Senior Bowl: Edge Defenders who Accepted Invites

The Senior Bowl has a long tradition of featuring some truly explosive edge rushers. This year’s group figures to follow suit.

Things are setting up nicely for the edge defenders planning to attend this year’s Senior Bowl. The offensive line group is a little thin while their are several high-profile edge rushers. There are at least three prospects who sit in the 1st round range of my 2018 NFL Draft Big Board.

My top rated prospect is USC’s Uchenna Nwosu who brings a lot of versatility to the table. He is someone who can rush the passer, set the edge against the run and drop in coverage. This ability to play multiple spots makes him a fit for any defensive system.

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While at USC, Nwosu was asked to fill multiple roles. This limited his amount of pass rushing opportunities. However, Nwosu has flashed the potential to be a difference maker off the edge. He has all the traits needed to develop into a dynamic pass rusher.

The next highest prospect on my big board is Oklahoma’s Ogbonnia Okoronkwo. He is a more traditional edge rusher who also does a good job in run support. Okoronkwo features a nice blend of power and quickness.

His hand usage is the key to his success as he is able to keep blockers off his frame. He is also a balanced athlete which helps him flatten out around the edge.

There are a lot of draft people who see Boston College’s Harold Landry as a top-10 prospect. He is someone with a lot of raw talent and the speed to be a nightmare. However, I saw too much inconsistency in his game to give him such a high grade.

The one thing that makes Landry so attractive is that he might have the highest upside of any of these prospects. NFL teams tend to be willing to take a risk on these type of players.

USTA’s Marcus Davenport is the biggest sleeper of this group. He also has the best opportunity to prove he belongs. Davenport has all the skills evaluators look for in an edge defender. There will be plenty of scouts willing to pound the table to have Davenport on the roster.

Wake Forest’s Duke Ejiofor is one of my favorite prospects in the draft. He is just a steady performer who flashes the ability to make impact plays. Ejiofor is more of a mid-round prospect, but has a chance to carve out a nice role.

Other names to keep an eye on include Virginia’s Andrew Brown, Utah’s Kylie Fitts, Ohio State’s Jalyn Holmes, Ohio State’s Tyquan Lewis, , Rutgers’ Kemoko Turay, Georgia’s Davin Bellamy, Ole Miss’s Marquis Haynes and BYU’s Fred Warner.