. He's got some good pass rush moves. I think with him it's just he's not an elite athlete overall. The stride length kind of impacts how many steps it takes for him to get from the offensive

tackle to the quarterback. And any time it takes you an extra couple of steps, obviously that can mean everything in the world with the quarterback getting the ball out. But he's got some really clean wins. And even though he's sort of just one dimensional is the wrong word, even though he's not really a versatile player because I just think he's an outside linebacker type, I think he's a really good one. And any defense that plays a couple of different outside linebacker edge rushers,

I think you could be very happy with a player like Derek Moore, who like you mentioned, he may not look at 100% when he's on the field, but he's got the measurables to be a successful NFL player. and I think he's got the grades to do so as well. Yeah, I want to see more power, especially from his lower half in his hands, like generate that speed to power.

Yeah. I did think it got better, but you kind of nailed it. He seems like an average athlete for more of a finesse rusher. Yeah. But there's no doubt. There's moments on his tape where it's all there.

It's just, you know, wasn't totally consistent in the biggest moments. Really quick, before we get to T.J. Parker, and then we can run through the top fives. Ian gave us a 50. dollar super chat we appreciate you in first email from the boss today said chippole in the conference room i became a man possessed sprinted knocking down many kids on the way worth it there is chimy sherry i'm a kid's therapist so i've also created multiple future clients diabolical super chat really diabolical but we appreciate

you i thank you for listening to show thank you for being an addict that i'm getting my fifty dollars worth here Yeah, and you did. Before we get into T.J. Parker, our game plan of the week, folks, presented by Western and Southern Financial Group, a game plan for your financial future. I'm going to say the game plan of the week, man, what was my favorite game plan last week? It's probably the Patriots and just how much they absolutely blitz the crap that Chargers offensive line. I think I talked about this one on Monday, but that's the game plan of the week because it worked to perfection. I think that that was the best game plan because it was more than the Patriots have ever blitz anybody before. And they just simply said, hey, these guys can't handle it.

So we're just going to run straight at them. And until they tell us that they can handle it, we're just going to keep doing it. Well, they weren't able to handle it. It's a pretty good game plan. Just like every team wins starts with a great game plan. Your future should as well with life insurance built like a championship roster. Western and Southern helps protect you and your family so you can focus on winning today, knowing that tomorrow is covered. whether you're just starting out building your dynasty or looking to lock in long-term protection,

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something crazy here. No, because I had him at five. So this is perfect. All right. So let's just talk about, let's talk about T.J. Parker, so we, so we could leave the suspense of the next top fives here.

I agree. We have to, um, reveal. Where did you have Parker? I think I had him, I'd have him three or four. Summer scouting. I think I had him one. Him and, him and I,

I'm looking at my, I think I did have him one as well. I had him, Bain, Bailey, Falk. Overton. Yeah, I think I might have had Parker, Armaecent Thomas, Ruben Bain. I think those were the top three. I thought we both loved Parker this summer. Yeah, no, I liked this tape a lot more last year.

And I am very surprised that he ended up being six for me. And maybe I need to go back and watch some 2024. Because this year just wasn't a very good year for Clemson. And like Peter Woods didn't play very well either. I didn't think he had Terrell played great. You think he played great? No, I don't think he did. Right, I agree with you.

You start to go like, damn, all the prospects we watched this team that we liked over the summer sucked. I know. Kate Klubnick being the worst of all. Yeah. What was going on down there? They just, I don't know, man. But Parker still has, I think, really great all around ability. He's listed six foot three, 265 pounds.

Even though I'm a little bit less bullish on the ceiling from him, the floor, I think he can be a three-down edge player at the NFL level. He can defend the run. He's strong enough. He's long enough to defend the run. He's got some good pass-rish moves. He's got some quickness when they let him pin his ears back. You see just it's a lot of really solid numbers all around.

89.9 overall grade, 80, 87.0 pass-rish grade over the last two years, 80th percentile passers win percentage, 74th percentile solo run stop rate. Like, there's just not a lot of things that this. guy doesn't do super well, he just didn't hit his ceiling a lot this year, or at least as much as I thought that he really should have. So it was, it was kind of just more disappointing than anything, but it's not like I'm way out on this guy. I just, I thought we'd see a little bit more this year. I did. Well, the guy set the bar incredibly high. I mean, he had six force fumbles in 2024. 11 stacks. Seven this year. Yeah, and he had none this year, I think. I'm not sure. I didn't check on

that. He just. It was weird. I thought he looked a little bit more. What did Peter do? The chat is just going nuts over something. I don't know. I don't even know. I'll keep going.

