2024 NFL Draft: Edge Rusher Prospects - Abdul Carter & More

What's up A to Z Sports Nashville, Easton Freeze, Titans beat writer here at the Combine again

my buddy Derek Klassen of The Athletic. Derek, first of all, congratulations on the new job

at The Athletic. Thank you so much. It's been a joy listening to you and Robert Mays on The Athletic Football Show. Thank you for joining me. I appreciate it. It's good to be here. It's good

to be on The Athletic at this point. So I'm, this is always a long week, but I'm very happy to be

here. We're going to talk a little bit about a big need for the Titans today that isn't quarterback

You and I were talking earlier, it is exhausting when you're covering the first overall pick

to talk about everything outside of the draft is kind of difficult

and we're here at the Combine, so I think it's time to transition a little bit away

We'll eventually get to your quarterback thoughts here in a minute, but I want to talk about the edge position because the Titans need two of them

They don't have any starting edge. Harold Landry obviously going to be traded or probably cut or something

He will not be on the team. He's not going to be on the team. News flash about the time you're watching this

He may already not be on the team. And so, you know, with the first overall pick, with the 35th overall pick, it's a good class to need edge

That's the good news. And at the very top, I guess we could start with Abdul Carter, who is the guy that a lot of people, I'd say maybe half and half

folks think Abdul is the best player, some think Travis is the best player, but he is, I think, a consensus, I don't know

top five edge player the past couple of drafts. Is that fair to say

I think for a lot of people, I, in particular, love edges who are a little bit bigger

Okay. That's just kind of the way that I rock. I like the Saints and Lions, for example, have subscribed to, like

we need 275-pound edges, and I've loved the way that they've built their room. So Abdul Carter is not necessarily my cup of tea, but he is incredibly explosive

The fact that he's only played the position for one year and already is put together as he is is really impressive

For me personally, I wish he was a little bit better and stronger of a run defender

but like in terms of the pure pass rush stuff, which is when you're picking a guy in the top five

that's what you're going for. You want the explosive pass rush ability. He certainly has it

So I know some people have put him in the category of like, is he right next to like what Miles Garrett was

And I'm like, I don't know if I like him quite that much, but he's a very good player

And if any team took him top five, top six, I think they would probably be pretty happy with him. So we all seem to agree that Abdul is edge one in this class

That's where the agreement ends, I think, because I've heard all kinds of different answers

about who the next guy is. And for me, I really like Michael Williams out of Georgia

20 years old. We heard yesterday, I think, that he was apparently playing at like 60

for a lot of the year, which kind of, I think, contextualizes on tape. Some of the lack of bend at times kind of stiff around the edge at times

but it was so inconsistent. You're like, well, you can do it sometimes. Sometimes you can't. Okay, he's hurt

Got it. He's hurt. And he apparently didn't practice until the Texas game, which was the SEC championship game, I think is what he was alluding to

So if he is as good as I think he can be in the NFL

I would not be shocked if he's like an edge off the board. I know guys like Dane have him really, really high on their list

And he may be a top 10 pick. Who's your second best edge in this class

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Just call 615-242-9000 and let Bart Durham help today. Mine, so I do love Michael Williams

He's probably three for me. I really love Mike Green. I just think his bend is incredible

His explosive ability is absolutely insane. And I know some people are going to be like

oh, well, he played at Marshall, but watch his two best games this year. Ohio State, Virginia Tech, really good competition

relative to the other teams that he playing And he was the best player on the field I think by a mile And to me I also just love his motor He not the biggest guy either He probably only slightly bigger than Abdul Carter but I just think the way that he playing and he was the best player on the field I think by a mile and to me I also just love his motor like he not the biggest guy either he probably only slightly bigger than Abdul Carter but I just think the way that he attacks against the run and the way that he

willing to really get in there it's just it's the type of stuff I fall for so I really like Mike

