Ed Oliver worthy of top-five pick; Pats' options to replace Gronk
It's not a secret that the NFL draft is an inexact science, with teams often overrating or undervaluing prospects based on how they perform during their final college season. Given the powerful image of the last snapshot of a collegiate career, we shouldn't be surprised to see a blue-chip player being undervalued at a time when scouts are salivating over the late bloomers and one-year wonders that tend to rise up draft boards around this point in the process each year.
With that in mind, I thought it was the perfect time to revisit my evaluation of Houston defensive tackle
Ed Oliver, particularly on the heels of his
strong performance at the Cougars' pro day on Thursday. The former five-star recruit was considered a viable contender to become the No. 1 overall pick entering the 2018 season, but an injury-marred junior campaign, a verbal altercation with his head coach and questions about his size sent his draft stock tumbling a bit heading into the NFL
Scouting Combine.
Despite alleviating concerns at the combine by measuring a sufficient 6-foot-2, 287 pounds before putting together a solid performance in testing drills (36-inch vertical jump, 10-foot broad jump and 32 reps on the bench press) and a strong showing in bag drills, the buzz didn't appear to surround Oliver's prospects to be a top-five pick until my NFL Network colleague Peter Schrager positioned the Houston standout in the No. 4 hole as the
Oakland Raiders' selection in
his most recent mock draft earlier this week.
Now, I'm not saying mock drafts are always an accurate barometer of how teams are valuing a player, but I do believe well-connected guys like Schrager don't arbitrarily throw prospects into the top five unless they get a tip that the player has a legitimate chance of landing on that hallowed ground on draft day. However, I'm here to tell you that Oliver not only has a chance of cracking the top five, but, while it seems unlikely, he could be the first defender off the board -- yes, before the likes of Ohio State's
Nick Bosa, Alabama's
Quinnen Williams and Kentucky's
Josh Allen -- if a team drafting early falls in love with him and a quarterback run develops at the top of the draft.
While some will suggest Oliver is a reach as a top-five pick, I believe he is worthy of being selected that early and he
should be in the discussion as the top player in the draft based on his entire body of work as a disruptive player at Houston.
Oliver is a nightmare to block as a three-technique with exceptional first-step quickness, athleticism and closing burst. He has arguably the best "get off" I've seen from a prospect since
Von Miller entered the league in 2011 and his first-step quickness makes him a disruptive force as a one-gap penetrator at the point of attack. No. 10's snap-count anticipation and initial quickness enable him to shoot through gaps and avoid double-team blocks on the inside. It's hard to find defensive tackles with the explosive combination of skills that the 2018 Outland Trophy winner (top interior lineman in college football) possesses.
