2020 NFL Draft: Top 30 EDGE rankings and analysis

These final 2020 NFL Draft edge rushers still have the potential to be impactful NFL players, but are still very raw and may need a good chunk of time to grow and develop as players.

22. Curtis Weaver, Boise State

Boise State sack master, Curtis Weaver, is a very talented pass rusher. With a three down line front, Weaver was the stand-up fourth pass rusher who frequently dropped back in coverage.

He has great rushing traits across the board. He has good get off at the line with good bend around the edge. He has the explosiveness as a rusher to beat the blocker with speed but also excels with counter moves as well.

He uses his hands well to keep his body clean and to drive the blocker back in a more direct rush. Aside from his pass-rushing prowess, Weaver doesn’t bring much to the table. Although he dropped back in coverage rather frequently, he lacks the agility and athleticism in space to be overly effective. In the run game, Weaver lacks a solid anchor on the edge and frankly looks a bit lackadaisical when he is not rushing the passer.

In the NFL, I see Weaver as an effective third down, pass-rushing specialist who could rack up a solid sack total but will not be a major contributor snap after snap right away out of the 2020 NFL Draft.

23. Oluwole Betiku Jr., Illinois

Oluwole Betiku Jr. has played just 12 games in his college career. He played two in 2017 at USC and then one season at Illinois after transferring. In that one season, Betiku was rather impressive, totaling nine sacks and 13 tackles for loss on 37 total tackles.

Even with his lack of experience, Betiku shows a lot of promising traits. He fires off the snap very quickly and has good bend to get around the corner and pursue the quarterback. He has a high motor, always in hot pursuit of the ball carrier and hand fighting and leg churning to get through or away from blocks. He is a little small and doesn’t exhibit the strength needed to set a hard edge in the run game, but he is an effective gap penetrator and block shedder to make plays and tackles.

In terms of experience, Betiku is about as raw as they come. He could have returned to Illinois for another season and would have likely improved his draft stock. But with a degree in hand, Betiku decided not to delay the pursuit of his dream and should still hear his name called in the 2020 NFL Draft.

24. Chauncey Rivers, Mississippi State

After being dismissed from Georgia after just one season due to some legal trouble, Chauncey Rivers became a star at East Mississippi Community College of Netflix’s “Last Chance U” fame. Then Mississippi State gave him that second chance but sat out a season as he was academically ineligible.

But once he got on the field, Rivers made an impact, with 7.5 tackles for loss in his first season in 2018 and adding eight TFL and five sacks this past season as a senior. Rivers is a great penetrator, excellent at shooting gaps and very effective at shedding blocks to make tackles in the run game or to pursue the quarterback. He’s not overly explosive off the edge, but he shows enough get off and impressive bend to beat some tackles, and keeps them honest enough to set up some very good inside moves.

I like Rivers’ potential as a 4-3 DE coming out of the 2020 NFL Draft, especially if he is able to further develop his edge-rushing tools. He is effective against the run to play all three downs, and if he has those character concerns squared away, he could eventually become an NFL starter down the road.

25. Anfernee Jennings, Alabama

Anfernee Jennings is a very effective and versatile linebacker/pass rusher prospect out of Alabama. While he doesn’t have quite the upside of his teammate Terrell Lewis, Jennings was much more productive for the Tide.

Jennings has incredible ball skills. Whether it is pulling up during a pass rush to swat the ball down or dropping back in coverage and breaking up a pass, Jennings is always around the football. He is undersized to be a true edge rusher, but he has flashes of very impressive pass-rushing techniques.

He is not effective as an edge setter in the run game and is much better playing off the ball and coming downhill to make plays. He is pretty good at shedding blocks and getting to the ball carrier and laying a big hit. Jennings’ size and lack of effectiveness against the run on the edge may limit his time on the field, but he is a playmaker on third down both as a rusher and dropping in coverage.

He should be able to contribute in spots as a 3-4 OLB right away and could develop into a more reliable, three-down player with time coming out of the 2020 NFL Draft.

26. John Daka, James Madison

After some undisclosed, non-football issues in his life nearly caused him to stop playing the game, John Daka battled through and became a dominant force at the FCS level. Daka set a James Madison program record with 16.5 sacks and an incredible 28 tackles for loss in 2019, adding to his 10 sacks and 17 TFL the year prior.