Green so for me it's probably like Carter and Green in some order and then Michael Williams I

really do like Michael like his big long strong is usually the type of guy I fall for and that is

exactly what he is so I really like him a lot his counterpart at Georgia um whose name I'm

totally blanking on Jalen Walker right I don't even know if he's an edge I was about to say is

he a Sam linebacker like he's talking about not a big fellow um some people I've talked to think

that he's the better player of the two I disagree what do you think I think Michael Williams the way

that I would frame it is I can see the world where potentially Walker is a better player he's

incredibly explosive he's really fast you can move him around all the formation the problem is

sometimes the guy that you can move all around the formation, it's because you don't exactly know what to do with him

rather than I know that he can do all these things. With Walker, it's like, man, I just don't know where his best spot is

With Michael Williams, it's like, I know I'm going to put you on the edge. You're going to set the edge against the run

and you're going to be a really good power crusher, like against the pocket and really crush the pocket

So I feel more comfortable with Michael Williams just because I know exactly what I want to do with him

Whereas Walker, it's like, maybe he's a linebacker. Maybe he's a pass rusher

Maybe he's Frankie Louvre where he's kind of both. right so it's like he's just i think he's a good player but he's a little bit trickier for me to

find what i want to do with him all right mr big fast tall shamar stewart what do you think funny

enough he should fall into my category of guys i love you should like him i just can't get there

with him i just i don't think he's that bendy and i think if you're going to be the guy that is

big strong explosive long and especially at 280 like at least michael williams is a little bit

closer to 265 so he can he's going to be a little did you see what he weighed into today what did

What do you weigh in today? 267. He's lost 15 pounds since the senior bowl

Shamar did? Yeah. See, now that's interesting because I know. That's a 40-time weight. Right, exactly

It's not what he's going to play at. But I know that's interesting, too, because Nick Scorton, his teammate

also said that he was, like, playing 280 during the season, but he said he likes playing more at 265

So I wonder if those guys just don't want to be at the weight that they wanted to be at in college, and now they're cutting down

Mike Elko just wants them bigger at A&M. Exactly. Perhaps. Because they also, I mean, these are guys that

if their production profile matched their physical traits it would probably be a different story

that that's that's the rub with Shamar and I've heard some people say well is he just going to be

like a Tyree Wilson type where you know the measurements are going to blow us away the

the traits are outrageous he's a younger guy and yet in college the production was lacking we don't

like it we're just we're going to figure it out in the NFL and so far it's been mixed results with

him in Las Vegas um I just don't know about it you know because some people talk about him as a

top 15 top 10 player i'm not there on that yeah it's that's a little rich for me i probably he's

more of like a second round type of talent to me i think i think i was actually talking to maybe

nate tice but he made the comparison of like it's kind of like bud dupree it's like he's very

obviously explosive right he's explosive in one direction right and like it's like he's a good

run defender but he's not an elite run defender it's just like i think he will be a useful player

it's just that me looking at him top 10 top 15 it's like it's funny we talk about michael williams

It seems like all the stuff that people say Shamar Stewart is really good at, I see all of that in Mike Hill-Williamson

It's like I'd rather just have that guy. That's exactly how I feel. One more first-round guy is a guy that Titans fans are probably going to be familiar with

James Pierce out of Tennessee. We've heard all of the not-football things, and I'm not here to speculate on all that

I don't know. The fact that every really plugged-in person has him as a top-ten talent

and is having him maybe fall out of the first round in their mocks, I think is all you probably need to know about whether or not that smoke is fire worthy

But in terms of a talent, his production profile is ridiculous, especially from an ytical standpoint

I mean, only guy, I think, in two years to have over 20% pressure rate

If this guy, if a team convinces themselves they're not worried about whatever that is, where would you take this guy

He actually not my cup of tea really because he again he one of those guys who a little bit smaller He more like quick doesn really defend the run They even they like flip their formation defensively to get him away from the tight end side

because they don't want him getting run at. So that is something that worries me a lot in the NFL

I think he's a guy who could be like Bryce Huff or Josh Uche when he was doing really well

