| Score | Overall |
| 92.5 | 4 |
| Position | Day |
| 1 | 1 |
| Score | Position | Day | Overall |
| 92.5 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Height: | 6' 3" | Weight: | 253 lbs |
| Hands: | 9.88 | Arms: | 33.88 |
| 40 YD Dash: | 4.6 | 10 YD Split: | 1.61 |
| Vertical: | -- | Broad: | -- |
| Shuttle: | -- | Cone: | -- |
| Height: | 6' 3" | Hands: | 9.88 | 40 YD Dash: | 4.6 |
| Weight: | 253 lbs | Arms: | 33.88 | 10 YD Split: | 1.61 |
| Broad: | -- | Cone: | -- | ||
| Vertical: | -- | Shuttle: | -- |
| Height: | 6' 3" | Hands: | 9.88 | 40 YD Dash: | 4.6 | Broad: | -- | Cone: | -- |
| Weight: | 253 lbs | Arms: | 33.88 | 10 YD Split: | 1.61 | Vertical: | -- | Shuttle: | -- |
Anderson Jr. was born and raised in Hampton, Georgia, where he attended Dutchtown High School. He was a five-star recruit and chose to play for the Alabama Crimson Tide. He led the nation with 17.5 sacks and 34.5 tackles for loss in 2021. In his college career, Anderson was named the 2022 Bednarik Award winner, the 2022 Rotary Lombardi Award winner, and was also a two-time Nagurski Trophy winner in 2021 and 2022. He was also named SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021, and was a 2021-2022 All-American. In his freshman season in 2020, Anderson was named the FWAA Freshman of the Year and was selected to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
Length, athleticism, and flexibility. Anderson has the goods. When it comes to purely physical traits, Anderson has everything you need to be a dominant edge defender in the NFL. His athleticism, best summarized by an explosive first step, is top-tier. He combines that burst, his length, and his ability to bend the corner to keep opposing offensive tackles off balance and guessing what is to come.
Pass-rush plan with developed move set. Anderson can hit you with a variety of moves. His go-to is the "forklift," and he looks like a jiu-jitsu athlete or wrestler trying to get to the back in the way he deploys it. Off of the forklift, he can hit a bunch of variations, like the over-under or the club-rip to either side. Once he gets you half-man and softens the corner, even just a little, he has the bend and burst to turn into a heat-seeking missile in pursuit of the QB. He also is fantastic at using speed-to-power rushes and can easily counter/transition inside if the tackle oversets or gets blown backward.
Surprising power and play strength. Anderson isn’t the biggest EDGE defender in the world, as he sits just north of 250 pounds. Despite that, he plays with tremendous power and overall play strength. When defending the run, he uses a strong initial punch and his length to lock out offensive linemen, and has the violent hands necessary to quickly shed blocks and get into pursuit mode. Alabama used him in some very interesting alignments considering his size — notably playing a lot of 4i technique, where he was subject to double team angles and/or was required to cross the OT’s face to set the edge. He held up well in those situations.
Massive dip in production from 2021 to 2022. Any time a player’s best tape isn’t his final year in college, it really is a bummer, as now we have to go on a fact-finding mission. Unfortunately, we don’t really have the answer for Anderson’s 2022 dip other than perhaps the whole Alabama team had sort of a down year. Either way, this is concerning to me and calls into question the intensity with which Anderson played. Is it possible he was resting on his laurels of a predetermined top-5 pick heading into the season? I can’t answer that from where I sit, but I have no doubt teams have spent resources trying to get that question answered.
Lean frame. Granted, it’s hard to list this as a weakness when it doesn’t really show up on tape a ton outside of a handful of plays. It does seem like he can get swept away by clean double teams, but generally speaking, I think Anderson is pretty good at anchoring and/or splitting blocks. That said, a lot of teams undoubtedly prefer their edge defenders to play at a heavier weight than 250 pounds.
