By Charlie Campbell.
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This page was last updated March 13, 2014. Follow me @walterfootball for updates.
Position Review: Defensive Ends
Defensive End Class
Early-round talent: A
Mid-round: C
Late-round: C
Overall grade: B
2014 prospects vs 2013
Jadeveon Clowney > Dion Jordan
Kony Ealy < Ezekiel Ansah
Scott Crichton < Barkevious Mingo
Stephon Tuitt < Bjoern Werner
Dominique Easley < Datone Jones
Kareem Martin < Tank Carradine
Ben Gardner < Margus Hunt
Ed Stinson < Damontre Moore
This is an interesting comparison. The 2014 NFL Draft class has the high-end talent, but the depth was drastically better a year ago. The 2013 NFL Draft’s class had five defensive ends drafted in the first round with eight being selected in the first 81 picks.
Even though the 2014 NFL Draft has the most talented player overall, this year’s defensive ends may not produce eight players selected in the top 100. The 2014 class features an elite player at the top and a significant drop-off behind him.
Looking at the two classes together, Clowney is, hands down, the top player in either class. Jordan, Ansah and Mingo would go ahead of Ealy. Ealy would go ahead of Werner. Crichton is about equal to Werner. Tuitt and Easley would go behind Jones but ahead of Carradine. Martin, Gardner and Stinson would go behind Moore.
Safest Pick: Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina
There is no doubt that Clowney is a once-in-a-generation talent athletically. Everybody is talking about what if he doesn’t max out or work as hard to be the best he can possibly be, however people aren’t keeping in mind that Clowney has a very high floor. Even if he isn’t fully dedicated to offseason training, he should produce 11-14 sacks per season. If Clowney works hard, he could end up re-writing the record books. Clowney is a safe pick to be dangerous pass-rusher in the NFL.
Picking Clowney for this isn’t very bold, so if I were going to go with a different player on this list I would go with Stephon Tuitt. I think he’s going to be a tough defensive lineman who can play both end and tackle.
Biggest Bust Potential: Kareem Martin, North Carolina
Martin probably won’t get selected before the third round, so he wouldn’t be a bust of epic proportions by any means. That being said, Martin was inconsistent in college. At times, he looked like he was about to become a force, but he would follow that up by getting handled by tackles who shouldn’t have been so effective against him. Martin has some size and speed, but I’m not convinced he has the intangibles to put it all together.
Defensive End Rankings by Attributes
Pass Rush:
NFL prototype: Jared Allen, Vikings
- Jadeveon Clowney
- Scott Crichton
- Kony Ealy
- Stephon Tuitt
- Kareem Martin
- Dominique Easley
- Ben Gardner
- Ed Stinson
Recap: The NFL is a passing-driven league, and coaches will tell you that an elite pass-rusher off the edge is the most important position on the defensive side of the ball. Unless a team has a defensive tackle like the Bengals’ Geno Atkins or Buccaneers’ Gerald McCoy, it has to have edge rushers who can consistently pressure the quarterback.
There is no doubt that Clowney is a great edge rusher, and he could be a double-digit sacker as soon as his rookie season. Clowney had eight sacks as a freshman and 13 as a sophomore. In his junior year, teams sent an obscene amount of double-teams his direction and kept plays rolling away from Clowney to keep him from getting to the quarterback. He has blinding speed off the edge, is strong to shed blocks, has athleticism to dodge tackles and a great repertoire of moves. Clowney should be one of the top pass-rushers in the NFL over the next decade.
After Clowney, Crichton showed the most natural pass-rush ability in college. He has speed of the end and is fighter. Crichton gets some hustle sacks along with beating tackles. He had 22.5 sacks over the past three years.
Ealy broke out as a pass-rusher with 9.5 sacks as a junior in 2013. He had 3.5 as a sophomore. In the NFL, Ealy should be a solid pass-rusher, but he probably won’t be prolific.
A year ago, Tuitt would have been ranked second on this list after a 12-sack season. He dipped to 7.5 sacks in 2013 while playing at a much heavier weight. Tuitt has dropped the weight, but he won’t beat NFL tackles with speed. Tuitt could be a nice rusher who moves inside in passing situations.
Martin looked like he could produce double-digit sacks earlier in his collegiate career, but it finally came true as a senior with 11.5 sacks. He could be a quality rusher in the NFL.
