*Walt taking 2014 and 2018 |
Charlie Campbell, Senior Draft Analyst |
Villanova DE Kpassagnon Viewed as Second-Day Talent
Updated Sept. 1, 2016By Charlie Campbell. Follow Charlie on Twitter @draftcampbell.
Every year during the draft process, some little-known players at the beginning of the season end up rising up to be early-round picks. There wasn’t much known about Detroit Lions defensive end Ziggy Ansah prior to his senior year and he ended up becoming a top-10 talent in the 2013 draft. A year ago at this time, there was no discussion about Oakland Raiders defensive end Jihad Ward as a future second-rounder, but that is what the Illinois defensive end became. This year, a similar player could be Villanova defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon. Team sources who have seen him in fall camp say that Kpassagnon is a second-day talent.
Kpassagnon has great size at 6-foot-7, 290-pounds. In 2015, he had 33 tackles with 6.5 sacks, 9.5 tackles for a loss, two blocked kicks, and a forced fumble. Evaluators believe that Kpassagnon is raw, but the skill set is there with a lot of upside to develop. Sources say that Kpassagnon is a perfect fit as a five-technique defensive end in a 3-4 defense.
League contacts hope that Kpassagnon will earn an invitation to the Senior Bowl to see how he performs against better competition. Kpassagnon is on the Senior Bowl watch list entering this season. Defensive ends with his measurements are in demand and teams believe that a strong season would result in Kpassagnon being selected in the second or third round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