Anderson is my EDGE1 in the class, and he scores right in line with my EDGE1 last year, Aidan Hutchinson. While I do try to shut out the noise prior to doing my own writeups, it's hard to ignore the consensus view on Anderson as a blue chip or "can’t miss" type of prospect. As much as I like Anderson and his ceiling, I personally don’t see that — I wouldn’t put him in the same tier as guys like **Joey Bosa **or Myles Garrett. I do view him as an exceptional talent, though, and one who is worth a top-5 pick in the NFL Draft, but he is not someone I would call “generational.”
| Score | Overall |
| 92.3 | 5 |
| Position | Day |
| 2 | 1 |
| Score | Position | Day | Overall |
| 92.3 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Height: | 6' 6" | Weight: | 271 lbs |
| Hands: | 9.63 | Arms: | 35.63 |
| 40 YD Dash: | -- | 10 YD Split: | -- |
| Vertical: | -- | Broad: | -- |
| Shuttle: | -- | Cone: | -- |
| Height: | 6' 6" | Hands: | 9.63 | 40 YD Dash: | -- |
| Weight: | 271 lbs | Arms: | 35.63 | 10 YD Split: | -- |
| Broad: | -- | Cone: | -- | ||
| Vertical: | -- | Shuttle: | -- |
| Height: | 6' 6" | Hands: | 9.63 | 40 YD Dash: | -- | Broad: | -- | Cone: | -- |
| Weight: | 271 lbs | Arms: | 35.63 | 10 YD Split: | -- | Vertical: | -- | Shuttle: | -- |
Wilson hails from New London, Texas. At West Rusk High School, Wilson was named the District 9-3A Division-II Defensive MVP as a senior and an AP Class 3A second-team All-State selection. He was a three-star recruit coming out of high school and received offers from FBS schools such as Texas, Ole Miss, and Arkansas. Wilson initially played one season as a redshirt freshman for Texas A&M before transferring to Texas Tech in August 2020. At Texas Tech, Wilson continued to excel, earning several accolades, including First Team All-American in 2022, being named one of 20 semifinalists for the Bednarik Award in 2022, and being recognized as an Academic All-Big 12 honoree in 2022. In 2021, he was named an honorable mention All-Big 12 player.
Massive size, frame, and length. Wilson profiles as a prototype closed-side EDGE defender, standing nearly 6’6", at 275 pounds with over an 84” wingspan. He is a menacing-looking man already, but has room on his frame for even more weight. His length gives him incredible range as a tackler, as he can swallow ball carriers from seemingly miles away.
Plus athleticism and flexibility. Wilson has incredible foot speed for his size. He also has enough flexibility in his hips and ankles to be highly productive on stunts and twists.
Insane, best-in-class power. Wilson has Deontay Wilder’s "touch of death," and when he gets his hands on someone trying to block him, they go flying backward or he easily throws them aside. He defeats more blocks with pure power than anyone in recent memory. His length comes into play here as well, as chances are he's getting the first hit in, even with a lackluster get-off. When rushing the passer, he can drive tackles back into the pocket or use his power to massively soften the edge to open up a pursuit angle on the QB.
Inside counters give him a plentiful pass-rush arsenal. Wilson has two go-to inside counters that make his life very easy as a pass rusher, the inside stab and the club/rip. He also has a variation of the club/rip that plays like a hump move, made famous by Reggie White. These counters help preserve the effectiveness of his outside power rush as OTs can’t cheat their pass-set protect anchor or their edge.
Strength with stack and shed ability. Power and strength are different traits to me, and Wilson plays with both. He understands pad level and uses his length and strength combo to lock out defenders and easily shed them to make plays on the ball carrier.
Could get more consistent with his leverage. Wilson has mastered the body position aspect of leverage, but could get better with both his hands and his pad level. He is so tall that sometimes it gets really easy for him to play high and narrow when defending the run. While his length can cover him here often, in the NFL, he will be susceptible to getting moved off the ball, especially if confronted with double teams. His hands are violent and powerful, but he needs to get better about wrestling technically-savvy linemen that specialize in winning hand fights.
Poor snap get off. I don’t think Wilson lacks explosiveness generally, but he certainly does when getting off the ball. I don’t know if this is a processing issue or an athleticism issue. You could use his change of direction or closing burst as counter-arguments to the athleticism debate, but this could be problematic. At the college level, it didn’t really hamper his effectiveness as he was just too powerful for the average college OT, but NFL tackles are much better.
