2016 NFL Mock Draft Database (Updated 4/7/16)

Most Mocked To Us As Of Now

A'Shawn Robinson / DT / Alabama / 6'4" / 312LBS.



Analysis:

Strengths: Body beautiful for an interior lineman. Well-­proportioned with powerful, tree­ trunk legs make it tough to move him off the spot. Has boom in his punch and dislodges guards and centers if they try and wait on him. Pure power to toss a one-­on-­one block aside. Athletic enough to give reasonable chase to the ball. Well schooled in using length to stuff cut blocks. Has frame and length to eat blocks and allow linebackers to run free. Heavy tackler. Running backs do not break his tackles and he rarely fails to finish when he’s locked in on his target. Able to generate pocket push when he gets it cranked up as a pass rusher. Boss man in the locker room and in practice helping to hold teammates accountable. Coming into the draft with relatively fresh legs playing just 57 percent of Alabama’s defensive snaps over last two seasons. Has brute force to match NFL power immediately.

Weaknesses: Pad level is his arch enemy. Plays too upright when asked to move. Looks to have flexibility to drop his pads, but doesn’t do it enough. Should be more consistent against double teams. Doesn’t impose his will as often as he could. Basic pass rusher without a winning, go-­to move or effective counter. Straight-­liner who cranks up initial push as bull-­rusher, but stalls out due to leverage loss. Needs to play with wider base to improve balance and base. Able to get upfield as an edge rusher, but rarely turns corner. Too content to lay on blocks when rush stalls rather than spin underneath or unleash a club move. Doesn’t play with the quickness or forward lean to threaten edges and win in the gaps.

NFL Comparison: John Henderson

Bottom Line: Hard to find an interior lineman with a more well-­proportioned frame than Robinson. His size and overall talent level will have NFL teams drooling and projecting him along any and all defensive fronts, but his film might leave them hungry for more. As opposed to teammate Jarran Reed who already plays with polish, Robinson is a projection-­oriented two-­gapper who can step in right away and help plug holes in a leaky run defense. If Robinson can improve his leverage issues and pass rushing, he has all-­pro potential; however, he’s not a sure thing to become a star.


Shaq Lawson / DE / Clemson / 6'3" / 269LBS.



Analysis:

Strengths: Built like a tank with thickly muscled legs and a broad chest. Clemson played him at 5-­technique and standing up on the outside. Scheme versatile and will likely appeal to be 3­-4 and 4-­3 teams. Very powerful at the point of attack. Able to punch, extend arms and control the line of scrimmage or set a hard edge. Able to shock and shed blockers and has the hand quickness to staggered block attempts. Power allows him to play on other side of the line. Finished second in the nation in "stuffs" for defensive linemen with 17. Comes off ball low and with forward lean into his rush. Has frame to handle a double team. Has plus instincts and feel for the game. Toughness in full display.

Weaknesses: Thickly bound with very average flexibility. Average athlete for an end position. Not a natural hip bender and will have to focus on keeping pad level lower to unlock his leverage potential. Shows obvious signs of fatigue as game wears on. At times, is too content to lean on blocks when play isn?t run to his side rather than working to discard. Will have snaps where he seems more concerned with imposing his will on blocking rather than diagnosing the play. Doesn?t have the bend or upper body flexion to be edge turner as pass rusher. Effort sacks will diminish in pros and will need to become more nuanced pass rusher.

NFL Comparison:Courtney Upshaw

Bottom Line: Productive backup for two years before putting together an All­-American season in his first year as a full- time starter. Lawson is built like a full­-grown man and combines his instincts, toughness and power to fill up a stat sheet and set an early tone. Lawson's frame and game are easily translatable to the NFL, but his average athleticism and pass rush skills will likely have teams viewing him as a 3­-4 edge setter or a 4-­3 base end. Lawson may also have value as 3­-4 defensive tackle in an upfield scheme.


Sheldon Rankins / DT / Louisville / 6'1" / 304LBS.



Analysis:

Strengths Powerfully built lower half with very good strength. Is extremely compact, but still flexible and very athletic. Everything he does is explosive. Fires into blockers and can jolt and displace them with a combination of leverage and power. Strong base provides excellent balance to battle against double teams or down blocks. At times, will absolutely own finesse blockers. Elite foot quickness for interior defender. Will be difficult to hook or cross­face for NFL offensive linemen because of his lateral quickness. Plays with powerful, violent hands. Can play in 2­-gap or 1-­gap scheme and did just that at Louisville. Plays through the blocker reading and shedding on time to make tackles against the run. Loose, explosive hips that allow him to win edge battles and turn the corner as pass rusher and potentially excel in twist game. Highly productive pass rusher in each of the last two season. Bloodhound with great instincts to diagnose and shut­down screens.

Weaknesses: Undersized for full-­time interior position by NFL standards. Flashes quite a bit on tape, but many of his victims lacked the strength that he’ll see from NFL guards. Despite having decent arm length, is hardly long-­levered and could struggle to turn the corner against an NFL redirect block once he gets on a guard’s edge. Average secondary rush when his initial charge is stymied. Scouts believe he could lose some quickness if he tries to bulk up to prepare for rigors of NFL interior play. Some teams are concerned about his lack of overall size which could hurt his stock.

NFL Comparison: Grady Jarrett

Bottom Line: Everything about Rankins game screams winning football player. He has been extremely productive as a bull­rusher and edge rusher and he can hold the point of attack or play in gaps. Rankins is a ball of power with rare foot quickness, a great motor and outstanding feel for his position. With so many teams playing in sub­packages now, I would expect both 4-­3 and 3-­4 teams to consider him for an interior spot despite his shorter stature. Thanks to Rankins' ability to disrupt, I think he has a great shot at getting starter's snaps early on, but don't be shocked to see him fall a little in the draft due to his smaller stature.

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I would like Robinson just for the fact that he'd shore up the middle. Teams would completely clear out our interior last year.

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I'm kinda with you but we could get an elite edge rusher in the first then draft someone like Butler from Tech in the second at DT.

My first choice is by far Deforest Buckner but he will probably go in the first 7 picks.

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I prefer edge rusher... feels like almost every Monday we were bitching about the fact that we didn't lay a hand on the opposing QB, not bitching about how many big runs they broke through our interior line. But that's just me.

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right but the analysis on Robinson makes it sound like his strength is in shedding blocks and taking down running backs and/or eating up blocks to free up linebackers... as opposed to getting in the backfield himself and getting QB pressure. But again, I'm only basing this on three paragraphs, I don't watch a lot of Alabama defensive line play.

Then maybe you'd be looking at Shaq Lawson (not elite, but kind of like Jordan, good all around player) or Noah Spence, provided the team is comfortable with him.

Sticky this please until draft time

Welcome back to draft season, Meat. Hopefully we can get some spirited debates back going.

Who you looking at so far?

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I really think DE or DT is irrelevent,

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I see that point, but I believe DT is a much bigger need. The biggest problem we have had with our pass rush is the QBs are able to step-up in the pocket. Doesn't matter who you have rushing from the inside if there isn't that initial surge on a regular basis. You can help a struggling DE w/ blitzes/pressure from the OLBer, but there isn't much you can do to mask poor play up the middle.

oh thanks for clearing that up.

I thought the picture for #86 might be Keith McCants.

don't want.

unless of course he isn't a bust like McCants, see McCants was supposed to be the next Lawrence Taylor but fell way short.

obviously Robinson's skill set is different than McCants but I'm a proud skeptic early on. Course, if the Saints actually pick him I'll be a huge fan right of way.

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This is Jarran Reed FWIW

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My bad Ill fix it.