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Draft Rumors: Here Come the Pass Rushers

By Lance Zierlein
April 25, 2012

Draft Rumors: Here Come the Pass Rushers
West Virginia's Bruce Irvin could be a a sneaky high pick as an effective pass rusher.
Photo: Andrea Nay
  • Speaking of Shea McClellin, the Green Bay Packers need a pass rusher opposite Clay Matthews and McClellin could be a potential target.  The Packers have 12 draft picks this year including 5 inside the top 133 picks of the draft and there has never been a better time than this year to move up in the draft and target a player you covet.  Do the Packers covet McClellin?  I don't know, but I do know that they are unlikely to get the OLBs they are targeting with the 28th pick.
  • Pass rushers will make the biggest jumps during the 2012 draft as the passing game continues to grow and as winning teams continue to prove that a dominant pass rush can slow down the best quarterbacks.  West Virginia DE Bruce Irvin and Miami's Olivier Vernon are a couple of prospects who will go higher than you probably expect.
  • If the Chiefs decide to choose between Luke Kuechley and Dont'a Hightower as their 11th pick, keep in mind that Hightower is the more aggressive and physical of the two and brings a level of toughness inside that might mesh better with ILB Derrick Johnson.
  • It will be interesting to see if Alabama NT Josh Chapman goes inside the first three rounds.  While Dr. James Andrews has given his blessing to the recovery of Chapman and his future health, teams will not be so quick to rush in with a top 3 round pick if they aren't completely happy with what they are hearing from their own doctors.  Chapman would be tough for the Pittsburgh Steelers to pass on in round 3, but his medicals will dictate where he goes.
  • Boise State DE Shea McClellin is red-hot and it is for one reason - he knows how to rush the QB.  McClellin's stock has been on the rise since the Senior Bowl when coaches and general managers were able to see just how effortlessly McClellin was able to handle himself in pass rushing drills.  While it may seem like McClellin is in the middle of a meteoric rise, keep in mind that teams hadn't even put together draft boards before the Senior Bowl so chances are that he was already high on boards by early February.  Look for McClellin to go sometime between 16 (Jets) and 20 (Titans).
  • While he has the size and physical tools to be taken within the first half of the draft, the odds of Dontari Poe being drafted outside the first 14 picks continue to rise every day.  The excitement over Poe's combine results have faded and with increased tape study as the draft approaches, it appears as though Poe's stock is settling in at a more appropriate spot relative to his body of work at Memphis.

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