Yesterday we went over the top 5 players per position on offense, you can see that here. Today we’ll break down the most important side of the ball. I know you’re as excited for the draft as I am, let’s get into some guys you’ve never heard of.
Safeties
1.Trevon Moehring- Far and away the best safety in a thin class. He’s got the prototypical size and is a hard ass in the run game. He’ll go in the mid-to-late first round.
2. Elijah Molden-Most scouts have him as a safety, but he played in the slot throughout most of his career as a slot corner and was ranked as the 4th and 3rd best corner by PFF. With offenses spreading it out, I’m surprised he’s not more coveted as a corner, but his athletic ability will allow him to move to Free Safety easily.
3. Richie Grant- Grant played over 2,600 snaps with the Knights and is one of the more versatile athletes in this draft. He’s got great ball skills, but will also come downhill and smack a motherfucker in the mouth in the run game.
4. Andre Cisco-This ranking has to do with this kid’s ceiling rather than production. He tore his ACL in the middle of his 2020 campaign after promising Freshman and Sophomore seasons.
5. Jamar Johnson-A true Free safety even though he has the frame to roll into the box. He missed 13 of 49 tackles last year, which is an absolute shame for a dude 6’+ and 200+ lbs. A lot of people have him as the third best safety, but I can’t in good conscience put a terrible tackler that high as a football guy. He’s what we call a “buttslapper” in the biz. A dude who runs into the frame at the end of the play and slaps the butts of the dudes who made the play.
CB
Patrick Surtain II-This is an absolutely loaded corner class with 5 dudes I could see going in the first round and making an impact immediately and 3 of them have the ability to make a pro bowl in their rookie year. Surtain is obviously one of them, he’s a three year starter at Bama and was the highest graded corner by PFF.
Caleb Farley (no relation to Chris Farley)-He’s got a similar frame to Surtain and was my first corner drafter in my original mock draft, but his recent back surgery caused him to fall one spot in my rankings. I absolutely love this kid, he’s tough and has battled adversity in his after losing his mother. He’s a fearless corner and a freak athlete.
Jaycee Horn- He and Caleb Farley and 2a and 2b. This dude is an uber-agressive corner who mauls wideouts at the line of scrimmage and continues to pester them downfield. This led to 5 penalties against him last year, but I’ll take that tradeoff for his ability.
Greg Newsome II-He doesn’t have a ton of tape and was only thrown to 34 times last year (12 catches allowed, 93 yards), so I’m not sold on him. Scouts love his “feet” and his versatility. I love that he played for perennial football guy of the year nominee Pat Fitzgerald.
Asante Samuel Jr.- Seriously, what the firetruck is the difference between “the second” and “Junior”. Explain it to me like I’m 5. If scouts weren’t so busy beatin’ their bologna to Newsome’s feet, this dude could easily be the 4th best corner. He’s undersized at 5’10, 184 lbs, but I have him in the first round and making an impact immediately. He allowed all of 179 yards last year.
ILB
Micah Parsons-Aside from him allegedly choking a teammate, this guy might be the most slam dunk of a defensive prospect we’ve seen in a minute. PFF said this in their mock draft big board, “He’s quite easily the best blitzing off-ball linebacker we’ve seen in our seven years of doing this”…he’s also only 21.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah-Don’t ask me to say his name, but I’ll talk about this dude’s ability all day. You want it? Instinctive, explosive, competitive…he’s got it all man. Oh, and he might be the best linebacker in coverage in the league as soon as he steps on the field.
Zaven Collins- At 6’5, 260 lbs this dude is an absolute unit and somehow still had the second best coverage grade behind JOK (see above statement). Some team might fall in love with this brut and take him in the first round and might try him at Sam in a 4-3 defense.
Jamin Davis-A freak athlete with a ton of range, this dude loved getting his nose in there in the run game. Every time I look him up, his name is shooting up the draft board, and he found a spot in my first round of my mock draft.
Nick Bolton-Of all the buzzwords used for linebackers, “instinctive” was the word that kept popping up for Nick Bolton. This is a top-heavy linebacker class, but I could easily see him coming off the board in the first round as the third linebacker taken. He’s a bit undersized, but who gives a shit if the dude makes plays.
EDGE
Kwity Paye-In a class where there isn’t a top-10 player at the edge position, Paye might fall a bit in the first round and make some team happy. He’s a tank at 6’4, 272 lbs with a high motor, plays with great knee bend and showed the ability to corner even the best tackles in the B1G.
Gregory Rousseau-He opted out of his redshirt sophomore season after a 16 sack redshirt freshman year, so there’s not much on this guy. I don’t give a shit what his PFF grade was or what he did off the field…16 sacks in 11 games?!?! I’ll take that all day.
Jaelan Phillips-Phillips stepped filled the void Rousseau left by getting after the quarterback with 42 pressures last year. Could you imagine if Rousseau stayed and it was those two monsters on the outside?!
Azeez Ojulari-Due to the premium placed on this position, Ojulari might slip into the tail end of the first round. He’s a bit undersized at 240 lbs, but makes up for it in his speed and athleticism. Some rich team is going to get richer at the end of the first night.
Jayson Oweh-PFF might be a bit dramatic this year with their big board…this is what they said about Oweh, “He boasted the single freakiest pro day at the edge position I’ve ever seen and only started playing football in 2016”. Freak or not, he didn’t record a single sack last year. I’ll jump on the hype train and put him in my top-5, but at what point do you ding a pass rusher for not getting a sack?!
Named after his grandfather who couldn’t escape Civil War. Named by his mother who did — twice.
Christian Barmore-Thank God this is my last position group, because I’m sick and tired of putting Bama players on these lists. At 6’5, 310 lbs, he’s a prototypical defensive tackle who could play a 1 or 3 technique in a 4-3 scheme. If there’s a knock on him, it’s his inconsistency throughout the year, but he shined brightest when it mattered most.
