Michigan still might see two of its edge rushers become first-round picks this month. Despite David Ojabo‘s Achilles tear last month, the ex-Wolverine’s talent could well keep him on track to hear his name called on the draft’s first night. Ojabo remains firmly on the Round 1 radar, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports notes. Ojabo is expected to make a full recovery, and a team that uses a first-round pick on him would be positioned to have him contracted for five seasons — via the fifth-year option. Operating opposite Aidan Hutchinson, Ojabo recorded 11 sacks in a breakout 2021. There is recent precedent for pre-draft injuries not keeping talented pass rushers out of the first round (Jeffery Simmons) and for Achilles rehabs going well enough players become factors months after the tears (Terrell Suggs, Michael Crabtree, Cam Akers).
Here is the latest from the draft world:
- Hutchinson and NC State tackle Ikem Ekwonu met with the Jaguars this week, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes both will head to New York for Giants and Jets visits (Twitter link). Both players are candidates to go first overall, with Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker joining them. The Jets and Giants hold four of the next nine picks — the Jets having Nos. 4 and 10 and the Giants at 5 and 7 — and will be set to add top talent. The Giants have a few needs, but it will be hard to see them exiting Round 1 without a right tackle prospect. They have done extensive homework on Mississippi State’s Charles Cross and would likely pounce if Ekwonu, who is rated ahead of Cross almost universally, fell to 5.
- After a strong Combine showing, Walker is being projected as a top-five pick. He will visit with each of the teams holding those selections, with Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com noting the Jags, Lions, Texans, Jets and Giants are meeting with the pass rusher. Despite weighing 272 pounds and frequently playing inside with the national championship-winning team, Walker clocked a 4.51-second 40-yard dash at the Combine. Viewed as a D-lineman with fewer red flags than Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux, it is unlikely Walker will wait long to hear his name called.
- Teams will do their due diligence on Thibodeaux, who is set to meet with the non-Jaguars contingent of the top five (Lions, Texans, Jets, Giants). The Eagles (Nos. 15 and 18) and Falcons (No. 9) are also planning “30” visits with Thibodeaux, Wilson notes. Questions about Thibodeaux’s motor and attitude have injected uncertainty into the defensive end’s status. A fall to Philly at 15 might not shock at this point.
- One season remains on Saquon Barkley‘s contract, and the Giants‘ new regime has fielded trade calls on the previous staff’s top investment. The team is now using a few of its allotted 30 visits on backs. Breece Hall (Iowa State), Brian Robinson (Alabama) and James Cook (Georgia) visited the Giants on Tuesday, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. Hall could be available when the Giants’ second-round pick (No. 36) comes. However, the ex-Cyclones standout grades as a first-round talent on Daniel Jeremiah’s NFL.com big board. Cook and Robinson are viewed as later-round prospects.
- The Commanders are also taking a look at a top back, being set to meet with Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker on Friday, Rapoport adds (on Twitter). Scouts Inc. grades Walker just ahead of Hall as this class’ top back, but views him as a second-round talent. The Wake Forest transfer blew up for 1,636 rushing yards in his only Michigan State slate. Washington also met with Hall this week, John Keim of ESPN.com tweets.
- Andrew Booth may miss his NFL team’s offseason workouts due to hernia surgery, but that should not deter teams from considering the Clemson cornerback in Round 1. Booth has met with the Bills (No. 25) and Eagles, with Rapoport adding Patriots (No. 21) and Saints (Nos. 16 and 19) meetings are also on Booth’s docket.
Does Washington really not have more pressing needs than at runningback?
Yep. They have a very good running back, several bigger holes, and no third round pick.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Walker failing to produce more in college with all that physical ability is a much bigger red flag than anything about Thibodeaux.
Not to mention playing on a stacked! team with those players leading the way and creating mismatches. Whoever picks him will regret it.
With his physical abilities, it’s entirely possible he can blossom as a pass rusher when he’s asked to do that more. But it’s a pretty big red flag that he hasn’t shown it, at least for a top ten pick. But yeah, that defense might have four OTHER players in the first round, and that’s without Adam Anderson, who was certainly a much better pass rusher, but a disqualifying person off the field, it seems.
Agree Oooof & JP8….. IMO, Jags select Hutchinson at #1 & Lions take Thibodeaux at #2. I think the Lions have loved Thibs all along. He was the #1 high school recruit as a senior & he was considered by many NFL scouts the consensus #1 overall draft pick for 2022 since before the combine. His college production speaks volumes more than Travon Walker’s.
It becomes a question of character versus ability. With Walker, you know you’re going to get effort and coachability. With Thibodeaux, you know you’ll get explosiveness but maybe not the same level of focus. Walker is an explosive athlete too, obviously not as much as Thibodeaux, but he seems hesitant sometimes on the field and doesn’t really have the best technique at times. It sounds odd to say after coming from one of the NCAA’s better coached defenses, but it seems he’ll need a really good position coach to help develop counter moves and decisiveness. Thibodeaux compared himself to Clowney due to his explosiveness and athleticism, but he has a better set of secondary moves.
