Second Round Grades
Greedy Williams, CB Louisiana State; 6’2 185lbs
There is a lot to like about Williams, as he is almost unquestionably the best man coverage cornerback in the draft with good ball skills and excellent movement skills, but there are flaws to his game that makes it hard to rate him higher. First, his run defense is quite poor, and this is something that he will need to improve upon in the NFL. In addition, he had some issues working back to the ball in zone coverage, especially in cover 3, and this will be an issue for some teams. However, if you’re a defense that plays a lot of man coverage then he is a highly valuable player.
Christian Wilkins, DT Clemson; 6’3 315lbs
Wilkins isn’t a hugely flashy player – but he is a very good one, especially as a run defender. He plays with good pad level and has a nice combination of power and quickness, allowing him to penetrate and uses his hands well to work off blocks. He flashes as a pass rusher but needs to improve in this area if he’s to live up to his potential, but can contribute as a quality player from day one – especially in a 4-3 scheme where he can play either the 1 or the 3-tech.
Devin White, LB Louisiana State; 6’0 237lbs
Devin White is another player who does a number of nice things but needs to develop in some other areas in order to live up to his potential, but when you’re a 237 pound linebacker who runs in the low 4.4s with good movement skills, there is an awful lot of potential to live up to. LSU didn’t use him in a way to maximize his value in coverage all of the time, but he shows all the requisite skills to be an elite coverage linebacker, and while he could do with some technique work in terms of taking on blockers he has the potential to be a very good run defender as well. Lots to like, but also some work to do.
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, FS Florida; 5’11 210lbs
CGJ is another player who isn’t without flaws but whose ceiling goes a very long way towards making up for them. He has great speed with good movement skills, allowing him to cover in the slot if needs be, but his real value comes in the deep middle where his range, instincts and ball skills allow him to offer a security blanket for the outside corners and where he has the potential to be a turnover machine on the back end.
Chase Winovich, EDGE Michigan; 6’3 256lbs
Chase Winovich is on the opposite end of the spectrum, as while he might not have the elite athletic ceiling of some of the players above him, he is one of the most developed prospects in the class and could be an immediate quality starter, with a diverse pass rushing arsenal allowing him to win with speed, power or finesse. He’s also a very good run defender, playing much larger than his listed weight.
Ed Oliver, 3-tech Houston; 6’2 287lbs
Ed Oliver is an excellent run defender, playing with great pad level and hand placement, thereby allowing him to penetrate, gap-fit or stack-and-shed. He also flashes as a pass rusher, but he needs significant development to make the most of his athletic gifts. Also, as a run defender, he can struggle when a blocker is able to match his pad level – but despite all that, he does enough things well to rank this highly.
Damien Harris, RB Alabama; 5’10 216lbs
There is a legitimate discussion to be had about the value of running backs in the modern NFL, but Damien Harris is a very good one. He isn’t the athlete that Saquon Barkley was, but he shows good burst and agility with great balance and while he isn’t the same athlete as Barkley, his vision is better, allowing him to consistently pick the right gap and hit it with speed. Harris is unlikely to break off many 40 yard runs, but in the right offense, he can be a crucial part of what a team does, providing consistently good usage on early downs.
Nasir Adderley, S Delaware; 6’0 206lbs
Adderley is a really interesting player on tape, as he does do a lot of things well – but the free reign he was given at Delaware makes it hard to see exactly how he should be best used in the NFL. Given his ball skills, run defense and movement skills, his best chance is probably as the free safety in a scheme that runs a lot of two-high, where he can make an impact in coverage without being asked to play the deep middle where he might struggle for speed.
Dre’Mont Jones, 3-tech Ohio State; 6’3 281lbs
Dre’Mont Jones does some things very well, his quickness of the line is remarkable and he uses his hands well to work into gaps as a run defender and is a real threat as a one-on-one pass rusher. He lacks the size to hold up at the point of attack as a run defender at times and his pad level could stand to be better, but when you can rush the quarterback well, that covers up for a lot of things – especially in a weak draft class.