Alim McNeill-This is a thin class, but I absolutely love this kid. At 320 lbs, he’s got enough junk in the trunk to play a true nose in a 3-4 technique (BRONCOS!!) and is a mauler in the run game. I have him falling to the second round, hopefully going to the Broncos. He’ll make an impact immediately regardless where he goes.
Milton Williams-I’m not sure how much stock to put into these small-school pro days…but a 4.67 40 and a 38.5” vertical is impressive for a big dude. He’s undersized at 278..so he might get moved to DE in a 4-3 and is for sure a 3-4 DE, but he might struggle as a 3 tech DT.
Levi Onwuzurike-Maybe I’m placing too much stock in the Senior Bowl…but after opting out of 2020… but to get bullied like he did was disappointing. His Sophomore/Junior years are impressive, so maybe I should emphasize this more, but regardless he’s a second round talent.
Marvin Wilson-I’m putting my neck out here, but after tremendous sophomore and junior years, he stunk his senior year. Look, it was covid, he probably put on some LBs and he played for a terrible team. Hopefully he goes to a team that can unlock the monster he was his junior year, and they’ll be able to get him at a discount in the late 2nd to early third day of the draft.
Tomorrow is the big day and I’ll post my last mock draft (WITH TRADES!!!) tomorrow MORNING. These lists took me a while to put together, so I apologize for the evening wipes, but just know when you wake up there will be an amazing morning flush waiting for you. Also, don’t forget to follow my twitter account @morning_flush to see my favorite prop bets tomorrow. Love you, bye.
Patrick Surtain II-This is an absolutely loaded corner class with 5 dudes I could see going in the first round and making an impact immediately and 3 of them have the ability to make a pro bowl in their rookie year. Surtain is obviously one of them, he’s a three year starter at Bama and was the highest graded corner by PFF.
Caleb Farley (no relation to Chris Farley)-He’s got a similar frame to Surtain and was my first corner drafter in my original mock draft, but his recent back surgery caused him to fall one spot in my rankings. I absolutely love this kid, he’s tough and has battled adversity in his after losing his mother. He’s a fearless corner and a freak athlete.
Jaycee Horn- He and Caleb Farley and 2a and 2b. This dude is an uber-agressive corner who mauls wideouts at the line of scrimmage and continues to pester them downfield. This led to 5 penalties against him last year, but I’ll take that tradeoff for his ability.
Greg Newsome II-He doesn’t have a ton of tape and was only thrown to 34 times last year (12 catches allowed, 93 yards), so I’m not sold on him. Scouts love his “feet” and his versatility. I love that he played for perennial football guy of the year nominee Pat Fitzgerald.
Asante Samuel Jr.- Seriously, what the firetruck is the difference between “the second” and “Junior”. Explain it to me like I’m 5. If scouts weren’t so busy beatin’ their bologna to Newsome’s feet, this dude could easily be the 4th best corner. He’s undersized at 5’10, 184 lbs, but I have him in the first round and making an impact immediately. He allowed all of 179 yards last year.
Micah Parsons-Aside from him allegedly choking a teammate, this guy might be the most slam dunk of a defensive prospect we’ve seen in a minute. PFF said this in their mock draft big board, “He’s quite easily the best blitzing off-ball linebacker we’ve seen in our seven years of doing this”…he’s also only 21.
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah-Don’t ask me to say his name, but I’ll talk about this dude’s ability all day. You want it? Instinctive, explosive, competitive…he’s got it all man. Oh, and he might be the best linebacker in coverage in the league as soon as he steps on the field.
Zaven Collins- At 6’5, 260 lbs this dude is an absolute unit and somehow still had the second best coverage grade behind JOK (see above statement). Some team might fall in love with this brut and take him in the first round and might try him at Sam in a 4-3 defense.
Jamin Davis-A freak athlete with a ton of range, this dude loved getting his nose in there in the run game. Every time I look him up, his name is shooting up the draft board, and he found a spot in my first round of my mock draft.
Nick Bolton-Of all the buzzwords used for linebackers, “instinctive” was the word that kept popping up for Nick Bolton. This is a top-heavy linebacker class, but I could easily see him coming off the board in the first round as the third linebacker taken. He’s a bit undersized, but who gives a shit if the dude makes plays.
Kwity Paye-In a class where there isn’t a top-10 player at the edge position, Paye might fall a bit in the first round and make some team happy. He’s a tank at 6’4, 272 lbs with a high motor, plays with great knee bend and showed the ability to corner even the best tackles in the B1G.
Gregory Rousseau-He opted out of his redshirt sophomore season after a 16 sack redshirt freshman year, so there’s not much on this guy. I don’t give a shit what his PFF grade was or what he did off the field…16 sacks in 11 games?!?! I’ll take that all day.
Azeez Ojulari-Due to the premium placed on this position, Ojulari might slip into the tail end of the first round. He’s a bit undersized at 240 lbs, but makes up for it in his speed and athleticism. Some rich team is going to get richer at the end of the first night.
Alim McNeill-This is a thin class, but I absolutely love this kid. At 320 lbs, he’s got enough junk in the trunk to play a true nose in a 3-4 technique (BRONCOS!!) and is a mauler in the run game. I have him falling to the second round, hopefully going to the Broncos. He’ll make an impact immediately regardless where he goes.
Milton Williams-I’m not sure how much stock to put into these small-school pro days…but a 4.67 40 and a 38.5” vertical is impressive for a big dude. He’s undersized at 278..so he might get moved to DE in a 4-3 and is for sure a 3-4 DE, but he might struggle as a 3 tech DT.
The Morning Flush 
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