The people that listen to this just for football, sometimes I was supposed to be like, what? Peter? Well, yeah, Peter obviously sponsored the show. You guys got to get in on the live episodes when we're doing these on YouTube to understand that. Or get in on the PFF Discord. I thought he looked a little tighter this year,

which is weird. Not that he's the most flexible rusher in the world, but the thing that I loved about him so much over the summer, I was like he's got length, he's got size, he could play standing up with his hand in the dirt, he's tough against the run, he's got good strength to control the point of attack. But I thought he had changed the direction.

He always had that Euro step, it crossed shop, like all these moves that he could use some agility. I just didn't see the same agility this year. And you look at like the sack production dropping down from 11, to what, five. Three of his official sacks came against South Carolina. And by that time of the year, that offensive line was not competitive.

Yeah. So the production drop-off was actually almost worse than it even looks on paper. I saw that game in person. Oh, man. I watched that game in person. And South Carolina's offensive line towards the end of the season was one of the worst that I've ever seen. I remember you texting me, just like, Lenora Sellers needs the first chopper out of here. Like, this is scary right now.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it was bad. And so to get three sacks against that South Carolina team, basically nothing else throughout the rest of the season, you just wonder what in the world was going on. It just wasn't the same player that he was the year before. But I don't think he's like magically changed.

I don't think he's not a bad player was a mirage. No, he's a very good player, but he underperformed to the expectations this year. And then another thing too that surprised me, Jude Bowery, who I haven't watched a ton of yet, but he's the left tackle for BC. and he's on the senior bowl roster. So he's a legitimate NFL prospect.

I didn't think Parker looked great against him in that game. And Jude Bowery isn't, we don't talk about him like we talk about Spencer Fano. No, you know what I mean? So I'm like, man, now I'm watching the games that are like big opportunities here and you're just okay. He just, he dominated in 2024 and he did not dominate this year. And I think teams are really going to have to tap into what went on

with all these Clemson high-end prospects. Dave Bruegler, who obviously if you listen to this show, you know who Dane Bruegler is. He's one of the best, covers the NFL draft for the athletic. He's been saying that there's a lot of people in the NFL who have second round grades on T.J. Parker. And going into the year, I thought that that was crazy. I thought, okay, this is an easy first-round edge rusher type of a player.

But after this year, yeah, I mean, I suppose that I could see him potentially being an early second-rounder. Now, in this draft class specifically, I'd still be shocked if he last. until the second round just because it's not the most talented class. But what are you laughing at? Sam Zimmer. Less explosive chub? Give that man a baloochew. Okay.

All right. Okay. That's the last free ad, by the way. Read your top fives. All right. Top five. T.J. Parker, of course, in Clemson. Four for me.

I can't quit him. Cassius Howl from Texas A&M. We'll get into it. Wait, wait, wait, wait. You don't have, you don't have leather helmet on here. No, I don't. Oh. The tape is good.

I'm excited for you to talk about him. Yeah, you should be. I think I need more, I need more time to marinate. Okay, all right. He's going to be like 35 years old. How about now? How about now? Wow.

Well, how about now? What the? Best two passersersersers in the country in Miami. I'm curious. I'm furious. I don't want to do this show anymore. I don't want to be. be here. The best two pass rushers in the class are in Miami. Tell me I'm wrong. I just,

I just can't take my eyes off David Bailey at four. Like, I feel like somebody just ripped my limbs off and I can't move from this chair. Bailey's kind of a tough sell for me. We'll get there. I don't want to do this now. He's a tough. No, we're doing it now. No, no, no, no, we're doing it right now. All right. You want to compete? You want to do this? Show up. You have David Bailey as edge one in this class. It wasn't easy, man. Bain is, it's just different flavors, him and Bain.

They're both, I think both are worthy of being the number two picking this draft. I really do. Number two picking this draft. Yeah, well, since the only other quarterback decided he'd rather go back to school that has a new quarterback. Very interesting. Don't get me started. Very interesting. So, all right.

You were, this is actually, anybody who's been paying attention at home, keep a score at home, going back to summer scouting, shouldn't be too shocked by this. Because I was lower on David Bailey going into the year. And what he is at Texas Tech is a, I'll only say slightly better version of what he was at Stanford because he was phenomenal at Stanford. Like what he was at Stanford is exactly what you're getting at Texas Tech. it was just even more productive this past year because he was part of a really good defense flying, maybe one of the best defense lines in the country. But I was a little bit lower on him

for reasons that I'll talk about in a second, but you are the highest on him. You have him as Edge 1. You talked about him and Ruben Bain is kind of right there for him. So talk to the good people about you, what you love about David Bailey, and then we'll have a combo about it. Just to answer the chat,

Arbel Reese will be in our linebacker show. I totally get why everybody was like, Arvel Reese, he'll be in the linebacker show. So have no fear. Another guy that's a candidate to be the number two pick of the draft. Pick pocket. Hold on. Pick pocket in the chat said Trevor's lost his mind on this top five. How can you watch Bain all year and say that?

