We discussed what scouts are saying about a handful of wide receivers the San Francisco 49ers might be interested in. Now, we turn the page to the other perceived biggest need and look at what these anonymous scouts are saying about the EDGE rushers in this class, courtesy of Bob McGinn.
Before we get into the specific players, one executive in personnel said, “I would say it’s deep. I would not say it’s necessarily like wow, top-heavy. But when you get into the second through the fourth round, it’s really
solid.”
Another scout echoed those sentiments, saying, “I don’t know that there’s a lot of playmakers at the top. There’s a lot of mid-second round to the top of the fourth. You can get some really good players that will help your team. I just don’t know that any will be really dynamic.”
All the more reason for the 49ers to wait until Day 2 and select the best available pass rusher on the board? Let’s see what the scouts had to say about the prospects.
David Bailey out of Texas Tech and Miami’s Rueben Bain were the top two listed. The third player may be a surprise, but he’s almost assuredly on the 49ers board.
Zion Young – Missouri
The first scout had some concerns with the former Michigan State Spartan turned Missouri Tiger:
“Young is a pretty player. He has the look of an NFL player when he steps on the field. My main concern is his production against the best competition. He occasionally has reps where he relies on his length and athleticism, thinking ‘I will win,’ followed by many reps where he doesn’t know or understand how to get past a blocker. The same things happened at the Senior Bowl. In the one-on-ones, he had some success, but overall, there were not enough impactful plays.”
For the record, Young was the defensive MVP at the Senior Bowl. Missouri played ranked foes Alabama and Oklahoma this season. He had a sack, three pressures, and a pair of run stops against the Crimson Tide. Against the Sooners, Young had eight pressures, two sacks, and four run stops. It would’ve been difficult for him or any player to put up better numbers than Young did against Oklahoma.
One scout said Young “did well at the Senior Bowl.” Another scout said Young was similar to Auburn’s Keldric Faulk but is “a little bit tighter athlete.”
A final scout had this to say: “He’s tough, plays hard. They move him all up along the front because he’s so damn big. Not a top, top athlete, but good enough for his size. He gets off, gets his arm out and controls people. His pass rush is more as a stunt kind of guy. They put him inside, too. He’s just not your edge guy. He’s a big power rusher.”
The above tracks. Young competes like you’d want your defensive lineman to compete.
Keldric Faulk – Auburn
Fourth on the list is Auburn’s Keldric Faulk, who ran a 4.68 40 at 275 pounds. Here’s what scouts had to say about the three-year junior: “He’s a big D-end, the left end in a 4-3 who can slide inside and give you something there.”
That sounds like the player the 49ers took in the first round last year. The scout continued:
“He’s got all the physical qualities. He’s a great young man, probably too nice. They sort of changed schemes, and he had more responsibility, more gap control. He’s not a natural playmaker. He probably plays more to the responsibility than just going and making a play. Someone’s going to take him because he’s a great kid, we can change him, and he’s 6′ “6, 275. He’ll probably be in the first round, but later.”
We are judging players because they didn’t freelance and did what they were supposed to. Oh, and because they are polite when you talk to them. Got it. Here’s another take about the edge rusher with the longest arms at the position:
“I wasn’t crazy about him but he’ll be a late first or second round. I just thought he was a tweener. Not really an edge guy and not really an inside guy. He doesn’t really win on the edge as a rusher. Best thing he does is rush inside because he’s long and very quick. He can beat a guard on the pass rush, but in the run game, he plays really high. He’s just not a natural defensive tackle inside. I worry about him. He is a great athlete, and he’s got great makeup.”
The quotes about Faulk were consistent, with some scouts saying they’d like him at the top of the second round because of his raw upside, while others say that’s the reason they’d stay away from Faulk. A final scout said, “He should be taken where similar players have succeeded, which is not in the first round.”
Akheem Mesidor
Next up is a super duper senior from the Hurricanes who greatly benefited from his teammate. Mesidor turns 25 this weekend. While acknowledging he was more flexible than Bain, a scout said, “But he’s 25 years old. What do you do? Some of these guys are 25 going against 19-year-olds. It’s not necessarily a fair fight.”
The majority of these scouts convinced themselves that Mesidor was a better prospect than Bain, but is telling me all I need to know. Here’s another excerpt: “Instinctive, nasty. At the point of attack, tight ends have no chance. As a pass rusher, he’s got all sorts of stuff in the bag. He’s got power, spin, and uses his hands. They drop him, and he moves like a linebacker. talented guy, starter, playmaker. But he’s old.”
Cashius Howell
Sixth on the list is the speedy Aggie.
“He’s a compact dude, but he has excellent quickness, speed, athleticism, bend, and hand use. He has shorter arms, but he’s able to sideswipe and dip and do all this really cool stuff. If he was bigger, he’d be a top-10 pick, but he’s not.”
Howell’s arm length is in the 0th percentile, and his wingspan is in the first percentile. Of course, he would go higher if he were bigger. Here’s a second scout:
“He might be a first-rounder. He’s quick and fast, but he’s also small and short-limbed. Best thing he does is from the back side. That’s the only plays I ever saw him make is beat blocks from the back side. He’s tweener size and not super athletic for that. Not explosive as a pass rusher. They wear him out in the run. It’s like he didn’t want anything to do with it.”
A third scout had similar feelings: “I’m not a huge fan. Doesn’t play the run real well. Plays hard against the pass.”
Any time a player picks and chooses when he wants to play, that should be a red flag. We just watched two to three seasons of undersized players up front for the 49ers. The results speak for themselves.
