Was taking a look at our defensive end prospects (top 5) for the 2016 draft (Bosa, Buckner, Lawson, Ogbah and Spence). I devised a makeshift ranking system to grade out production of players as well as their respective combine performances. Buckner and Lawson having not participated in the bench press received low grades. The production is measured from the player's last season only, not over their career or on a per-game basis.Sacks1) Ogbah2) Lawson3) Spence4) Buckner5) Bosa QB Hurries1) Ogbah2) Spence3) Bosa4) Lawson5) BucknerTackles for Loss1) Lawson2) Spence3) Ogbah4) Buckner5) Bosa40 Yard Dash1) Ogbah2) Lawson3) Spence4) Bosa5) BucknerBench Press1) Spence2) Bosa3) Ogbah4) Lawson5) Buckner3 Cone1) Bosa2) Lawson3) Spence4) Ogbah5) BucknerShuttle1) Lawson1) Bosa3) Spence4) Buckner5) OgbahBroad1) Ogbah1) Spence3) Ogbah4) Lawson5) BucknerVertical1) Ogbah2) Spence3) Lawson4) Bosa4) Buckner
Combine Performance Overall1) Spence2) Ogbah2) Bosa4) Lawson5) BucknerProduction Performance Overall1) Ogbah2) Spence 2) Lawson4) Bosa4) BucknerTotal Performance Overall1) Spence1) Ogbah3) Lawson3) Bosa5) Buckner
Erasing bench press metric as neither Buckner or Lawson lifted, metrics would be as follows:Combine Performance Overall1) Lawson2) Ogbah2) Spence4) Bosa5) BucknerTotal Performance Overall1) Lawson1) Ogbah3) Spence4) Bosa5) Buckner
Some notes for discussion:- Bosa's production wasn't very good in comparison, but his combine was great, is he a workout warrior?- How much stock would you put in to the Bench Press, as Lawson showed great measurable everywhere else?- Ogbah scores higher in sacks than Lawson despite them having the same amount, as Ogbah played in fewer games.- Spence had a good year at Ohio state prior to transfer, but consider that his production in his final year was against lower competition compared to other prospects.- The production numbers above take into account only the player's most recent season. We could probably do career stats or average per game basis for measuring consistency.- Jumping combine measurements are included because they are a measurement potentially of burst and lower body strength. Furthermore, lineman are called upon to get hands up and deflect passes or block kicks, so a vertical could be useful situationally.- While TFLs might not be a clear indicator of pass rushing, it does show penetration for the player. In Lawson's case, this weights his production in his favor considerably.
SummaryNothing here is necessarily concrete, but Buckner and Bosa do not grade out well in what was measured. When it came to production on the field, few were better than Ogbah (think Nassib at PSU). Still, a prospect like Lawson was right behind and had a tremendous combine performance over the other prospects aside from missing the bench press measurement. At the end of the day, tape is what we cannot necessarily measure. Perhaps the perceptions of Ogbah's hip stiffness or Buckner's lack of burst will matter more to scouts and fans than production and athletic ability. It is however interesting to see the things that we can measure to some degree. Anyone have any additional thoughts or information about our DE class to share? Thanks for reading and if TLDR, that's cool too. ;D