Say what? That he's the best? That he's edge one? Yeah, that wasn't. I have no problem with that. I had him. I can defend that very easily. The chef can actually prove this year.

I texted the chef today and was like, I've been flipping Bain and Bailey back and forth. nonstop. I'll finally lock it in Bain a two, Bailey at one. Okay. Uh, anyway, the chat's just hilarious. David Bailey. Let's talk about. David Bailey, man. Yes. Texas Tech. So your point about the Stanford detecting, I agree, but I think he played in bigger games this year. And, and like, and he stood out in the biggest games. So that also wasn't meant to be an insult. No, no, no, no. I knew what you were saying. I think it's why, though, I moved him even higher than where I had him over summer.

He, 6.3.250. I constantly see people say he's a situational pass rusher. He can't play the run. I would highly encourage you to watch David Bailey this year. I'm not going to say he's an all-pro run defender, but he is a competitive run defender. I've seen him take on guards. I've seen him fight through the edge.

Like, he's not, his teammate, Ramello height. That's the easiest juxtaposition when you watch them both. Bailey has some high moments against the run and his run defense grade was way, it was in the 80s this year. I know that's the last two years. That took a step up from me from Stanford to Texas Tech. Why you're drafting David Bailey potentially in the top 10 is because he's a pass rush demon. This is somebody that has forced eight fumbles over the last two years. He had a hundredth percentile pass rush win rate in 2004 at 27.5%. He followed that up this year with another high win rate, 22%. He has played plenty of college football where there's just a full sample size of this guy winning how pros win as a

pass rusher. Variety of speed moves. He has the ghost move, dips his shoulder, bends around the corner, spin that inside out step, Euro step, rocker step. The burst of the quarterback is why he had 14 and a half sacks this year. I say this every time we do the edge rankings, sacking the quarterback is a skill because, yes, there are guys that run up 50 hurries and then they have four and a half sacks. And you're like, well, the underlying numbers under the hood are amazing. He should have more sacks. And yes, while that's true, sacking the quarterback is a skill because it also shows your closing speed and the ability to finish plays. This is the Shamar Stewart conversation. Shamar Stewart is not a finisher. He's a guy that's a disruptor.

Billy disrupts the play and constantly wrecks plays, constantly. He's an absolute force. 14 and a half sacks this year, 25 quarterback hits, 50 hurries, 19 and a half tackles for a loss. If you want to think about the things that might concern you, stronger blockers can stall out his speed to power. That's not a surprise at 250 pounds. I think when the run comes right at him, it got better this year, but there's sometimes where he's not as decisive and as confident. but when you let this guy rush off the edge, whether it's with his hand in the dirt or standing up, and you probably want him standing up,

you're done on an island. You're done. There's just no way to contain him with your outside, the way you set, with the outside shoulder, if you open the gate on the inside, he's going to cross your face. He's so good at getting off blockers. He plays as angry as anybody as I've ever seen. He just wants to kill the quarterback every single time he steps out on the field.

I've said it before. This is one of my favorite players in the draft. He, I think he's a little bit more limited all around than you do. Like, I think he's very uncomfortable getting into a three-point stance. I think that he'll, I think that his good run defense plays are him shooting gaps. And he can, he can make really great pop at contact because he's got the best first step of any edge rusher in America. No question about it. Right.

And I think that converts to the power that he has on the line of scrimmage. You go back to that Oregon game, the batted passes that he had where he was reading Dante Moore and then he was jumping up to bat passes. I watched those two plays and I went, oh, okay, so you're going to jump 44 inches in the vert. Like that he's just, it's just truly insane explosiveness that this guy has. But you mentioned some of the moves that he has, but I felt as though way too often he's just trying to win off of that first step and that athleticism. I don't think that he wins with length as much as he even should for the way that he has built. I have issues and things that I dinged him for on my film notes in a lot of different categories. But then he has like the Trump card of all Trump cards.

And that is the fact that his first step explosiveness isn't just good. It's not just great. It's not just elite. It's like top tier. Yeah. It's like crazy. The things that he's able to do. because that first step is so explosive is incredible.