Clowney’s problem, like Walker’s, was that he didn’t have many counter moves to break free of blockers if he didn’t win immediately in a pass rush. Clowney was (and still is), however, one of the best athletes we’ve ever seen, and as such is still a problem protection wise and against the run. Walker is athletic, but not as athletic as Clowney. I think he’ll develop a better pass rush, but I don’t know if his raw athleticism will keep him as in demand as Clowney still is today.
As for Thibodeaux, well, it seems like his career will depend entirely on where he ends up. If he’s motivated, he could be great. If he’s not, or relies too much on his current skills without developing new ones, he might flame out. If you feel that you can develop a talent defensively, Walker might be your guy. If you’re not worried about Thibodeaux’s work ethic questions, his athleticism is hard to pass up. Just how it seems to me, and of course, I’m no expert at all.
I call bull. Thibodeaux’s getting ripped to pieces by anonymous quotes, but he actually performed better, even while getting double teamed a lot. If Walker gives his all but still can’t produce, I don’t care if he’s a great guy.
His quotes have been pretty iffy, but you’re right as to the on field stuff. I’ve always found it hard to measure the work ethic questions from tape there. But, rightfully or wrongfully, it’s now a question for teams to have to answer before drafting him.
We also have to consider the relative level of the PAC-12 versus the SEC currently. I think Thibodeaux has more talent than Walker personally, but Walker did play against better teams overall. Like I said, teams are going to have to answer those questions themselves. Thibodeaux hasn’t helped himself with some of his quotes, and apparently some of his interviews went poorly. That might be false, but those are the questions he faces.
Lots of horrible draft picks have interviewed well. I’m going with the guy who looked great on the field and hasn’t done anything materially bad that we’ve heard of.
Walker played very good at wake forest but then transferred to Michigan st for more exposure and did good there too. So he good with 2 programs before declaring himself for the NFL where’s the red flag that you speak of?
Travon, not Kenneth. Kenneth would be a perfectly fine RB1 in the second round.
Oh ok
Travon Walker not Kenneth Walker
That makes more sense. KT has some serious skills and I think Detroit might take him over AH if Jags take an OL.
It will be interesting seeing him play more on the outside at DE and see if that makes a big difference. I agree he hasn’t had eye popping stats, but I can see his size playing on the inside in the SEC being a contributing factor. Also some of his stacked teammates could’ve been taking away some of his stats as well.
Ridiculous. Walker wasn’t used properly at Wake Forest & blew up in his only year at MSU. I watched every game and he’s legit.
Pretty sure Kenneth Walker didn’t play in the SEC, and didn’t play on the dline.
Assuming Schoen knows what he’s doing, I think the Giants are in a great spot to add some serious talent. Even if Hutchinson, Neal, Ikwonu, and Walker are taken #1-4, the Giants could still draft Cross and one of either Sauce Gardner or Thibodeaux at #7. I really hope they get Neal or Ikwonu, but Cross would still be a great pickup.
Yeah, Cross has some stuff to prove/develop, but he’s a perfectly worthy high pick. It’s not a knock on him that there are two arguably better tackle prospects.
Agreed. With all of those talents, the Giants really don’t have any reason to force anything and have the luxury, in a backwards sort of sense, of having enough needs that nearly any of those picks would be good. The draft is so deep at many of their areas of need that they could even do that Barkley trade to that they keep teasing to move around and still end up nabbing a needed player.
I am not suggesting that they should or should not do that, for the record, just observing that they have options, and that there are a handful of backs that should be available to be had as stand-ins later if they do end up doing that. Honestly, this is a pretty easy draft to move down in if a team decides to do so.
Wasn’t the same thing said about Flowers and how did that work out for the G-Men…..a #5 pick has got to be a 1st day-everyday starter with no “development needed” warts….if the G-Men, don’t have that kind of OL player available at $5, they should trade back as they have so much need, only Gettleman would do such a stupid thing as draft a kid who had some stuff to prove/develop.
Cross is a much better prospect than Flowers was.
Gettleman is definitely not the only GM to have ever drafted a development talent way too high. The 9ers did that just two years ago, and they traded up for the guy, at a more valuable position and more valuable pick.
Nobody said anything about drafting a developmental player, anyway. And Flowers was thought to be ready at the time, as is Cross. Of course, Cross does look better, even if he might need some work. But he’s still apparently ready to play now, and may be the best tackle available to NYG when the pick comes up. Flowers was just an old fashioned bust. I don’t think that Cross will be expected to take forever to develop before starting.
The weird things with Cross are 1) He drastically changed systems in the middle of his college career, and 2) He changed to a system that asked him to do a huge amount of pass blocking, but not much traditional run blocking. So he’s really good at the rarer, more difficult thing, but is going to need some rounding out to his skillset.
Jags & Giants both need OL but one team could be stupid and take a DE. Protection of your QB is param. Jones has been crushed two straight years and Trevor was sacked 32 times not including the hits he took for no gain or little gain. Then add the hits he took as he released the pass. Take OL high until the unit can protect your most vital asset—THE QB!!