Dwayne Haskins, QB Ohio State; 6’3 231lbs
The opinions on Haskins around NFL circles tend to vary wildly, and it is certainly easy to understand the conflicting viewpoints when watching him on tape. In terms of accuracy and touch, he does a lot of nice things out of a clean pocket, shows good arm strength and generally makes good decisions, but he appears slow to process reads at times – and when forced from his spot, his footwork tends to break down too easily. As a quarterback, the ceiling value is always going to drag his grade up a bit, but he could benefit from some time to develop rather than being thrown to the wolves week one.
Josh Jacobs, RB Alabama; 5’10 220lbs
Jacobs is the running back for the modern NFL, with the ability to offer an inside running game while also being able to split out wide and offer a receiving option against linebackers and safeties. He could be better in terms of his inside vision and his speed might put an absolute ceiling on his value as a receiver, but his ability to add a lot of value without being a feature piece of the offense makes him an appealing prospect.
Anthony Nelson, EDGE Iowa; 6’7 271lbs
Similar to Chase Winovich, Anthony Nelson doesn’t have the elite quickness that some prospects in this draft do, but he has enough speed to create outside leverage – and he uses his hands well to make the most of what he gets. He also shows a nice power rush and uses his hands well off of that to create both inside and outside leverage where necessary. He is a quality run defender, even though his length can create some pad level issues. In short, he might not do anything exceptionally, but he does a lot of things well – with the potential to also kick inside in a 3-4 defense.
Chris Lindstrom, OG Boston College; 6’4 308lbs
Chris Lindstrom is another player who lacks any elite traits, but has very few flaws and should be able to come in and offer a good caliber of play from day one. He could do with working on his pad level at times, but he shows good lateral agility, balance and hand usage and has the movement skills in space to teams that look to gets their guards out on screens and the like.
Connor McGovern, C/G Penn State; 6’5 308lbs
There are things McGovern needs to work on – in particular, getting his hands back inside quickly post-snap when playing at center – but he does a lot of things well. He has arguably the best agility and movement skills of any interior offensive lineman in the class, plays with generally good knee bend and – when he gets his elbows inside – uses his hands well as both a run blocker and a pass protector. Probably not a star player at the NFL level, but can be a foundational piece of an offensive line.
D’Andre Walker, EDGE Georgia; 6’2 251lbs
Walker was used in a range of ways at Georgia, and his technique appeared to suffer from being asked to do a range of different things from a number of different positions, but shows the requisite skills to become a very good NFL edge rusher. He has good quickness and bend – allowing him to threaten around the edge and flashing nice hand usage and even a couple of inside moves. He’s also a very good run defender, playing with good pad level and hand usage, allowing him to hold his own against bigger blockers. Could take some time to develop.
Jachai Polite, EDGE Florida; 6’3 258lbs
I haven’t interviewed Polite, so I’m not going to take the work ethic concerns into account here, but there’s a reason why he was viewed as a first round prospect by many before he shot his draft stock in multiple limbs during the combine. He has the quickness and bend to threaten the edge and he uses his hands well with a couple of nice inside moves. Based on his pass rushing alone, he might be rated even higher, but his run defense is undeniably very poor, and whoever drafts him will need to get him to the point where he can be on the field on rushing downs.
Irv Smith, TE Alabama; 6’2 242lbs
Irv Smith might not have put up the exciting athletic numbers that Hockenson and Fant did – and he probably doesn’t have the same ceiling – but he’s a good route runner with solid hands and enough speed to get deep and is a polished run blocker. He might not be the best tight end to come out of this class, but he’s the most polished and the safest.
Anthony Johnson, WR Buffalo; 6’2 209lbs
Anthony Johnson entered the 2018 season as a top-five receiver on most boards, did nothing but post another 1,000 yard, 10+ touchdown season and yet somehow has dropped into the middle rounds in most people’s estimations. Despite this, he is still the player that some had as a first round prospect, showing good release off the line and running nice routes with decent vertical speed and the ability to create yards after the catch. He’s unlikely to ever become a class #1 receiver, but he should be a good #2 from day one.
Taylor Rapp, S Washington; 6’0 208lbs
Rapp’s timed speed isn’t great – for teams that run a lot of single high coverage, it likely takes him off the board for them, but there is a lot to like about him on tape. Despite his lack of top-end speed, his awareness allows him to be an effective deep coverage player, and he shows the ability to be a good run defender while being probably the best pure tackler in the safety class. He isn’t likely to become a star, but he should be able to start week one and play well.
Up Next: Third Round Grades In The Top 32?