I was talking with Dalton Washington a little bit about it, who I hosted the PFF NFL show with, and we were talking about him being like Bruce Irvin, like where it's just Bruce Irvin was kind of just a one-dimensional player, but he was a first round pick, and he was an incredibly productive dude because nobody could really stop that one thing that he did when he was given the green light to be able to do it.

And I kind of look at David Bailey the same way, And the reason why I'm just a little bit lower on him is the lack of flexibility with him when he's not in that two-point stance. I feel like he looks very uncomfortable in anything other than that. I feel like the stride lengths where they are quick and explosive. They're also very short. You talked about him being a fission share in closing, and I do agree with all those things. But I thought he won just too much off of that first step and not enough with his mind and with technique. And he reminded me too much of Chop Robinson, who I was always.

also just lower on as an analyst. I had Chop Robinson, I think, 40th overall, and he ends up going in the first round with the dolphins. But that's, I think, why I'm a little bit lower on him, is just I don't see his game as well-rounded as you do. I recognize the dominance of what he is as a speed rusher, but it's clear that you just believe in him more as an all-around player than I do. And that's how we get the difference of, I think, him being one on your list and four on mine.

Yeah, I think the first step and bend and the ability to counter inside, when you have all three of those, it feels like it gives you a pass rush floor that's pretty dangerous. That's kind of where I land on it with David Bailey. And I thought he played some of his best football in some pretty big games. So I get it. I do. I mean, there's going to be there's going to be some moments for him at the NFL, like when he takes on a double. and it's not going to be pretty.

Right. But if I'm betting on a guy in this class to be a 15-sac player one day, he has the trade against anyone else. He has the most translatable impact trait that you cannot teach. And I can totally understand people being, especially yourself, like being super in on it. I'm just a little bit more hesitant because I wish the game is a little bit more well-rounded. Which guy we want to talk about next?

You want to talk about Messador? Yeah, you should definitely. talk about Messador too. Somebody that once again, like I'm still kind of marinating on. Okay. So leather helmet himself. And the leather helmet joke that we have is from a couple of shows ago when we were talking about a keen Messador and the fact that he is old enough to have played with leather helmets. And that's that that's that's that's that's that's that's the joke because he will be 25 years old as a rookie. He was on draft night, I think. Well, yeah, because I think he turns 25 on in April. So yeah. Yeah, that's like, he'll be 25 as a

rookie that's pretty that's pretty that's pretty rare to go all right so if he turned 25 so if he turned 25 september 1 now all of a sudden he's a first rounder no but still so he was he was he his story is very interesting too his journey is very interesting he was a three-star defense event in the 2020 class from on from uh ottawa canada he bounced around a bunch of different high schools in Canada trying to play the most competitive high school football that he could eventually as a senior he transferred down to where was it in it was in clearwater uh clear water a academy in clear water florida commits to west virginia he plays a big defensive end at like 285 pounds when he was at west virginia the first year then the second year they move him into nose tackle they put even

more weight on him and they put him in nose tackle then he transfers over to my in there by the way that year pat white was yeah Yeah, yeah. Steve Slayton, too. Yeah, it was his freshman year, actually. Yeah, it was those two. It was their freshman year. Tavon Austin was like a junior in high school.

Yeah, he wasn't even. He helped recruit Tavon Austin. He helped recruit Tavon Austin. West Virginia. So he played in 11 games when he got to Miami as that heavy-handed defensive end. And over the last three years, he has continued to, like, lose a little bit more weight and get a little bit faster. And now he's like 6-2, 6-3, 260, 265 pounds, this outside linebacker edge type.

And, brother, I think his tape's phenomenal, which before we get, because this involves Ruben Bain as well. Do you know who their defensive line coach is? I don't. It's Jason Taylor. Oh, I do know that because they show them all the time during the games. And that is why they are just the most. technically refined edge rush duo in the country. Both of these players, no false steps, consistently launching off the front foot.

The handwork is unbelievable to stay clean. They have so many pass rush moves. The hands in run defense, the leverage in run defense, the discipline, the effort, all of that is so, so, so good from both of these players because they've been taught by one of the very best to ever play the position. And that absolutely goes into Messador and who he is. That two-handed swipe, that's happening all the time. He is staying so clean because of how fast and violent those hands are.

And he's constantly moving. He's got a pretty sick like a club arm over, like a swim move that's pretty deadly as well. He's got the cross shop. He's got a great speed of power bull rush. He's got a club rip move to him. He's doing everything with his hands to stay clean and get into the backfield. You see some of the numbers. there. This is a two-year sample size for him, not just this year at his best.

