Combine catchup: DE/LB

Some quick notes now that I’ve finally gotten to review coverage of the defensive linemen and linebackers at the 2011 Combine:

* Who made money? Nine defensive ends and at least three defensive tackles came into the Combine with 1st-round grades, and most of them ran like first-rounders. Make that first-round running backs. You had Marcel Dareus covering ten yards in a ridiculous 1.66 seconds, and running 40 in under five. Though Nick Fairley beat some of Dareus’ numbers, there hasn’t been much doubt since the Combine that Dareus is the #1 DT. Impressive arm length, impressive punch, versatility, nearly-freakish athleticism… no reason for Marcel Dareus to slip past the #2 pick overall.

Von Miller didn’t do anything to hurt his top-five status at OLB. He showed outstanding change of direction and terrific all-around athleticism. And he certainly showed ability to adjust – he kicked one of the bags far out of whack during the “bag drill” and still finished the drill properly.

A couple of sleepers really improved their draft stock in my eyes, though neither is an unfamiliar name. I’d rank Marvin Austin third right now at DT after seeing his outstanding Combine. 10 yards in a ridiculous 1.63. Excellent performance in the weight room with 38 benches. He delivered a very strong punch in the club drill without losing speed and showed nice strength again in the stack-and-shed drill. Austin improved his value more than anyone at this year’s Combine and may have been the best performer of any front-seven defensive player this year. And I’m not convinced he’s completely in shape yet. Illinois MLB Martez Wilson has never gotten a lot of buzz for some reason, but should have after his Combine. He ran two sub-4.5 40s and did well enough in the weight room with 23 benches. I can only guess that Wilson’s talked about less because there aren’t a lot of teams needing inside linebackers. Somebody’s going to get a downright steal when they draft Wilson, though, much like the Rams did in 2010 when they drafted James Laurinaitis. Wilson is first-round caliber.

* Whose stock didn’t improve? I was frustrated that none of the cluster of top DEs really separated himself from the pack. Though he looked very fluid in drills and didn’t hurt his stock at all, I have to drop Cameron Jordan from my Rams shopping list for the repeated talk that he’s best as a five-technique, like J.J. Watt. Robert Quinn hurt his cause with lesser-than-expected performances at the 40 and broad jump, though he had one of the better punches there. Adrian Clayborn can say he’s not limited at all by his birth defect-related arm problem all he wants, but he was noticeably worse drilling from LDE than he was at RDE, where he did look all right. Justin Houston looked so clumsy at the LB drills that I doubt I’d draft him at the position. With his size and skillset, he really should have worked out with the DEs. He fell down twice during one drill and dropped a pass during another. (JIM HASLETT was running some of those drills, btw, so downgrade all LBs on your board accordingly.) Besides that with Houston, you also had Mike Mayock questioning his motor. Orie Lemon and Kelvin Sheppard also showed need for improvement in ball skills, with at least two drops apiece. Akeem Ayers ran two completely slow 40s, never cracking 4.8. I still like Richmond DT Martin Parker, but really wonder about his upper body strength after watching his drills. Almost no punch at all. Hopefully it’s just technique, and he’s a guy who shows better on tape than he does in practice. I liked Michigan State LB Greg Jones at the Senior Bowl, but the commentary on him was that he’ll be fine in space but is going to get killed in close quarters.

* More sleepers: USC DT Jurrell Casey looked very smooth and “popped” a couple of times during drills. Wouldn’t be a bad second-round pick at all. Brooks Reed looked really good every time I saw his drills. Had one of the better punches there. Would not be surprised at all to see him go in the first round. Russ Homan packed on 11 pounds between the Senior Bowl and the Combine without losing any speed, and he showed some very nice footwork. Sealver Siliga of Utah looked like a real mauler. K.J. Wright’s got unusual height at LB and is being looked at as both a 3-4 rush end and a 4-3 SAM LB.

* So who do the Rams pick? I was disappointed both that Aldon Smith didn’t stand out much, and that NFL Network barely bothered to cover him. My current mental mock draft has the Rams picking between him and Corey Liuget, and Liuget just doesn’t impress me. He has a great, low center of gravity, and theoretically would give the Rams the kind of pass rush and penetration from the 3-technique that Fred Robbins gave them last season, but he looked awkward in my eyes at everything he did. At a minimum, his workout results don’t match up with his tape. If the Rams are the best-player-available team they say they are, if they agree with me, they’re taking Aldon Smith.

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