And it's like, okay, those are obviously players you want on your team. But for draft purposes, like, that's not a player I take in the first round

That, to me, is more of like a late day two type of guy. So I'm probably not quite as high on him, even if there's very obviously a role for him in the NFL

So I'm probably not as high on him as some other people. Now, if the Titans don't go edge in the first round

it feels like they're almost certainly going to go edge in the second or if they find a way to get a third round pick because they need it so badly

A couple of guys I want to mention as potential second round picks. The first is the Ole Miss prospect, Princely Umanmielin

Sure. Princely you? I think on the consensus board he's like in the 40s right now

so he's probably going to be in that range for the Titans at 35 have you watched him and what do you think about his game

I've seen him a little bit he's one of those guys that is confusing to me because just body type wise

he looks like Michael Williams like that type of guy does not play like Michael Williams

Michael Williams will crush your face mask in Prince Yu's face mask will get crushed in

and so I have a little bit of issues with him so he's probably another guy who like

as far as edge guys go I'm probably not quite as high on as other people

And then there's something about these guys in this range. Donovan. Ezio Raku

Yes. I don't even know if I said that correctly. That's better than I was going to do. So Boston College prospect, he's in that same range

And he's funny. He's the opposite where he's actually kind of a smaller guy. He's closer to like to fit, like 6'3", 250

But he does want to kill you. Man, he wants to kill you, man. He wants to crush your face mask

And he's high motor all the time. He has a decent amount of like a pretty good array of pass rush moves

So he's a guy where I struggle to see the ceiling just because of size and stuff like that

but he's a guy who it feels like pretty automatically will be a very useful player

So probably not a first-round talent, but if they're a team that, you know, if they're where the Titans pick in, like 37

yeah, that would be a perfectly fine range for a guy like him. I would be pretty happy with that

Any D-line front seven guys I haven't asked you about that you're like

I got thoughts on this guy. I need to talk about this guy. Did we cover him all? Maybe we did

So as far as edge, we covered most of the guys that I've seen. Just in terms of other front seven guys I love

I would take Jahad Campbell like top five, dude. I think he is an unbelievable linebacker prospect

And he's going to test. Stupid. Former defensive end who's like 6'3", 240

He can move backwards really comfortably. Like, his coverage stuff is pretty good at times. So I'm all in on him

And then I really like Derek Harmon out of Oregon. I know the Titans in particular don't really need de-tackle

Like, they're pretty set there. It's one of the only positions that you guys are good at

But if you guys are looking at division rivals who are potentially looking at defensive tackles

if they draft him, I would be pretty scared. I think he's a really good player. You know what? You just sparked a memory because I was listening to you guys on the athletic pod on the way up here

because I was like, I'm going to corner him and I want to hear, I want to know what he's going to say

You talk about fits for what you like. Carson Schlesinger isn't. He's really not

And yet, you're enamored. Yeah, I don't love typically those like, you know, the 230 pound

He actually weighed in at 242 today, which is crazy. That's good. Okay. He will play at 230

That is not his size. Fake weight. Right, it's fake weight. It's water weight

But I typically don't love those guys who are smaller and just play fast and shoot gaps

Like Terrell Bernard, objectively, good player. When I watch him, I'm like, I don't, that's not for me

But there's something about Schlesinger that it's just, it's so fast. His instincts are incredible

Some of his coverage stuff is as good as anybody in this class. So he will get moved off the ball at times

But I think some of the other stuff can be so good that I'm willing to look past it a little bit

Okay, he's also the most hockey player coded football player I've ever seen in my life

It's the hair, man. It is the hair, and if he ever cuts it, I'm out. Immediately, he's going to be a bad player

Red flag. Right. You said that you have watched some of the offensive linemen

because of all the edge and D-line work that you've done. Any of those guys, the Titans, they need big help on the right side of the line