Possible big developmental curve incoming. Texas Tech used Wilson as a primarily stand-up EDGE in a variety of weird alignments, sometimes even playing super wide — something he won’t likely be asked to do in the NFL. I do wonder if playing tighter to the formation (5- or 6-technique) from a three-point stance could help speed up that snap get-off.
Wilson offers teams a huge, powerful force on the EDGE with some inside pass-rush potential. While he needs to clean up his technique in a variety of areas, the raw power Wilson possesses is very attractive. He could find a home on most teams as a closed-side EDGE defender responsible for tacking on tight end/tackle combos to set the edge. He scores as a top-10 player for me and should help any team in need of pass-rush help.
| Score | Overall |
| 90.3 | 13 |
| Position | Day |
| 3 | 1 |
| Score | Position | Day | Overall |
| 90.3 | 3 | 1 | 13 |
| Height: | 6' 4 1/2" | Weight: | 268 lbs |
| Hands: | 8.5 | Arms: | 33.75 |
| 40 YD Dash: | -- | 10 YD Split: | -- |
| Vertical: | -- | Broad: | -- |
| Shuttle: | -- | Cone: | -- |
| Height: | 6' 4 1/2" | Hands: | 8.5 | 40 YD Dash: | -- |
| Weight: | 268 lbs | Arms: | 33.75 | 10 YD Split: | -- |
| Broad: | -- | Cone: | -- | ||
| Vertical: | -- | Shuttle: | -- |
| Height: | 6' 4 1/2" | Hands: | 8.5 | 40 YD Dash: | -- | Broad: | -- | Cone: | -- |
| Weight: | 268 lbs | Arms: | 33.75 | 10 YD Split: | -- | Vertical: | -- | Shuttle: | -- |
Murphy is a native of Powder Springs, Georgia. He attended Hillgrove High School, where he was a five-star recruit and rated as one of the top defensive linemen in the country. Murphy committed to Clemson over offers from schools such as Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio State. He made an immediate impact as a true freshman, earning Freshman All-American honors and being named the ACC Co-Newcomer of the Year in 2020. In 2021, Murphy was named to the All-ACC Second Team, and he followed that up with a First-Team All-ACC selection in 2022. He finished his career with 119 tackles, 37 tackles for loss, 17.5 sacks, and six forced fumbles.
Prototypical size and length profile. Murphy checks all the boxes here and can play on either side of an even front as a hand-in-the-dirt edge defender.
Freaky athlete with incredible first step. The word "freak" gets tossed around a lot these days, but Murphy embodies every bit of the word. There isn’t much he can’t do with his body at 270 pounds. His get-off and speed around the arc make him a threat to get to the QB on every single snap. He uses his length well to prevent tackles from recovering once they cede ground to him, mitigating his average bend.
Plays with good power. You see it in his speed-to-power rush and in the way he jolts offensive linemen backward when defending the run. If Murphy can get his hands on someone, they will move.
Scheme weapon. Murphy’s power, length, burst, and balance make him an attractive piece to try and scheme up pressure with, via delays, stunts, and twists. If he gets a free lane to the QB, there is basically nothing that can stop him. While he is much bigger than **Haason Reddick, **I would love to see Murphy get the same diet of schemed opportunities with whatever team he lands on.
Pass rush plan needs big-time help. This is the one thing preventing Murphy from being a top-10 lock. For all intents and purposes, he is raw as a pass-rusher and currently almost completely relies on athleticism and power. He needs to work on some primary pass-rush moves as well as a go-to inside counter. The traits are all there though, so some development will go a long way.
Didn’t really develop in college. Similar to Derick Hall, Murphy’s baseline was very good, but his freshman tape is every bit as good as his junior tape. I would have loved for him to take that next step.