Passer's grade, Elite, 91.2. On true pass sets, Elite, 92.9. Passers win percentage, 90th percentile, run defense grade, 87.1 percent. And that's because a great technique and overall size with the strength still there from when he had 20, 30 more pounds on him. You see the wins above average there. That 0.38 is one of the highest marks of any defensive linemen in the the country. I just, he's got, he's got the pop at contact when he gets his hands up and inside, which is such a constant. He has a relentless motor that runs so hot. Yes, he does. He had some, like, he had some well-earned coverage or effort sacks. 100%, you just been running around the field for nine seconds, but good for you. He's got, he's got athleticism sacks. He's got technique sacks. He's

got effort sacks. He has all of it, man. I think that we, at his, lower weight. He can get moved around a little bit when he's facing, you know, bigger offensive tackles or duo blocks. But that's what happens with guys who are a little bit more of the outside linebacker edge rush type. Instead, I lean into the things that he does really well. And I know that he's 25 years old. I know he is an older prospect. But I know plenty of edge rushers that I liked a lot who I advocated for to go in the first round because they were 21, 22 years old and they had all this potential. And they don't show the pressure shots that this dude does at 25 whenever they got to 25.

So I understand that the age part does go into it, but this dude's film rules. And I think that if I had to take any edge rusher in this class that's not named Rubin Bain, he'd be the next. He, his film is the film that I like the next most of anybody. Yeah, the tape I've gotten into with him is undeniably very impressive. And like you said, how he's changed the player and body type that he was. was to get there. Players change, and you have to,

this is me talking to myself, you have to be open to that. And Messador deserves all the credit in the world for evolving his body type and play style and producing on a defensive line that obviously has gone as far as you can go this college football season. Do you want to talk about Bain next since we're talking about Miami or should we end talking about Bain? No, let's end talking about Bain. No, let's end talking about Bain.

Sorry, I threw, I threw Tyler. Turnball there. Cassius Howell. I got him at five. You got him at four? Yep. And then we both have Kellogg-Jolk at three. So yeah, let's hit Cassius Howl real quick.

Man, Cassius Howell, there are so many, not character red flags, but player red flags that tell you like, this isn't a player that you should be in love with for the NFL, and we just clearly can't quit him. He has, I have his arm length under 31 inches. He's about six feet, two inches tall. He is 250 pounds. Like that's a real weight listed. He's not good against the run because of the short arms and the lighter weight.

Right. He doesn't set a hard edge against the run against quality tackles. He, and I'm starting with all the bad on purpose because we are going to have a glaze fest with how sick this guy is as a pass rusher in just a minute. Pause. Sorry. Now, something I really didn't. like 64 pass rush snaps against Notre Dame, Texas, and Miami. No sacks, two quarterback hits, four hurries.

Like those are the good teams up front. And he wasn't, he didn't really impact those games the way I hoped he would. What game was it, I cannot remember this year where he first down sack, second down sack, third down. It was early in the year. I think it was the third game of the season. I don't remember what team it was. That was hilarious. It was extremely funny that he did that.

when you just ask this dude to stand up and rush the passer, he's a problem. He's a near identical pass rush win rates the last two years, right under 20%. He's twitched up. What I love Trevor with Cassius Howl is he is so good at using the stutter steps to set up the arm over.

Well, stutter, the tackle tries to balance himself. And then if the tackle lunges off the stutter to control the rep. He throws the arm over all in one motion and just smokes him. Smokes him. Love that move. He's flexible.

You see him go all around the outside shoulder in one motion. There's no reset, the hips, the way he could swivel him. The motor and speed he plays with is great. It's great. The guy doesn't stop.

It's an absolute demon when he's asked to rush the passer. So I really like him. I just think that there's a war. where you brought up Bruce Irvin before. Like there's there's a world where Cassius Howl in three years, all of a sudden has a 10 sack season. And you're like, damn, duh, like we should have saw that.

This guy had serious pass rush production in the SEC. But teams just don't draft players that are a one down player, typically in the like in the top 15. And I guess you could look at the most recent example, maybe when the Jets took Will McDonald. That was, but that was Robert Salaf. that's he's built for that scheme. So a team like that could could go that route.

But I don't think he's going to go very high because, and Will McDonald is long arms. Yeah, right. So like there's been times where it's like, okay, he can improve in this area. I really like Cassius Howell, the player. I just think he's a one dimensional NFL player, but he's really good at that one dimension.

