2016 NFL Draft Defensive Edge Top Fifteen

We move out to the Edge (4-3 DE/3-4 OLB). Where this crop is pretty meh. There is some talent up at the top, and a few intriguing players lower down but it’s isn’t the most inspiring group of pass rushers.

Overall	Player	Team	Ht	Wt	Role	Grade
7	Bosa, Joey	Ohio State	77	269	Starter	7.6
11	Lawson, Shaq	Clemson	74.625	269	Starter	7.5
21	Spence, Noah	Eastern Kentucky	74.5	251	Starter	7.3
26	Ogbah, Emmanuel	Oklahoma State	76.25	273	Starter	7.2
37	Dodd, Kevin	Clemson	77	277	Starter	7.1
42	Kaufusi, Bronson	BYU	78.5	285	Eventual Starter	7.0
47	Calhoun, Shilique	Michigan State	76.375	251	Eventual Starter	6.9
57	Nassib, Carl	Penn State	78.875	277	Eventual Starter	6.8
68	Correa, Kamalei	Boise State	75	243	Eventual Starter	6.6
76	Tapper, Charles	Oklahoma	74.625	275	Eventual Starter	6.5
85	Weatherly, Stephen	Vanderbilt	76.375	264	Eventual Starter	6.4
95	Fanaika, Jason	Utah	74	271	Eventual Starter	6.2
103	Ochi, Victor	Stony Brook	73.125	246	Eventual Starter	6.1
116	Corney, Trent	Virginia	75	255	Potential Starter	5.9
117	Davis, Shiro	Texas	74.875	267	Potential Starter	5.9

We start at the top where Joey Bosa, Shaw Lawson, and Noah Spence are the lead of the class. Lawson and Spence bend the edge better and are more athletic, whereas Bosa is more of a power player who can bend at times but isn’t his first choice of attack. They are all good players but they all have concerns that leave you wanting just a bit more. Ogbah and Dodd are very solid players who should be stout if not flashy and more balanced between run & pass defense. The next level has a group of players that have potentially fatal flaws. Kaufusi is a big guy with good agility numbers, but surprisingly low power numbers. Calhoun is not a physical freak for his size, but he put up a pretty good level of production. Nassib has a good first step but he’s a stiffer player who is going to need to outwit the more athletic tackles. Correa was extremely productive at Boise State, but he tested poorly and while that’s not the end-all-be-all it is something you can’t dismiss. Charles Tapper is a guy for me that is coming off of injury, but he tested really well in the drills he did and he was disruptive when he was on the field this season for Oklahoma. Weatherly should be good vertically as a rusher, Fainaka is a big ol’ dancing bear with good but not great production, Ochi is a favorite of many but he didn’t produce at Stony Brook like you’d like and he’s not a great athlete, and lastly are a pair of power five players that just tested well, are intriguing, but the production lagged. So yeah, there are players to like, but I’m going to be much more interested inside on the defensive line than out this season.