Murphy is my "bet on the traits" prospect of this year's EDGE class. Unlike most underdeveloped “high-ceiling” edge prospects, I think the floor for Murphy is actually really high because he is just so athletic, so powerful, and plays with a super hot motor and gas tank. He scores better for me than last year's #1 overall pick, Travon Walker. Officially, he is a top-15 player for me in this class.
| Score | Overall |
| 87.3 | 24 |
| Position | Day |
| 4 | 2 |
| Score | Position | Day | Overall |
| 87.3 | 4 | 2 | 24 |
| Height: | 6' 2" | Weight: | 238 lbs |
| Hands: | 9 | Arms: | 32.63 |
| 40 YD Dash: | 4.39 | 10 YD Split: | 1.52 |
| Vertical: | 41.5 | Broad: | -- |
| Shuttle: | -- | Cone: | -- |
| Height: | 6' 2" | Hands: | 9 | 40 YD Dash: | 4.39 |
| Weight: | 238 lbs | Arms: | 32.63 | 10 YD Split: | 1.52 |
| Broad: | -- | Cone: | -- | ||
| Vertical: | 41.5 | Shuttle: | -- |
| Height: | 6' 2" | Hands: | 9 | 40 YD Dash: | 4.39 | Broad: | -- | Cone: | -- |
| Weight: | 238 lbs | Arms: | 32.63 | 10 YD Split: | 1.52 | Vertical: | 41.5 | Shuttle: | -- |
Smith is from Bradenton, Florida, where he attended both IMG Academy and Calvary Day School. He was one of the most highly recruited high school players in the country, earning numerous accolades, including being one of four finalists for the Anthony Muñoz Lineman of the Year Award as a senior. As a five-star recruit coming out of high school, he received offers from Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and Clemson. He chose to commit to Georgia and immediately saw playing time as a freshman. He finished his four-year career at Georgia with 11.5 sacks, 21 tackles for loss, and 114 total tackles.
Nuclear explosiveness. Smith is arguably the most explosive player in the entire draft class at any position. The cliche of "shot out of a cannon" absolutely applies to him getting off the ball. This is by far his most impressive trait.
Fantastic ability to bend. Smith has fluid hips and super-flexible ankles. He can bend and corner at nearly full speed, taking harsh angles to the QB. He doesn’t need to soften the corner much with his pass rush and has no issue turning once he is hip-to-hip.
Good play strength and intensity for his size. Smith plays with a burning hot motor and intensity. He is always moving (sometimes to his detriment) and goes all out on every single play. He has no issue taking on pulling blockers and getting physical despite being massively disadvantaged from a size standpoint.
Incredible range. Smith can get from the far hash to the opposite sideline in the blink of an eye. He is perfect for defending read option and RPO as his change of direction ability and instincts allow him to shut down obvious reads. I prefer him on the backside of read-op runs (RB side), but he will do just fine at either.
Overly slender frame. Smith is tiny. It's hard to imagine him holding up at his current size, and I suspect most teams will try to get at least 10 pounds on his frame before unleashing him as an every-down edge defender.
Lacking pass-rush plan. Smith really has an underdeveloped pass-rush arsenal, especially when it comes to inside counters. There are not many reps of him beating a tackle inside in 1-on-1 situations. As it stands, he is a pure speed rusher who will either beat the tackle around the corner or get completely run off.
Not going to win with power. This technically could fall into the lack of pass-rush arsenal bucket, but also remains true as a run defender. When rushing the passer, Smith really struggles to convert his speed to power, and anytime he tries to bullrush, he stalls out completely. Defending the run, he can be jolted backward easily if he loses the hand fight and just doesn’t have the girth to prevent movement at that point.
Has trouble shedding blockers. When Smith is able to lock out his arms and reset the line of scrimmage in run defense, he struggles to then disengage cleanly to make a play on the ball carrier or get penetration.
Smith is an uber athletic pass-rush specialist who needs significant development to achieve his potential. On one hand, it is easy to fall in love with the ceiling, and on the other, the developmental curve is mountainous. Smith is sort of like a collection of really fascinating car parts, and a really good coach might be able to build a Ferrari out of them, but if things go poorly, you might be left with a Prius. I also wonder if some teams will view him as an off-ball linebacker or a hybrid/combo-type player. I would be very interested in that role, especially considering the lack of LB talent in this class. For me, Smith scores as an early day-2 player.