Yeah, I agree. And I think that that's a little bit of the theme of some of the edge rushers in this class is, is they're a little bit segmented in sort of what they do and what they're really good at. But the thing that they are really good at, they are really good at. He reminded me a little bit of Josiah Stewart from last year's class where like Stewart was a smaller edge rusher. And I think Stewart went in the third round. You didn't test well.

We didn't test well. And he's just small. Yeah. You can't have both of those. But his production was unbelievable. He had one of the highest passers win rates in the country. And so you kind of look at him, you go, all right, well, you know, Michigan's playing you in an out wide alignment. You're kind of, you have a pretty clear path of the quarterback.

Are they just kind of cheating you into the 90th overall at the, oh, he got picked 90th overall. But I think he's been pretty great with the Rams when he's gotten on the field. And I feel like a world can exist where Cassius Howell is somewhat like that. I think that Stewart was a little bit stronger naturally, but Howell gives you that speed to power power as well. And he's got just such a frenetic pass rush where he just is, he's so fast off the line. And the thing about him is, is that I think he's got false steps all over the place in his rush. Like the ball is snapped and he'll, he'll like tap the front foot and then launch off the back foot. And it's like, man, if you just clean that up and you were a little bit more controlled and you just launched off of that front foot.

Some dude perfect pass rushing. And it doesn't even matter all the time because he just still wins. Yeah, because he's about out of hell. Yeah, it's nuts. It's nuts. I feel like he rushes, but man, I think he's got some good pass rush moves as well. Obviously, they're not going to be as effective at the NFL level. Anytime you have a pass rusher who they're short on length, they need to be great with the two-handed swipe.

Like that needs to be. You need to be so good at that. that is how you truly determine a lot of your reps is you've got to be able to swipe the offensive linemen's hands away. So you've got to be strong, you've got to be fast, you've got to be precise in your hands. So developing and being consistent with that two-hand swipe is going to be very, very important for Cassius Howl, who other than that man, just a really good speed deven type of a rusher. And again, I think kind of more of that outside linebacker type of edge rusher in a three-four scheme. All right. Now a, the exact opposite player?

Yeah, Keldrick Falk. I mean, literally, everything we just said, but the exact opposite. But I like him a lot. Just say whatever we said in reverse. No, it is so Caldric Falk, you guys see on the screen, 6 foot 6, 288 pounds. I mean, this is a massive human being. And this is somebody who I felt like I was a little bit lower on than consensus. I feel like both of us were a little bit lower on according to consensus in summer scouting.

Not that we hated him, but. No, I had him edge four. Okay. Well, I mean, no, you're right, Trevor. This summer there were people like, dude, the next top eight pick is Kelchrick Falk. And I think that I can understand why people thought that over summer. And, you know, maybe the weaknesses of this class, you know, bump Keldrick Falk up a little bit. He's got a really good first step.

Like size adjusted athleticism, this dude is a really nice athlete. Now, I will say, like the second, third, and fourth steps when he's trying to pursue the quarterback of the ball carrier, not as impressive as that first step. So I think that that matters. here what we're talking about. But he's got the length. He's got the size. Really good run defender.

I mean, you see that that 89.2 run defense grade, 86th percentile solo run stop percentage. Unbelievable run defender. Mistackle percentage, 88th percentile. I mean, this dude just does not miss tackles when you get it between the shoulders and within his wing span. He's just strong as, he's strong as an ox,

and he's got a much better first step than you would expect. Anytime that's the case for a guy who's 6-6-2-80, 285, I can understand people wanting to believe in him. And he's 20. The truth, and he's younger, obviously, as a junior. But the truth is, if you think he's going to be a pass rusher someday, that's kind of just you think that.

Yeah. He has yet to, as a sophomore or this past year as a junior, really show anything in terms of a pass-rush plan, consistent pass-first wins and things like that. So that's my thoughts on him. I'll be honest, after watching him this summer, and then just writing in all the info in my spreadsheet, I was expecting to be really disappointed with the tape

that he didn't take the jump that I wanted him to take. Me too. I thought the tape was phenomenal. I thought the tape was way better. I enjoyed the tape a lot more than I thought I was going to. I see Johnny Silverhant says, JFM on crack. That's like not a,

you're not far off. Like John Franklin Myers like cranked up on the dial kind of player. My early comp was Marcus Davenport for him. Yeah. It's just him turning 21 during his rookie season

and already being 6-6-288. And it's a clean 288. That is pretty crazy. Like you watch him and you're like, because you're so tall, you're not carrying any bad weight or any even extra weight. Like you,

might be a 300 pound NFL player. This would be a great how, what age were you when you could dunk? Combine question player. Because he played power forward and center for his basketball team in high school. And he was pretty damn good at it. I wonder if he's going to, I wonder if we asked him that question at the combine. He's going to be like, yeah, fifth grade. Sick.

