Mel Kiper, Todd McShay engage in ridiculous argument over Arnold Ebiketie
NFL Draft analysts across the country have the next few months to rave about and critique their favorite prospects leading up to the 2022 NFL Draft. One player that ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. cannot stop gushing about recently is former Penn State defensive end Arnold Ebiketie. He went to bat for Ebiketie in an argument with fellow draft analyst Todd McShay. McShay has Ebiketie just outside his top 32 picks in his Mock Draft 2.0.
“Are you going to at some point agree that Ebiketie is worthy of being a first-rounder or are you going to continue to do this all the way up until April 28?” Kiper asked McShay.
“I’m staying level with it,” McShay shot back. “I’ve got him at No. 33 overall, yes, I made the joke, I put him at 33 in a 32-man mock draft, I think he’s in that range in this class. If you watched him at the Senior Bowl, he’s a really good player but he didn’t jump out. He doesn’t have all the exceptional tools that all these other guys have. He’s a little bit shorter. By the way, you had him in like the ninth round back in September. I had him up the whole way through.
“When we put out the final mock draft, he’s not going to be in your top 15,” McShay insisted.
“I didn’t have him in my top 15 in my 1.0, so no I’m not going to put him there in the 2.0,” Kiper said. “You do say he’s a really good player. He didn’t pop at the Senior Bowl – who cares. He played at Temple and Penn State, went up against some really good offensive tackles and did a good job.”
Penn State DE breaks out in 2021
The freakish defensive end waited until his senior year at Penn State to post his best numbers during the 2021-2022 season: 62 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. Ebiketie spent the 2018, 2019, and 2020 seasons at Temple, but transferred to Penn State for his final year for more visibility and exposure. He redshirted during the 2017 season for the Temple Owls. He finished second in the Big Ten in tackles for loss and third, behind Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, in sacks.
The 6-foot-3, 256-pound defensive end figures to be a massive, massive problem for offensive linemen to block in the NFL.
Todd McShay’s top 10 EDGE rushers
The NFL draft combine is right around the corner, and EDGE rushers are projected to go toward the top of the draft. ESPN analyst Todd McShay broke down his top 10 rushers ahead of next month’s combine.
It’s been pretty much a consensus that former Michigan star Aidan Hutchinson and former Oregon standout Kayvon Thibodeaux would go No. 1 and No. 2. Hutchinson isn’t the only Big Ten EDGE in McShay’s top 10, though. Two of his former conference counterparts also appear, giving the Big Ten three of McShay’s 10 best EDGE rushers this year.
Here are McShay’s full rankings.
1. Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan
2. Kayvon Thibodeaux, Oregon
3. Travon Walker, Georgia
4. Jermaine Johnson II, Florida State
5. George Karlaftis, Purdue
6. Arnold Ebiketie, Penn State
7. Logan Hall, Houston
8. Myjai Sanders, Cincinnati
9. DeMarvin Leal, Texas A&M
10. Cameron Thomas, San Diego State