| Score | Overall |
| 79.2 | 72 |
| Position | Day |
| 10 | 2 |
| Score | Position | Day | Overall |
| 79.2 | 10 | 2 | 72 |
| Height: | 6' 2" | Weight: | 254 lbs |
| Hands: | 10 | Arms: | 34.5 |
| 40 YD Dash: | 4.55 | 10 YD Split: | 1.59 |
| Vertical: | 33.5 | Broad: | -- |
| Shuttle: | -- | Cone: | -- |
| Height: | 6' 2" | Hands: | 10 | 40 YD Dash: | 4.55 |
| Weight: | 254 lbs | Arms: | 34.5 | 10 YD Split: | 1.59 |
| Broad: | -- | Cone: | -- | ||
| Vertical: | 33.5 | Shuttle: | -- |
| Height: | 6' 2" | Hands: | 10 | 40 YD Dash: | 4.55 | Broad: | -- | Cone: | -- |
| Weight: | 254 lbs | Arms: | 34.5 | 10 YD Split: | 1.59 | Vertical: | 33.5 | Shuttle: | -- |
Hall is from Gulfport, Mississippi, where he attended Gulfport High School. Hall made a name for himself early on as a basketball starter and a state finalist in the 200 meters in track during his high school years, along with his football play. He was a four-star recruit coming out of high school and received offers from numerous schools such as LSU, Tennessee, and Florida State. He ultimately chose to commit to Auburn. Since then, Hall has proven to be a force to be reckoned with, earning accolades such as 1st team all-SEC in 2022, being named a Jason Witten Man of the Year semifinalist in the same year, and receiving all-SEC 2nd team honors in 2021.
Rocked-up and twitchy body. Hall looks like a create-a-character with insane muscle definition, ideal length, and a super low amount of body fat. He has an 8-pack of abs despite weighing 260 pounds. He’s got super long arms and a tremendous amount of explosiveness. His snap get-off is very nice.
Plays with incredible power. Hall is yet another rusher in this class who wins with power. Hall might be the most athletic of them all, too. Most of his success rushing the passer comes from his long-arm rush, speed-to-power rushes, or just straight bullrushes where he is playing through the body of the OT. He does a very good job marrying his explosiveness with engaged hips in order to generate maximum impact at the point of contact, jarring offensive linemen backward.
Relentless chasing down quarterbacks and ball carriers. Once a lane to the quarterback opens, he is good at disengaging and getting into pursuit. He pursues with ridiculous intensity and closing burst, nothing will stop him getting to the QB if the lane is there. He will play sideline-to-sideline as well when defending the run.
Needs to defend the run with the same intensity he rushes the passer. For whatever reason, Hall doesn’t seem to battle with the same intensity against the run as he does when beating up tackles in pass-pro. He often finds himself stuck on blocks and doesn’t commit to shedding. While he will almost never give up ground in his gap, he doesn’t make enough plays on the ball. This could also speak to a lack of discipline.
A little stiffness in the hips limits his ability to bend and turn the corner at speed. This shows up in a modest 3-cone time of 7.23 at his pro day, and while I don’t think he has crippling stiffness by any means, he will definitely need to soften the corner way more than Will Anderson or Nolan Smith. This might not matter at all for some teams, but ultimately is a little disappointing not to be able to unleash Hall’s get-off and speed as a pure edge bender.
Needs to work on pass-rush arsenal. Hall is an interesting case study because it's not like he lacks moves, it's just that his moves (other than the power trio already mentioned) don’t really work. He needs to improve both his set-ups and his inside counters. Those inside counters are going to become more and more important as a way to keep that speed-to-power rush he is so good at to remain effective in the NFL.
Didn’t show an upward trajectory. From a quality and performance standpoint, Hall is seemingly the same player today as he was the day he set foot on Auburn's campus. His 2020 tape is just as good as his 2022 tape. I would have liked to see him get better throughout his career.
Hall is a prototypical EDGE prospect with an exciting toolbox for teams to work with. His size, length, power, and explosiveness all easily project to success rushing the passer and defending the run in the NFL. He does have some things to clean up at the next level, most notably adding some diversity to his pass-rush attack, but the physical traits are plentiful. He has been heralded by teammates and coaches as a top-notch character guy who is always outworking the masses. He scores as a day-2 player for me who should be selected anywhere from the late 2nd to early 3rd round.