Remind me when we get closer to the combine, I will do everything I can to find out. Also, I haven't listed that he played wide receiver in high school. Not tight end. That's utterly ridiculous. Not tight end. All right. Jet sweep to number 15. He played defensive end and wide receiver.

It's pretty crazy. Yeah. I really like him. I think he has developed this reputation, at least what I see on Twitter, which isn't real life, of like the early round edge rusher that fan bases don't want

because he's not a high-level pass rusher yet. Sure. Yeah. And I just think he will make. your defense so much better. And if he develops into a above average pass rusher, which can very well happen at his age. He's probably worth the top 10 pick in this class. Yes.

Yeah. Yes. A coach will, he is the guy like circle it in red pen. He's the guy that some coach or a scout is going to beg their GM to take in the top 10. And I wouldn't be surprised at all. I agree. The total opposite of Cassius Howl.

Total opposite of Cash is Howl. But yes, we both obviously like Keldrick Falk a good amount. All right, you want to wrap it up with Ruben Bain, who I have it number one and then you have it number two? Yep. You want to start this one? You want me to. Yeah, I'll go a little quicker so you could take more meat off the bone here.

I mean, Ruben Bain, the last big board I had, he was the number one player. Yeah. He's going to be a top three overall player for me. What the selling point is with Ruben Bain? Yeah, same for me. The selling point with him is like that hand, and I see. think I've said this before. The hand usage just reminds me at Jared Burs.

It's just destruction. It is, he hits guys, and it's a jolt and a stun that sets the rep on the war path that he wants it to be. But I like the closing speed for his weight at 275. He's not going to be the bendiest, flexible type of edge rusher, like, you know, David Bailey that we talked about, or Cassius Howl. but Trevor he just wears guys out man across the game wears them out it's just pure violence and destruction with reuben bain especially as a pass rusher and i mean it's just the tape is the

tape of what it says this year and i'm glad we get to see even more of it but this is kind of what a a power game wrecker looks like yeah i agree with you man i So I was, I felt like I was a little bit lower on Bain going into the season. I remember on my initial top 100 big board. I think you had him higher on yours. I had him like 18th overall, something like that. And then he had those first two games of the season. And it was like completely unblockable.

And I go, okay. So I was updating the consensus board for the mock draft simulator. So I obviously pumped them up a little bit there. And then, you know, the season goes on. He cools down a little bit. I don't want to say he totally cools down because he was still really damn good. But he cools down a little bit.

And then the report comes out that Ruben Bain's arm length is going to be, what was it, sub-31? Yeah. It's right around 30- It's like unique territory for his size. Yeah, on basically outlier arm length, which goes into, as you guys see on the screen there,

22.8% mistackle percentage. That's what happens when you have really small arms is you just don't have a wide tackling radius. And so that shows up in that regard. And so I went into his film review and I thought, okay, am I just going to be, am I going to see a player that I'm going to be really frustrated with? Because he plays on the edge and yet like, do I think that he's going to be Colligia Cancy or something? And I think that there is a world where maybe he is an interior player at the NFL level. But at this point, I genuinely don't care.

I think he can play on the edge in the NFL. even with the lack of arm length. No matter who drafts him, I want to be clear, you're probably going to use him in a versed way anyways. I don't want him to go to a team where they just go,

all right, Rubin-Main, you're a five technique. Like, that's all you're going to be for us. I want somebody, I want a defensive coordinator who's going to get super creative with him. Play him at three-tech one play. Play him at five.

Play him as a stand-up, wide-nine-edge rusher. I think that he can do all of this. And the reason why I think that he can do all of this is because, first and foremost, I think he has the strength to be able to play anywhere on the football field. I think he has the leverage, the hands, the gluten hamstring strength and the upper body strength to be able to handle centers, guards, offensive tackles, and tight ends anywhere

on the run game. I think he has that kind of strength. And then I think he's got fantastic hands. I don't think there's any, I don't think there's any fat on his pass rush plan. He gets off the ball firing off of his front foot immediately. I think his first step is way better than people give it credit for. The hands are super clean. He times it very well.

