2020 NFL scouting combine preview: Defensive linemen
The NFL scouting combine is essentially boiled down to four key phases: medical evaluation, interview, athletic testing and positional workouts.
This year, in previewing the 2020 combine, we decided to highlight one prospect at each position who needs to nail (at least) one phase of the combine.
We also wanted to highlight one smaller-program prospect at each position who could make bigger names for themselves with strong performances in Indianapolis.
The NFL scouting combine workouts begin on Thursday, Feb. 27 and run through Sunday, March 1.
Defensive line overview
We’re combining the interior defensive linemen and the edge rushers, which includes standup linebackers who sometimes put their hands in the dirt. This group will all work out together in Indianapolis.
This is considered a good year to need a defensive tackle, with two top-10 possibilities (Auburn’s Derrick Brown and South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw) followed by a strong group of talent in the tier just below that.
The 2019 NFL draft was a more top-heavy class, with six interior defensive linemen going in Round 1. This year might only see three or four crack the first round, but there’s a bit more depth on Day 2 of the draft. There will be a dropoff, we suspect, in Rounds 4 through 7. But overall, this profiles as a fairly strong crop on the inside.
The edge-rush group is solid at the top but levels off quickly, likely sometime on Day 2 of the draft. It will be tough finding a ready-made NFL rusher outside the top 100 selections.
Who needs to nail the medical evaluation
Alabama EDGE Terrell Lewis
Lewis is a fascinating study in this class, as he rates as a nearly elite pass rusher. The problem is that he had his 2017 season limited to four games with an elbow injury (torn ligament) and then suffered a torn ACL, missing the entire 2018 season.
The 6-5, 252-pound Lewis harassed quarterbacks consistently this past season, registering multiple pressures (sacks, hits and/or sacks) in every game this past season prior to skipping the Crimson Tide’s bowl game. Some Alabama people expressed surprise that Lewis participated in the Senior Bowl, but he performed well there and helped stabilize his draft stock.
But the injuries are the biggest concern for NFL evaluators. Lewis has terrific skills, good versatility, excellent length and burst and clear upside. Some teams have a first-round grade on Lewis the player, but have expressed concern about his durability.
Two other players who require some longer medical looks include LSU DT Rashard Lawrence and TCU DT Ross Blacklock. Lawrence missed time in 2017 with injuries to both ankles and missed spring practice in 2019 after having surgery on his right knee. Blacklock sat out the entire 2019 season with a ruptured Achilles (non-contact). Achilles injuries in powerful players always concern NFL evaluators, so they’ll have to do their due diligence on whether Blacklock carries any long-term durability concerns.
Who needs to nail the interviews
Miami (Fla.) EDGE Trevon Hill
Hill spent last season with the Hurricanes after being dismissed from Virginia Tech in September of 2018. But his past indiscretions at Tech are still matters of concern that multiple NFL teams told Yahoo Sports they intend to vet during the combine interviews.
Hill had a heated exchange with a member of the Hokies’ staff during an upset loss to Old Dominion two years ago. That was the final straw, as Hill had broken team rules on multiple occasions. It’s not believed that there were any criminal charges connected with Hill, but Justin Fuente’s staff decided they were done with the talented pass rusher.
To his credit, Hill is believed to have kept his nose clean in his final year at Miami and turned in a solid season. He also had a sack in the Senior Bowl. But NFL teams still are asking themselves if they can trust him.
Another player worth mentioning here is Alabama DL Raekwon Davis. He was struck by a bullet at a shooting outside a Tuscaloosa bar in August of 2017, suffering a minor right leg injury. Davis also lost his cool in a game against Missouri in 2018, punching OL Kevin Pendleton several times.
Sources we’ve spoken with don’t feel that Davis possesses poor character, but he’ll have to answer for his past bouts of immaturity and temper. His work ethic and focus also have waxed and waned in the past.
One more prospect who will find himself in the middle of the interview crosshairs is Syracuse EDGE Alton Robinson. In high school, Robinson twice was charged with felony robbery — both times stealing his ex-girlfriend’s purse, first in May 2015 and again in February 2016 — that could have led to 20 years in prison.
Charges on both of those incidents eventually were dropped, and Robinson is not believed to have been involved in any criminal incidents since then. Still, convincing NFL teams that he can be trusted will be important.
Who needs to nail the athletic testing
Iowa EDGE A.J. Epenesa
Epenesa entered the 2019 season as a player scouts were drooling over, having racked up 16.5 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks and four forced fumbles in 2018 despite not starting a single game.
After a slow start to his 2019 campaign, Epenesa cranked it up like a man possessed down the stretch. He finished this past season with similar numbers (14 TFLs, 10.5 sacks, four forced fumbles), with 10.5 of those TFLs, eight of those sacks and all four forced fumbles in his final five contests. His performance against Minnesota was as good as you’ll see from a pass rusher in this class.
But he’s a power-based player who appears to lack a little twitch and burst. At 6-foot-6 and 277 pounds, Epenesa profiles more as a base end than as an edge-bending terror. We’ve compared him, style-wise, in the past to New Orleans Saints pass rusher Cameron Jordan, who was a late first-round pick in the 2011 class. Jordan put up solid numbers at the combine that year but was below average in his vertical jump (31 inches).
Epenesa needs to display solid (or better) numbers across the board to solidify that mid-to-late first-round landing spot, we believe.
Who needs to nail the positional workouts
Auburn EDGE-DL Marlon Davidson
One of the faster-rising prospects in this group is Davidson, who was mostly deployed as an edge rusher for the Tigers, standing up quite a bit in their scheme. It’s not a role he will likely play in the NFL full-time, but the league is intrigued by his fascinating skill set.
Scouts we’ve spoken with throughout the season mostly believe his future in the league will be inside as a down lineman. But Davidson has shown the ability to be a more diverse asset than that and might be a true weapon in the hands of a creative defensive mind.
“I see a little Michael Bennett in his game,” one scouting director told us. “I think [Davidson] is best outside the guard. He moves really well when he’s going laterally. Especially for someone that size.”
Davidson has average height at 6-foot-3 but decent length, with an 81-inch wingspan. He also displayed surprising mass at at the Senior Bowl, weighing in at 297 pounds (despite being listed in the high 270s by Auburn the past two seasons).
Although some worry about Davidson’s exact position fit and wonder if he’s somewhat of a scheme-specific prospect, his workout in Indy could help open eyes as to whether he’s able to be as diverse a performer as he was in college. Davidson’s consistent production and unique skills have people intrigued and could make him as high as a late first-round prospect for the right team.
Small-school standout
North Dakota State EDGE Derrek Tuszka
There are not a lot of smaller-school prospects in this group at this year’s combine. The 6-4, 247-pound Tuszka is one of the handful who received an invite to Indy, and he did so with a fantastic senior season for the FCS national champions.
Tuszka rang up 19 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks, five batted passes and a forced fumble in 15 games last season, supplying consistent pressure in the championship run. He also had a productive week at the East-West Shrine Game, overwhelming Alabama’s 329-pound tackle, Matt Womack, for a pressure in the game that caused an interception.
The Bison have been a model of success on the FCS level in recent years and have produced a handful of solid to very good NFL players (Carson Wentz, Billy Turner, Joe Mays, Joe Haeg, Kyle Emanuel). Expect Tuszka to land on an NFL roster, even if he’s not drafted.
More from Yahoo Sports:
