FSU DT Mario Edwards a First Round Draft Pick?
Florida State defensive lineman Mario Edwards has not been talked about among the 2015 NFL Draft’s best defensive linemen, let alone its best 32 players as a whole, so a report from CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora raised some eyebrows on Wednesday.
“Why aren’t any of you guys writing about Mario Edwards?” one evaluator asked. “I look around the Internet at these mock drafts and I don’t think I’ve seen him in the first round in one of them. He’s not showing up in any of them. I think you’re missing on him. He’s going to surprise some people. I think he goes in the first round. In this [not overly talented] draft, he’s definitely a first-rounder for me.”
For what it’s worth, in my years of dealing with this particular scout, he has been overwhelmingly right. He’s a big reason why I called for Deone Buchannon going in the first round before last year’s draft. The hard-hitting safety largely was considered a mid-round guy who ended up going 27th overall. And this phenomenon occurs seemingly every year, be it Bruce Irvin or Tyson Alualu or Kyle Long. It’s part of the process, and reactions I got from some evaluators regarding Edwards was pretty telling.
For what it’s worth, NFL talent evaluators aren’t always going to be right, but this is a case where it’s certainly possible that draft analysts have sort of missed something. Most people argue that Edwards is a player without a true position. He’s not enough of a pass rush threat to be a full-time defensive end, and he’s not big enough to be a potent defensive tackle.
Most scouts think that Edwards is a better player than his production on the field indicates, and that he’s without a true position, which could help or hurt his draft stock.
According to La Canfora’s sources, it might help him more than anything.
He’s got long arms, big hands, and a ton of natural talent. It seems like just yesterday ESPN was putting on a huge ordeal about him picking what college he’d be attending, and now we’re here questioning his fit in the NFL. Edwards was an All-ACC performer and one of the best defenders on a Florida State team loaded with talent. There’s no doubt in my mind he’ll be able to play at the NFL level.
What he needs is to add some weight and play on the interior defensive line, and kick out to the edges in certain situations or possibly play an end position in a 3-4 look.
The scheme versatility is there, and it sounds like teams are a lot higher on this kid than analysts are.