6 defensive prospects with surging draft stock heading into NFL Scouting Combine

For some players, the climb up NFL draft boards is well under way.

To help get you up to speed heading into the start of the NFL Scouting Combine this week, On3 checked with Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy and some NFL scouts to get a feel for the 2022 NFL Draft prospects who have helped themselves the most through the all-star game circuit and early portion of the pre-draft process.

Monday, we spotlighted six offensive players. Today, we’ll cover six defensive guys. They’re listed alphabetically.

Montana State LB Troy Andersen

2021 stats: 147 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions
Feedback: “On the fall film, you see kind of a stiff, straight-line athlete, “ an NFL scout said. “At the Senior Bowl, I thought he moved well in space, did well in his coverage opportunities, and he looked like more of a potential three-down player than just a stiff two-down linebacker. His athleticism really showed up in Mobile.” Andersen, who measured 6-foot-3¼ and 242 pounds at the Senior Bowl, began his Montana State career by being named the Big Sky Conference freshman of the year after starting games at running back and linebacker in 2017, then became a first-team All-Big Sky quarterback as a sophomore in 2018 before moving to linebacker for good in 2019. Andersen would be just the fifth Montana State player taken in the NFL draft this century.
Additional feedback: “Troy looked way better (at the Senior Bowl) than I would have even thought,” Nagy said. “His change of direction was better than I thought. He had the third-fastest max acceleration of anyone at the game, including all the (defensive backs) and wideouts. His stuff was off the charts. He was reacting quicker during our practice week than you saw on Montana State tape, like he was triggering quicker, which is interesting considering he was in a new defense. Then the change of direction looked better and the speed was off the charts for a linebacker. He really helped himself there.”

Florida State EDGE Jermaine Johnson

2021 stats: 70 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 12 sacks
Feedback: “Obviously with what he did in Mobile, he’s a for-sure top half of the first-round pick unless the character holds him back,” an NFL scout said of Johnson. “The speed to power (as a pass rusher) was impressive. A lot of speed to power there. Just his competitiveness. … Just his length (he’s 6-4, 259), his power, and he uses his length better than a lot of these other guys that have that natural length. He was probably the most impressive edge rusher down there. He also likes to play the run, which not a lot of these pass rushers do obviously. But he’s strong. He’s a complete edge player.”

UConn DT Travis Jones

2021 stats: 47 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks
Feedback: “Travis’ tape this year was a little disappointing,” Nagy said. “We had a second-round grade on him over the summer going back to his ’19 stuff because you just saw the natural power in the guy, and then you were really kind of projecting what’s this going to look like two years later because he didn’t play last year (with UConn canceling its 2020 season). So you’re watching 2019 tape thinking, ‘Wow, this guy, you know, we’ve heard he’s lost some weight and he’s toned his body up and he’s gotten stronger,’ and you’d think two years away that he’d be an even more powerful guy. And that just didn’t really show up on tape this year, so we dropped him. But then he showed up down here just looking like the guy we thought he’d be [Jones weighed in at 6-4, 326]. Was really hard to handle in one-on-ones. Just an explosive, powerful man. Good hips. Good extension on his bull rush. He looks like a guy that’s not just a first- and second-down player. He looks like a guy that’s going to legitimately contribute in sub situations and (with) his ability to collapse the pocket.”

Minnesota DE Boye Mafe

2021 stats: 34 tackles, seven sacks
Feedback: “Boye Mafe is a guy who is really going to blow up after the combine,” Nagy said. “Right now, he’s training with (Michigan’s) Aidan Hutchinson. All his numbers are better than Aidan’s, and Aidan’s going to test really well. But you’ve just got a 6-4, 265-pound guy who’s going to vertical jump 40 inches, has two sacks in the (Senior Bowl) game and gets the ball out of the quarterback twice. The sky’s the limit with Boye.”

Fayetteville State CB Joshua Williams

2021 stats: 31 tackles, three interceptions
Feedback: “If you’re a press-man team, Joshua Williams is going to be exactly what you’re looking for,” Nagy said. “He’s 6-2. He’s got 32-plus-inch arms. He ran what will equate to a 4.3 (40-yard dash) in his max speed stuff during the week (at the Senior Bowl). I think he was second only to (UTSA’s) Tariq Woolen in terms of max speed during the week on the defensive side.” Division II Fayetteville State hasn’t had a player selected in the draft since 1976.

Oklahoma DT Perrion Winfrey

2021 stats: 23 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks
Feedback: “I love that guy,” an NFL scout said. “He looked like a starting one gap penetrating interior defensive lineman down in Mobile. Was pretty dominant all week. His fall tape kind of speaks to an undersized pass rush potential sub-down player that can’t hold up in the run game. But he held up much better in the drills in Mobile, being able to stack and shed guys at the line of scrimmage. With all due respect to the Oklahoma coaching staff, he was probably playing out of position there because he played more like nose and 1 technique at Oklahoma. He’s a true 3 technique. He probably went from (round) two or three to one to two.” Winfrey weighed in at 6-3, 303 in Mobile.
Additional feedback: “I don’t see how he isn’t (a first-round draft pick) with 35-inch arms, explosive, loves football, plays his ass off,” Nagy said. “He was being played out of position at Oklahoma. He kind of got to show what he can do during our week.”