Pac-12 vs SEC NFL Draft Prospects: Edge Rushers

 Competition 

The scouting world likes to assume that the SEC prospects play against the best possible competition but that’s a big myth. The best left tackles always come from the Pac-12 as Anthony Munoz of USC and Johnathon Ogden of UCLA are the best ever. Tyron Smith of the Dallas Cowboys is the best left tackle in the NFL right now and he comes from none other than USC.

To me, scouting a defensive lineman is like judging a boxer in that sacks or wins are great but I want to know the names on your record. Orchard has played against two of the Top-10 tackle prospects in Oregon’s Jake Fisher and Stanford’s Andrews Peat. And while Fisher stymied Shilique Calhoun of Michigan State, who’s rated ahead of Orchard, Orchard beat him for a few tackles for losses including a sack.

Then against Andrews Peat this year, it looked like a mismatch as Orchard had Peat all over the place en route to three sacks. Last year, there was a sack he got on Peat where he was in in the backfield by the time quarterback Kevin Hogan caught the snap from shotgun. Ray hasn’t taken on any top tackle prospects as it was his teammate, Markus Golden, who abused Texas A&M tackle prospect Cedric Ogbuehi.