Easley and Gardner both were good pass-rushers in 2013 before their injuries. Both of them give guards a lot of problems in pass blocking. In the pros, Easley and Gardner should be moved inside on passing downs. Stinson never was much of a pass-rusher for Alabama.
Run Defense:
NFL prototype: Justin Smith, 49ers
- Stephon Tuitt
- Dominique Easley
- Kony Ealy
- Ben Gardner
- Jadeveon Clowney
- Ed Stinson
- Scott Crichton
- Kareem Martin
Recap: Defending the run isn’t as in demand as it used to be with NFL coaches, but they still watch it closely when evaluating prospects. This class features a lot of good run-defenders.
Tuitt is very strong at the point of attack and is tough to move. He can get to runs in and out of his gap. Teams haven’t had success running at him, and he should be an asset as a run-defender in the NFL.
Easley was superb in 2013 before getting injured. He is really strong for his size and was blowing up a lot of runs with disruption at the point of attack. Gardner has a similar style of play, but was not as consistently disruptive as Easley was last September.
Ealy really holds his ground. He is strong and doesn’t get pushed around. Ealy’s perfect as a run-defender for a base end in a 4-3 defense.
The pass rush of Clowney gets the majority of attention, but he is an excellent run-defender. Clowney can blast into the backfield and rock running backs. He also can chase them down from behind. Clowney would be ranked higher if he hadn’t taken so many run plays off when they didn’t come straight at him.
Stinson was groomed well for run defense, and that is his best asset entering the next level. Stinson will be a good run-defender in the NFL. Crichton is solid against the run. There were times where teams could run at Martin.
Motor:
NFL prototype: Jared Allen, Vikings
- Dominique Easley
- Ben Gardner
- Scott Crichton
- Kony Ealy
- Jadeveon Clowney
- Stephon Tuitt
- Ed Stinson
- Kareem Martin
Recap: Prospects who show a lack of effort can get knocked quickly by coaches when they start evaluating players. Coaches have zero patience for players who dog it. Conversely, a great motor will help players who may be short on athletic ability. This draft class has a lot of good motors amongst the early-round prospects.
Easley was utterly relentless in 2013 and displayed perhaps the best motor in college football. He never quit on plays and was always around the ball. Gardner, Crichton and Ealy also give great effort.
Clowney isn’t as cut and dry from a motor perspective as most think. In 2012, he took a lot of plays off and did that again in the 2013 season opener. After getting ripped hard for that by the media, Clowney really improved his effort and motor in his remaining college games. WalterFootball.com double-checked with scouts on that opinion and they agreed. They liked Clowney’s motor and effort after that game. They also said that Clowney was a young player – only 20 years old – and think that his effort and motor will continue to improve as he matures.
Tuitt, Stinson and Martin don’t have bad motors. However all of them can get into some quiet stretches where it doesn’t look like they are around the ball as much as they could be.
Speed:
NFL prototype: Jason Pierre-Paul, Giants
- Jadeveon Clowney
- Scott Crichton
- Dominique Easley
- Kareem Martin
- Kony Ealy
- Stephon Tuitt
- Ben Gardner
- Ed Stinson
Recap: Sometimes in the NFL, players who are extremely fast can be difference-makers solely because of their speed. Whichever team drafts Clowney will have that kind of player. There is no doubt that Clowney is extremely fast. He’s one of the fastest front-seven prospects over the last decade with his speed and explosiveness being similar to a small edge-rushing linebacker, except Clowney is a lot bigger and stronger. At the Combine, he ran a 40 time in the 4.5-second range, which is on a par with many wide receivers.
Crichton and Easley are the next-fastest defenders behind Clowney. Both are very explosive and can beat offensive linemen with speed rushes. Easley has a dynamite first step and get-off. Crichton is faster coming off the edge.
Martin and Ealy both have speed. They are fast once they get going, but may not be as explosive off the snap as the top three. Both still should be able to get sacks in the NFL via speed rushes. Tuitt has some speed and explosiveness for such a big lineman, but he will never be a fast edge rusher in the NFL.
Gardner isn’t going to provide a speed mismatch against tackles in the NFL. When he moves inside to tackle for pass rushing against guards, he is faster in that matchup. Stinson flashes some speed, but he doesn’t consistently play fast.