Playing at the FCS level, there isn’t a whole lot of film out there to analyze of James Madison and Daka. But from what I did watch, Daka is a speedy and slippery edge rusher who knows how to get to the quarterback. Daka really can beat you in a variety of ways as a rusher. He can beat you to the outside with speed and bend on the edge, he is smart and recognizes when he has an advantage to shoot the inside gap of the tackle and he is powerful enough to go right through you.

At 6-foot-2 and under 230 lbs, strength and physicality are not Daka’s game. He turns speed into power very efficiently, but he won’t be setting the edge in the run game or easily throwing blockers around, especially at the next level as a 2020 NFL Draft prospect.

Daka projects as a 3-4 OLB pass-rushing specialist with plenty of tools to develop in the hands of NFL level coaching. He will probably be a situational, third-down rusher early in his career and possibly could add value off the ball as a downhill playmaker until he can bulk up and become a staple on the edge of an NFL defensive front.

27. Trevon Hill, Miami

After three playing seasons at Virginia Tech, Trevon Hill was dismissed from the program, allegedly following an argument with a staff member. But Hill landed on his feet at The U, even being voted a captain in his only season as a Cane.

As a rusher, Hill has some quality traits to build on. He was productive in 2017 at Virginia Tech with 9.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks and nearly replicated that success as a senior at Miami with 9.5 TFL and 4.5 sacks.

Hill is a fiery player who is also a great hand fighter. He excels at keeping his body clean of a block and using his athleticism to go make a play. He has solid get off and good bend around the edge. He is explosive off the snap and is good at shooting gaps.

All of these qualities are observed sporadically, primarily in 2017 and will need to happen much more consistently to warrant sustained playing time at the next level out of the 2020 NFL Draft.

28. Nick Coe, Auburn

Nick Coe is a thick and powerful defensive lineman. He was very productive in 2018 but after ending the season with wrist surgery, Coe was unable to earn his starting spot back in 2019. Coe was benched for a game in 2019 for “not meeting our standards in practice”, so work ethic and dedication may be a question mark.

When on the field, Coe displays his strength, power and length. With his background in wrestling, he’s very effective when engaged with a blocker, driving them back or throwing them aside to make a play. He has shown decent burst and bend around the edge at times, but that is certainly not his game and he often lines up farther inside.

Coe seems best suited as a 3-4 DE at the next level with the ability to hold a strong edge if lined up on the outside. He lacks the athleticism to be a dynamic edge rusher and needs to have a stronger and more consistent anchor if playing down after down inside.

Fit may be a little difficult for Coe and I think he will have to work on going one way or the other, slimming down and using his length on the edge or bulking up and using his power inside, if he wants to eventually have a consistent role in the NFL.

29. D.J. Wonnum, South Carolina

D.J. Wonnum has experience standing up or with his hand on the ground as an edge presence and was best his sophomore season. That season in 2017, Wonnum racked up 57 tackles, 13 for loss and six sacks and was named a team captain. As a junior and senior, Wonnum didn’t really impress on the stat sheet or on tape.

He has a good frame and shows flashes of potential in different aspects of the game, but doesn’t really excel at anything. He isn’t overly explosive off the edge and lacks production as a true pass rusher. He has strong hands and long arms and uses them well to get off of blocks in the run game, but should utilize them more as a rusher.

He is a capable penetrator, allowing him to make occasional plays in the backfield, but his lack of both speed and power concern me as a tweener edge rusher. He has the frame, grit and enough tools to take a chance on developing, but it may be a while before he is anything more than a situational player in the 2020 NFL Draft.

30. Qaadir Sheppard, Ole Miss

After spending one season at Syracuse before being dismissed due to failed drug tests, Qaadir Sheppard sat out a year and transferred to Ole Miss. At Ole Miss, Sheppard severely lacked production on the stat sheet, totaling just two sacks, 12 tackles for loss and 82 tackles for his entire college career, almost all of those coming in 2018 as a junior.

But Sheppard shows enough flash on tape to possibly warrant a selection in the 2020 NFL Draft nonetheless. He is a versatile player who can rush the passer or drop back in coverage, as he did more often in 2019 with a move to linebacker. He has decent get off and good bend around the edge. He also shows at times good ability to shoot gaps and penetrate into the backfield.

Sheppard is very raw but shows some pass rush instincts and physical qualities that a team can build on and develop. He may take some time, probably being used as a situational pass rusher early in his career, but he could become a serviceable 3-4 OLB with sufficient growth and time.