Examining the Edge in Later Rounds of Draft
There will be 21 players in Las Vegas waiting to hear their names called as they sit on pins and needles in whatever passes for the green room during the 2022 NFL Draft, which begins Thursday night with the first round and runs through Saturday.
Inevitably, one falls further than he had hoped at looks dejected. Some have fallen out of the first round in some drafts.
Of the 21, perhaps the biggest played poised for a drop, maybe even into the second round, is edge rusher George Karlaftis of Purdue.
He is considered the fifth-ranked edge rusher in the draft behind Aidan Hutchinson, Trayvon Walker, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Jermaine Johnson, not necessarily in that order.
Only Walker in that group won’t be in Vegas.
“There's teams that think he's one of the top 15 players, and then there's teams that think he's not worth a first- or second-round pick,” said NFL draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah last week. “That's how all over the board teams are on some of these guys. I would have Karlaftis.
“…He's a polarizing player (but) some people are really down on him. He's not super, super twitched up and bendy, but he just is a real rugged player who can power through, and he can really kind of get on half of a man as we like to say, and kind of work that edge and just be very disruptive. I know his sack numbers aren't huge, but to me, I just think he's a rock-solid player.”
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If he’s there at 15 or 18, would the Eagles take him?
There doesn’t seem to be much buzz between him and Philadelphia, but that would be to the Eagles’ benefit to keep any sort of interest on the down-low.
Two other candidates for drops are Nakobe Dean and Devante Wyatt. (See below for the rest of the list of players expected at the NFL draft).
If the Eagles don’t select Karlaftis, there are some other edge rushers to watch on Day 2, where Philly has three picks – 51, 83, and 101.
Nik Bonitto of Oklahoma is one, for sure. So is Penn State’s Arnold Ebiketie.
Perhaps the Eagles throw caution to the wind again and select Michigan’s David Ojabo despite a ruptured Achilles’ suffered during his pro day or play it relatively safe and go with Minnesota’s Boye Mafe. And USC’s Drake Jackson is an enigma.
Whether they are there at 51 remains to be seen.
“I love Arnold Ebiketie; I know he's a little bit older, but he is a stud,” said Jeremiah. “He's one of my favorite players to watch, kind of a leverage rusher, transfer from Temple. But he's got great hands. He's a fun one to watch.
“You get a little something different with a guy like Bonitto from Oklahoma, who again, has a big-time fastball off the edge.
“One of the more polarizing players (is) Drake Jackson from USC, a lot of teams like him in that range, kind of in that second-round, middle-second-round range, because this is somebody has got a lot of traits, long, rangy. His weight has kind of fluctuated. He was heavier early on, then he tried to drop a lot of weight, now he's put it back on, so he's kind of yo-yoed there, but he's somebody that can really bend and is explosive coming off the edge.”
That group is likely to come off the board in the second round.
Here are two likely to be available in the third round:
Kentucky’s Josh Paschal. He is an intriguing prospect in that he was diagnosed with malignant melanoma of his foot in July of 2018 and redshirted that year while he underwent three surgeries and monthly immunotherapy treatments. He returned and became the Wildcats’ first three-time captain, a leadership trait the Eagles love to draft.
“He's a great kid, said Jeremiah. “He was a phenomenal leader and worker, all those things are off the charts, and he's got heavy, heavy hands. He can collapse the pocket, as well. Doesn't have big-time, big-time burst and get off but he'd be a good (third-round) option in terms of the value of that pick.”
Mississippi’s Sam Williams. His production jumped noticeably from four sacks in his sophomore year to 12.5 last season as he ended his three-year college career with 22.5 sacks. Asked during the Scouting Combine why his production increased, he said: “I have a son, so that helped me make my game increase. I’m doing everything I can to make his life better.”
Other third-round possibilities include San Diego State’s Cameron Thomas and Western Kentucky’s DeAngelo Malone.
On Day 3, one to keep an eye on is UAB’s Alex Wright.
“(He) is intriguing at 6-5, 271 pounds,” said Jeremiah. “They kind of used him a little bit inside and outside, but he's real, real explosive. He plays a little bit high but he's an intriguing, intriguing player. That one would be kind of interesting to me.”
Here are the others who will be in Las Vegas:
Matt Corral
Charles Cross
Jordan Davis
Ikem Ekwonu
Sauce Gardner
Kyler Gordon
Kyle Hamilton
Zion Johnson
Devin Lloyd
Drake London
Evan Neal
Chris Olave
Jameson Williams
Malik Willis
Garrett Wilson
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