Of course, they've invested a ton on the left side of the line. And so that also up there with edge in terms of need Probably more easily addressed in free agency if they wanted to go that route But who are the guys on the offensive line that have stuck out to you in this class yeah so obviously Campbell is I think he as good as everyone else does yeah I think he probably a tackle or at least like we see

what the arm length is shot yeah when I watch him I'm like that's a tackle he'll be fine okay he'll

be fine playing there that's how the team seemed to feel exactly like I think everyone wants him to

be a tackle it's just like if the arms are too short the summer measurement was 32 seven eights

which if you can grow an eighth of an inch, I think everybody will be happy

Loosen those shoulders up on measurement day. Do some stretches, man. So the other one I really liked is, funny enough, when I was watching Shamar Stewart

I watched the game against Missouri with Armand Membao, and I was like, one of these guys is a top 10 pick

It's not the one I came in watching for. It's the tackle. And so I think Membao is really good

His movement skills are incredible. I think he's really strong. And it's one of those things sometimes people do with right tackles

they're like, well, why isn't he playing left? And it's like, some guys just aren't comfortable moving to their left

But when you watch his movement skills, the way that he'll get after people, I really like Mimbao

All right, now we can talk about the quarterbacks a little bit. We haven't heard from them yet here

That's tomorrow. But you've watched them both, I'm assuming. Cam Ward and Shudder Sanders, of course

I guess, first of all, are there guys in this class besides the two that I just named

Absolutely not. Okay, cool. Great answer. Awesome. We can skip right past that. Sweet

um okay so with these two guys are you uh are you let me let me start with do you think they

are both or either of them even top 10 top 5 worthy discussion guys I think Cam a little bit

and I'll copy out that by saying like he is the exact type of quarterback I fall for where it's

like hang in the pocket make some boneheaded throws that sometimes look incredible sometimes

don't right the arm talent is really good so he's just demeanor wise the way he handles in the pocket

he's very cool like very calm isn't scared of anything so he just does a lot of the stuff I

love and I think my other thing with Cam is he's not a perfect prospect he's not as good as as like

Drake and Caleb last year none of that stuff but with Ward he went from being like basically a wing

T guy in high school yep then he goes to incarnate word levels up again goes to Washington State

levels up again and goes to Miami and plays really well at Miami. And so there's just something I really appreciate about a guy who every year he plays

he clearly gets better and more and more people want him. So I really appreciate that part about him

That's just the type of guy I want to bet on. Would you take him at one though? It's a little bit scary, but my thing is like

and I was talking to you about this a little bit, like I would rather take Cam Ward at one

even if he's not the ideal number one overall type quarterback, than sign Aaron Rodgers or Sam Darnold or whatever it is

It's like there's maybe more guarantee with some of those guys, but I'll take the dice roll on a guy like Ward

He's good enough that I can stomach it. And with Shadur, you're just out entirely

You think it's a little bit rich first round? Where are you at with him? I'm more like..

He does the boring stuff. That's the funny thing is like you're Deion's kid

but you're not actually that athletic or that talented. You do all the little stuff right

So I think he's a decent processor. He takes care of the ball fairly well

I just worry a little bit that he's not going to have the athletic ability

to really shine in the NFL. I think you have to be probably at least like Bo Nix

to really start to get away with stuff, and I don't think that he's that level of athlete. But he is a good decision maker

The accuracy is good. I think he's closer to like you're drafting something akin to Teddy Bridgewater

Andy Dalton, like Jared Goff, and it's like you can obviously get high-level offense out of that

you need a lot of stuff to go right. You need a good offensive line. You need the right system

So he to me is like if someone in the back end of the first round wanted to take the dice roll

a good environment, I would get it for like a succession plan in terms of teams that need a guy

to fix the franchise right away. Fifth overall, like the Giants or something. I'm just I'm a

little bit more skeptical of that, I think. Great, man. Guys, it's Derek Klassen, The Athletic

Listen to The Athletic Football Show. It's a seminal piece of literature, piece of work in our

in our space. And you guys do a great job, you and Robert Mays. So thanks for hanging out with me, man

Thanks for having me. It's just fun