2015 NFL Draft Prospect Danny Shelton
Oct 25, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Washington Huskies defensive lineman Danny Shelton (55) makes a tackle against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the first quarter at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
The largest 2015 NFL Draft prospect is probably nose tackle Danny Shelton and if there is a larger one, I don’t want to see him. And if he does’t end up on my favorite team, I really don’t want to see him because he is way too much to deal with. When I say too much to deal with, I mean his size but the skill-set he brings with that size is pretty scary.
At 6’2″, 340 pounds, Shelton is quick off the ball, very athletic and as strong as all get out. In the way he plays, he reminds me of Haloti Ngata as he can control the line of scrimmage all by himself. But not only can you not run up the middle on him, his quickness and athleticism make him good pass rusher two.
Shelton isn’t one of those guys that you have to know where he is at all times because you know where he is at all times. You can’t miss him but the problem is figuring out what you’re going to do about it because you can only put so many guys on him. No wonder why his Washington Huskies outside linebackers Hau’oli Kikhaha and Shaq Thompson make so many plays.
He has a few swim moves but all he really has to do is walk you back, push you off of him, then sack the quarterback. Watching a man come off the ball that quickly at that size is scary because there isn’t much an opposing offensive lineman can do about that. On running plays, opposing running backs should know right away the the line of scrimmage is going backward in the middle when he’s in the game.
On passing plays, Kikaha gets to come off the edge and not worry bout the quarterback stepping up in the pocket because Shelton is there. For his part, Shelton has 52 tackles and nine sacks on the season and that’s too many for a nose tackle. That’s too many tackles and sacks for a man that size period and while most scouts have him at the end of Round 1, I have him at middle-to-early in Round 1.