The 2014 NFL Draft is widely considered one of the deepest in years. From wide receiver to cornerback and just about every position in between, teams will be getting tremendous value in the later rounds given the talent of this draft class.
The growing consensus also seems to be that the only exception to that depth is a lack of elite pass rushers however. While South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney is projected to be a terror off the edge at the next level, who slots in behind him as the next best pass rusher is a bit in the eye of the beholder. Missouri's Kony Ealy thinks he the best in the draft, but NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah has one player in mind from a small school that he ranks behind Clowney.
"For me it's Khalil Mack from Buffalo," Jeremiah said on NFL Network's "Path to the Draft". "Why I say that is because he can get to the quarterback in a variety of ways. He has very heavy hands, he can win with power and he can also win with speed on the edge."
Mack was introduced to the country last season with a phenomenal gameagainst Big Ten power Ohio State. The 6-foot-3, 251-pounder might have played in the MAC during his career, but has all the attributes scouts look for in an NFL linebacker who can get after the quarterback. In addition to his good instincts, he's one of the more explosive players in the draft and has an impressive 40-inch vertical jump that certainly has a few defensive coordinators pleading for their team to end up drafting him.
Recent NFL.com mock drafts have Mack as a near-lock top-10 pick when May 8 rolls around. Jeremiah slotted the linebacker to the Oakland Raiders with the fifth overall pick in his most recent mock draft, but there's some buzz that Mack could wind up going as high as third to the Jacksonville Jaguars (Brian Baldinger's initial mock draft slated Mack to Jacksonville).
Whichever team winds up selecting the Butkus Award finalist will clearly be getting itself quite the football player.
"He has a variety of moves that he can beat you with -- inside counters, spins, etcetera," Jeremiah added. "I think he's the most complete pass rusher outside Clowney. He's number two for me."
Mack has put some distance between himself and a few of the other linebacker prospects in this draft class as of late, and figures to be the first off the board at his position. He will be one of 30 prospects at Radio City Music Hall for the draft, and it seems pretty obvious that he won't have to wait in the green room too long before hearing his name being called by the commissioner.
Follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter @BryanDFischer.
