Pass-rushing prospects exude confidence heading into draft
INDIANAPOLIS — Quarterbacks are the unquestioned kings of the NFL, but that hasn’t stopped the newest crop of NFL defensive linemen-in-waiting from entering the league with a swagger that has grown with their importance.
These soon-to-be rookies are certain they’re ready to play. Just ask them.
“I can rush anywhere. I can play anywhere,” Stanford’s Solomon Thomas said. “I play every down. I’m great stopping the run, great rushing the quarterback. I’m very versatile. I have toughness. I try to get after every [offensive] lineman and put the fear of God in them and make a play. I’m just trying to get to the quarterback every play and be destructful and wreak havoc.”
Thomas speaks to his belief in himself and essentially sums up how the top-level players in the defensive front have arrived at this draft. It’s a deep group, and the best of the best are not afraid to say it.
Confidence has always been key among those who excel. But the kind of confidence these players have shown is more like that of the shutdown cornerback. These guys came to the combine knowing they were in a deep, talented class, and they seem determined to let the NFL’s decision-makers know it.
“I like to think I’m a technician. I can do a lot of things,” Allen said. “You want me to rush from a 3-technique, I can do it effectively; if you want me to bend the corner on the outside, I can do it. I can play the run; I can play double-teams. I can play above the tight end … scoot, get off blocks. So I feel I can do anything that I’m asked to do on the defensive line.”
Said McKinley: “I’m here to get the quarterback. The league now is a passing league. They need young guys who can get to the quarterback, and I feel I’m the best pass-rusher in this draft class to do that.”
Since no slam-dunk quarterback prospect has emerged as the top pick, players such as Garrett and Allen, in particular, are in that discussion. Thomas is in the mix as a high-first-round pick, and McKinley is a consensus top-15 player.
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Their confidence is certainly not unfounded; it’s just that they might wear it on the sleeve a little more than those who came before them. On the potential of being the draft’s No. 1 pick, Garrett said: “Shows I’m top dog, at least from the beginning, and I’ve got to — once I’m in the NFL — I can’t just hang my hat on that. I’ve got to keep on rising.”
Allen also believes he could be the top pick.
“What I bring is a winning atmosphere, winning attitude, a leader, a guy who’s going to bust his butt every play, a guy who’s looking to come in and make an immediate impact in a positive way,” Allen said. “Like I said, I’m going to control what I can control. But the competitor in me wants to be the first [pick], but I’m also going to go out there and work toward it.”
This is the NFL’s environment at work. The current discussion centers on points, catches and 300-yard passing games, but three of the past four Super Bowls have been won by a team that finished the season No. 1 in either total defense or scoring defense — or both.
Even McKinley, who said he will have surgery on his right shoulder Monday after he leaves the combine, sent the same message to coaches and general managers.
“Once I get healthy, once I get the right technique, the right coaching, I feel like for years to come I’ll be one of the best pass-rushers in the NFL,” he said. “…All my interviews are going great — they like me as a person, they especially like me as a player.”