Strength:
NFL prototype: Justin Smith, 49ers
- Stephon Tuitt
- Kony Ealy
- Dominique Easley
- Jadeveon Clowney
- Ben Gardner
- Ed Stinson
- Scott Crichton
- Kareem Martin
Recap: Coaches have told me that the NFL is a big man’s game and is trending that way with each passing year. Tuitt already has NFL strength at 304 pounds, but he could end up playing his pro career in the 310-320-pound range. There is upside with Tuitt to be a powerful defender who beats linemen with bull rushes and the strength to toss blockers aside. He already has a tough bull rush.
It is hard to rate the next six players because they all have power. Ealy is a tough defender in the 270s. Easley is in the 280s and is very strong for his size. The same goes for Gardner. Clowney has natural strength and can over power offensive linemen. He should only get stronger after some time in an NFL strength and conditioning program.
Stinson is a strong defender at the point of attack and held up well against the physical SEC offensive linemen. Crichton isn’t weak by any means, and he has the strength to shed blocks.
Martin isn’t weak, but he probably could use more functional strength to battle NFL offensive linemen.
Versatility:
NFL prototype: Cameron Wake, Dolphins
- Jadeveon Clowney
- Scott Crichton
- Dominique Easley
- Stephon Tuitt
- Kareem Martin
- Kony Ealy
- Ben Gardner
- Ed Stinson
Recap: Defensive coordinators love versatility. Edge defenders who drop into coverage and play in space are in demand. Coaches also like ends who can move inside to tackle on passing downs. This class of edge rushers features a lot of versatility.
Clowney is the most versatile defender available. He can play traditional 4-3 end, 3-4 outside linebacker and move inside to 4-3 tackle in passing situations. Clowney could even execute some assignments as a 3-4 end or 4-3 outside linebacker. His tremendous combination of size, speed and strength allow him to do all of that. Clowney probably won’t be risked this way, but he could play some tight end along the goal line like other defenders have.
Crichton is second in this category. He can play defensive end in a 4-3 defense. In a 3-4 set, Crichton fits well as an outside linebacker, but he will need to continue to develop the ability to drop into pass coverage or rush off the edge.
Easley and Tuitt are versatile as well. Both can play 4-3 end and move inside to tackle on passing downs. They also could be as 3-4 defensive ends.
Martin is versatile enough to play either 4-3 end or 3-4 outside linebacker. Ealy, Gardner and Stinson could all play end in a 3-4 or 4-3 defense. They have the length for the former. Ealy is a more versatile athlete than the other two.
Upside:
NFL prototype: Jason Pierre-Paul, Giants
- Jadeveon Clowney
- Kony Ealy
- Scott Crichton
- Dominique Easley
- Stephon Tuitt
- Kareem Martin
- Ben Gardner
- Ed Stinson
Recap: This class of ends has good upside to grow in the NFL. With Clowney’s amazing skill set, his best football should be ahead of him. There is no doubt that he should be better as a pro player than in college. Clowney has the upside to rewrite the NFL record books and could become a legendary player.
Ealy, Crichton, Easley and Tuitt all have upside to develop in the NFL. They have skill sets that can get better as they age and work with NFL coaches. Easley and Ealy made big strides in 2013. They were vastly improved over the previous year.
Martin presents some upside and really showed more consistent play from his junior year to the end of his senior season. Athletically, Gardner and Stinson may not develop much from their starting points of how they enter the NFL.
Forcing Fumbles:
NFL prototype: Charles Johnson, Panthers
- Jadeveon Clowney
- Scott Crichton
- Kony Ealy
- Kareem Martin
- Stephon Tuitt
- Dominique Easley
- Ben Gardner
- Ed Stinson
Recap: The art of a strip sack is a great equalizer in the NFL. Strip sacks can change games and produce points. Clowney is the best at taking the ball away from an offense. He has shown a knack for that over the past three years. Clowney’s totaled nine forced fumbles during that time, and he wasn’t even an every-down player early on. Clowney has good instincts to slap the ball out while taking down the quarterback, but also forces fumbles in run defense with the violence of his hits. Everybody remembers his play against Michigan, but that wasn’t the only one.
Over the past two seasons, Crichton, Ealy, Martin and Tuitt all produced four forced fumbles. Given Crichton’s style of play, he will probably produce the most forced fumbles in the NFL.
Easley didn’t produce forced fumbles at Florida, but he should produce more as a pro. Gardner had two forced fumbles the past two years, but they were timely and his season was cut short. Stinson is clearly last as he has only one forced fumble over the past three seasons and that came in 2011.
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