The 2013 NFL draft potentially offers plenty of pass-chasers
One of the key ingredients for a championship team is the ability to pressure the opposing quarterback. The New York Giants wouldn’t have had two Super Bowl championships in the last five seasons without a tremendous front four interrupting some of the best quarterbacks in the game. In contrast, the Patriots simply couldn’t muster the pressure to keep Eli Manning from calmly guiding his team down the field for the winning touchdown in two Super Bowl losses.
The best way to curb today’s passing offenses is to speed up the quarterback’s decision-making and not let him get comfortable in the pocket. Al Davis was right when he said the quarterback should go down early and hard. The NFL has changed, but harassing the quarterback is key to solid defense will never go out of style.
This is why every NFL team covets a dangerous pass-rusher. The problem is that they are just as hard to find as a top quarterback. A study of NFL drafts from 2005 to 2009 reveals just how low the percentage is for selecting a quality pass-rusher:
2005 NFL Draft: Four quality pass-rushers (DeMarcus Ware (career 99.5 sacks prior to 2012), Trent Cole (career 68 sacks prior to 2012), Justin Tuck (career 45.5 sacks prior to 2012), Shawne Merriman (44.5 career sacks)) found themselves in this draft class. Ware and Merriman were first-round picks, but Tuck (third round) and Cole (fifth round) proved to be bargains. The highest-profile bugs were Erasmus James (first round), David Pollack (first round, sustained neck injury), Dan Cody (second round), and Darryl Blackstock (second round).
2006 NFL Draft: Three quality pass-rushers (Tamba Hali (career 53.5 sacks prior to 2012), Mario Williams (career 53 sacks prior to 2012), and Elvis Dumervil (career 52.5 sacks prior to 2012) met in this draft class Hali and Williams were first Dumervil turned out to be a Broncos fourth-round steal Biggest misses from a pass rush standpoint were Bobby Carpenter (first round) and Manny Lawson (first round).
2007 NFL Draft: Two quality pass-rushers (LaMarr Woodley (48 career sacks prior to 2012) and Charles Johnson (30.5 career sacks prior to 2012)) found themselves in this draft class. Neither Woodley (second round) nor Johnson (third round) were selected in the first round. The 2007 draft featured several pass rushers selected in the first round (Gaines Adams, Jarvis Moss, Quinton Moses, and Jamaal Anderson). Anthony Spencer was also selected in the first round of this draft. Spencer shouldn’t be viewed as a dud, but he’s been a mediocre pass-rusher and more was expected of him.
2008 NFL Draft: Two quality pass-rushers (Chris Long (30.5 career sacks prior to 2012) and Cliff Avril (30 career sacks prior to 2012)) found themselves in this draft class. Long was a first round pick, but Avril moved on to the third round. Vernon Gholston, Derrick Harvey and Lawrence Jackson were the biggest disappointments of the first round.
2009: Three quality pass-rushers (Clay Matthews (career 29.5 sacks prior to 2012), Brian Orakpo (career 28.5 sacks prior to 2012), and Connor Barwin (career 15 sacks prior to 2012) joined found in this draft class Aaron Curry, Aaron Maybin, Robert Ayers, Everette Brown, David Veikune, Cody Brown and Larry English left the teams that drafted them wanting a lot more bang for their buck in the first round.
The 2013 NFL Draft could be packed with potentially productive pass-rushers if several talented youngsters decide to turn pro soon. Barkevious Mingo (LSU, Jr.), Sam Montgomery (LSU, Jr.), William Gholston (Michigan State, Jr.), Jackson Jeffcoat (Texas, Jr.), Michael Buchanan (Illinois, Jr.), Brandon Jenkins (Florida State. Sr.), Alex Okafor (Texas, Senior), Margus Hunt (SMU, Senior), Corey Lemonier (Auburn, Junior), John Simon (Ohio State, Senior), Jarvis Jones (Georgia, Junior) and Sean Porter ( Texas A & M, Senior) will be closely watched by NFL scouts this season.
However, as previous drafts indicated, there will be more disappointments than productive NFL pass-rushers in this group. It takes a rare combination of speed, quickness, power, intensity and instinct to be a quality pass-rusher at the highest level of the game. It is also difficult to identify which skills will translate into professionals. Sometimes the bread-and-butter move of a collegiate pass-rusher is less effective in the NFL and they have no other way to beat a professional offensive tackle. The reality is that probably only four (or 25%) of the dozen prominent pass-rushers potentially available in the 2013 draft will make it to the team that drafts them. Teams that can spot the winners will be rewarded with a critical piece to a championship roster.