They are violent and explosive. If he's coming off of the edge and he gets a really good first step, that offensive tackle is probably going to try to put his arm out to try to slow him down or whatever it is. And Bain a lot of times, it's just boom, knocking that arm away with power and speed and then just bending and hugging that corner right around the offensive tackle. straight towards where the quarterback is. I just think that his pastoral IQ,

the footwork, the handwork, the plans, how you defeat certain offensive linemen that you're going up against. It is all there for him, man. I just think he is a hell of a football player. I mentioned when we were talking about a Keen Messador. He has been taught by Jason Taylor for all three years that he has been at Miami,

and that's how you get the product that he currently is going into the NFL. So look, if arm length is a major issue for you with an edge rusher, he's probably not going to be your favorite. Right. But there ain't else, there ain't a lot that you could point to to not love Bain outside of that, in my opinion. Dalton, again, Dalton, uh, watched him in my co-host at the NFL or, uh, the PFF NFL show. He did a, a film breakdown on Bain, how this is to emphasize, like, how good of a run defender

this guy is. Miami would play in an underfront where you have three of your defensive linemen to the weak side on the left, let's say on the left of the center. And then the only player on the strong side is Ruben Bain Jr. The only defensive linemen that's on that side of the center is Ruben Bain Jr. And Miami goes, go ahead. Right, test him. Run it at him.

And Ohio State tried to do that. And Austin Saraville got worked one-on-one into the backfield. You are a guard. That was that game. That was that play at the beginning of the game where he just absolutely owned that assignment. What they do is they put Ruben Bain Jr. and they put Kianti Scott on that side of the line. And they basically say, go ahead, run against him, see what happens. That's the type of run defender that this guy is.

So I'm such a big fan of his. I think he, I pray that he goes to a defensive coordinator that will be creative with him. Because if he is, I think he's an all pro player in the NFL at some point. Lots of like about this guy. I'm like you. I'm not deterred or totally turned away by the arm length concerns. Any of the shoutouts that we had in the top 10? I'll tell you a couple guys I watch.

I won't get too deep into it. I think I said to you I watched Derek Moore. He was right on the outside looking in. Joshua Joseph's. He was right outside for me as well. I almost had him over Ramello height, but then didn't. he's very physically gifted. He just hasn't put it all together yet.

Right. But he's really physically gifted. And then Max Llewellyn. Oh, yeah, your boy from Iowa, another situational pass rusher. Took on a little bit of a bigger role this year, but not much. Like him, Joseph, and more to me all have situational pass rush ability. Yeah, who was right outside? Zion Young was right outside of my list.

We mentioned L.T. Overton, Joshua Joseph's. I thought Deniz Studden was better this year. He was. He just never became, it's so hard when you're at that program and you're always expected to be like the next big pass rusher. I also think that he's a 3-4 defense event. Like I just love the overall size, the length, the strength that he plays with. I just don't think he's going to be somebody to really attack the outside shoulders.

And Anthony Lucas from USC as well. Did you watch him? I did not watch him. So he is another dude who's like 6'5, 280 pounds or something like that. But he is, I think, a really good football player. Again, I just, I don't really think he has the speed and the chops to threaten outside shoulders as a pure edge rusher. So I actually like him a little bit more just as that three, four. And because he's strong as an ox in the lower body.

So those are a couple of guys a shout out. I watch Malachi Lawrence from USC who played really well this year. He's got some really nice flashes. I wish he was a little bit stronger overall in his game. But as a pass rusher on obvious pass rushing situations, when you tell him to go, he's got some nice moves to work with. So watched him. Tyreek Sapp from Florida, not going to be a pass rusher for you, but again, lower body, dude's as strong as an ox, man. I mean, he can absolutely set the line of scrimmage, be a great run defender for you. I just don't think he'll ever be a good pass rusher

or a reliable pass rusher and at the NFL level. We would love to hear what you guys think of our edge rusher rankings as well as some edge rushers that we didn't talk about here on today's show. Again, this is the early ranking. We're going to do another ranking episode for edge rushers once we have the time to watch a lot more of these guys, but hopefully enjoyed it if you want to give us your feedback at NFL, at NFLSC show on basically all the social media handles. He's at Connor J. Rogers. I'm at Tampa Bay Trey on all the social media channels as well.

We'd love to talk with you guys in the NFLSC Discord. If you are in there, you can follow the link to make sure that you guys are in there. We got over 3,000 addicts in there, and it's a lot of fun. It's basically just the chat 24-7. So it's a great time. We have a good time going back. fourth of you guys in there. Connor, anything else before we get out of here?

No, I'm going to stick around and do some of these super chats. So if anyone wants to hang around and listen to those, other than that, loaded group, I still have a ton of names to watch in this edge group, both on the Shrine and Senior Bowl rosters, and we'll do final edge rankings before the draft. All right. Appreciate everybody watching and listening to another episode of the NFL Stock Exchange podcast.

We will see you guys on Monday. See you then.