LittleDavis
Hall of Famer
I'm starting to hope we draft this guy. Guy is a beast. Only knock is lesser competition.
I'm starting to hope we draft this guy. Guy is a beast. Only knock is lesser competition.
Along with injury and a nasty attitude.
#6 in a deep DL draft. Goes 10 -15.
I feel confident he will win the underwear olympics aka Combine, but he will not be top 10 because of combine.
Question marks all around him
There are so many question marks with Oliver that he isn't going to be able to answer at the combine. He has incredible burst and agility. But he is undersized, underdeveloped pass rush moves, and doesn't rush with a plan beyond getting into the backfield. Locating the ball was also one of the biggest weaknesses for Nkemdiche in college. Although it does cause disruption, he rarely finishes the play.
Ed Oliver had 53 tackles for loss in 3 years at UH (22 his freshman year). He also had 13.5 sacks.
Nkemdiche had 16 TFL in 3 years at Ole Miss. Only 6 sacks.
That’s a pretty bad comparison.
It's worse to scout by looking at stats!
But if you watch the tape, the stats tell you what you’re seeing. He was dominant in finding the ball carrier in the backfield.
And in regards to his pass-rushing skills, let’s give the kid some slack. He attended UH, not exactly known for their defensive coaching. The NFL can definitely coach him up in that regard. I really believe that if Ed Oliver went to a bigger school, he’d be #1 overall player in this draft.
So, cut him slack for the lower level coaching, but not for the level of competition that led to his stats? Everyone assumes he will develop better technique, but what if he doesn't? That's like saying a big, fast WR will learn to run routes. I'm not excited to have a raw, undersized 5tech that can't set the edge.
If you play him at the 5-technique, then you’re playing him out of position. You need to line him up at 3-technique, similar to what Aaron Donald plays in the Rams 3-4 defense.
Call his position what you will, but he essentially is a one gap player that is only asked to get up field. He has zero versatility, which is less than ideal. Aaron Donald is bigger, much stronger and was so much more advanced with technique than Oliver is now. Donald played with so much more power at Pitt. He is so much more versatile.
Call his position what you will, but he essentially is a one gap player that is only asked to get up field. He has zero versatility, which is less than ideal. Aaron Donald is bigger, much stronger and was so much more advanced with technique than Oliver is now. Donald played with so much more power at Pitt. He is so much more versatile.