The Edge Rusher Crushes
Saints are adamant about adding a DL and Edge. And they won't sit still for it.
We are two weeks away from the NFL Draft. And the rumor mill is way too quiet for anyone’s liking. Especially for the Saints.
DA, Loomis, and Jeff Ireland all have said at one point they want to improve their defensive line play. Being able to stop the run as well as push the pocket and suffocate the quarterback. Even with the addition of Nathan Shepherd and Khalen Saunders, Dennis Allen wants to create better pressure from his edge rushers and his interior linemen. He wants to be able to create a pass rush with just the front four. Similar to how San Francisco and Philadelphia. He wants to rush 4 and drop back 7.
While defensive line seems to be a glaring issue, there is no player in this draft worth trading up for. Jalen Carter is talented, but his character concerns are much worse than I expected. Calijah Kancey is a fantastic pass rusher but his lack of arm length is troublesome, especially since there’s really no players with his arm length that had success in the NFL. Bryan Bresee is too much of a risk to be worth taking in the first round. And there’s really no one else worth taking in the first round, let alone trading up for a person. Leaving us with the edge rusher class.
Perhaps the best news about this class is that it is a deep class and that many hit the Saints prototype for an edge rusher. Tall, long and athletic. So, in theory, the Saints could be patient and just select a guy within the first two rounds. But the cream of the crop of this class are some premier talents. You have Will Anderson from Alabama, Tyree Wilson from Texas Tech, Nolan Smith from Georgia but there are two players I believe the Saints have their eye on to trade up for: Clemson’s Myles Murphy and Iowa’s Lukas Van Ness.
Myles Murphy:
There was some belief he could fall to the end of the first due to him recovering from a hamstring injury that prevented him from participating in the Combine and the Clemson Pro Day. He ended up hosting an open pro day last week where every team was in attendance to watch him workout, and he looked great according to the reporters that were covering it. Looked like he fully recovered from his hamstring injury and should be ready for minicamp once he’s drafted.
Strengths:
Great size and athleticism, prototype size: 6’5”, 268lbs
Has good arm length (33 3/4 inches)
Constant and steady improvement all across the board
Good acceleration when times the snap well, puts good pressure on tackles
Has a good spin move, bull rush and rip counter in his arsenal.
Pretty good at converting speed into power
Good speed and agility to close in on pressures
Does a good job getting to his counters when beaten initially
Scheme versatile
Solid Bend ability
9.71 RAS Score after Pro Day workouts.
Weaknesses:
Can be more violent at POA
Needs to improve handling pullers, can get lost and stares off
Still improving getting his hands up out of a two-point stance
Needs better knee bend when against taller tackles
Could add inside counters.
Still needs to work on finishing plays. Translate more pressures into sacks
Needs to get his hands up quicker when defending the run, many times he is late
and allows tackles to get into his pads.
Small hands. (8.5)
Myles Murphy solidified his Top 20 draft range, and I can see him going in the top 10 if teams really like him. I can see him fall out of the Top 15 if teams are more impressed with some other players, which makes the playoff teams happier. He has a good ceiling, and he could be a regular pro bowl player. Run defense needs a little work but he is a good pass rusher.
Lukas Van Ness:
His draft stock rise has been something. Initially, you’d think he would be a second rounder, but after his combine performance, many teams are intrigued with the prospect. He is a redshirt Sophomore and is young. He did well as a backup, 13.5 career sacks.
Strengths:
Prototype size and length. 6’5”, 272lbs
Great arm length and hand size: (34” and 11”)
Does a great job convert speed into power. Often drives tackles back into QBs
Fires out of his stance with great speed and acceleration
Physical at POA
Can create stalemates. Handles double teams well and is hard to move in one-on-one situations
Has the agility and bend to handle mobile quarterbacks
Does great with bull-rush
Good pass rush motor to get coverage sacks
Has a good push-in-pull move
9.31 RAS score with a 4.58 40 in the combine.
Weaknesses:
Limited experience. Has 0 career starts for Iowa
Strictly has power moves, almost no finesse pass rush repertoire.
Not a 3-down player as of yet.
Has the athleticism but needs to do a better job keeping contain against athletic QBs.
Needs to improve block recognition
Needs to add a rip counter move
Has ability to be kicked inside but needs to add better impact as a pass rusher if moved inside.
Hand usage to shed blocks can improve.
Luke Van Ness is very much a project. He has almost no experience but did very well as a rotational edge rusher for Iowa and tested very well at the combine to warrant a first-round selection. He might be a guy who could be two or three years away with some serious growing pains, but as he gets more reps in, he’ll improve each year and can be a force.
Who Do You Want?
I can see the Saints getting very antsy for either player. Both match the prototype and RAS credentials they want in their edge defenders. I can see a lot of people wanting Murphy as he might turn the corner sooner than Van Ness, though I’d rather Van Ness primarily because that Clemson defensive players have been misses more than hits. Van Ness also might have a higher ceiling. Though I would not be mad at the Saints for trading up for either.