Rob Rang’s Top 5 Edge Runners/Outside Linebackers
Overview: Perhaps with waves of edge rushers dropping across the NFL in recent years, and 2023 being no different, it’s only fitting that the strongest position group on defense this year is led by a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide. All five players listed below are expected to be first-round picks, with Alabama’s Anderson most likely off the board when Seattle is slated to pick. Texas Tech’s Wilson and Iowa’s Van Ess are frequent mock draft projections for the Seahawks. It’s a testament to the depth of this year’s team that there are a number of “other” top-52 pick-eligible tight ends in this class (of which Seattle has 3) who would fit in well with the Seahawks, including excellent pass rusher Rodger. With Iowa State’s Will McDonald IV, LSU’s BG Ojulari and Kansas State’s Felix Anudike-Uzoma in the draft — each young but shockingly ready — Georgia Tech special athlete Keon White and Tully Tupulotu, the Morris Trophy winner as the best defensive end in the PAC-12. lineman, who played at Carroll’s beloved Southern Cal. I’d be surprised if any of these players were Seattle’s third-round pick (No. 83 overall), the fifth overall pick in the draft.
1. Will Anderson, Jr., Alabama, 6-4, 253, Top 5
As an All-American, the SEC Player of the Year and the winner of five national awards in the past 16 months, Anderson is more decorated than a wedding cake — and deservedly so. His stats over three years at Alabama (204 tackles, 58.5 tackles for loss and 34.5 sacks) are something out of a video game, ranking second all-time in Crimson Tide history behind only the late college and NFL Hall of Famer. Derek Thomas. Simply put, Anderson is the easiest pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
2. Tyree Wilson, Texas Tech, 6-6, 271, Top 10
Football is a big man’s game and edge rushers don’t come much bigger than Wilson, who with his height and impressive 86-inch wingspan is an inch shorter than NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is 6-foot-11. It’s really interesting. He’s recorded seven sacks in each of the past two seasons, but his traits suggest he could be the floor in the future.
3. Lucas Van Ness, Iowa, 6-5, 272, first round
Of course, when the conversation turns upward among the Pacific Raiders, Van Ness takes the cake. Van Ness, a former hockey player who didn’t focus on football until his junior year of high school, clocked a 4.58-second 40-yard dash at the Combine, and his natural strength was eye-catching. He has a long way to go to earn that comparison, but Van Ness reminds me a bit of the college tape of one of the Seahawks’ fiercest rivals – former San Francisco 49er Justin Smith.
4. Myles Murphy, Clemson, 6-5, 268, first round
Murphy signed with Clemson three years ago as one of the top prospects in the country, has had three straight dominant campaigns and is now ready for the pros. Powerful, agile, durable and effective (116 tackles, 36 tackles for loss and 18.5 sacks), Murphy is as safe as Subaru.
5. Nolan Smith, Georgia, 6-2, 238, first round
Speaking of highly regarded prospects, Smith is the No. 1 overall draft pick out of Georgia in 2019, and given the jaw-dropping workout he posted at the Combine, one can understand why. Smith didn’t fill the stat sheet at Georgia, but his power, explosiveness and unselfish play jumped off the tape. Like Alabama’s Anderson, Georgia’s coaches rave about Smith, a math major and team captain, who may have signed as a five-star, but he competes as a walk-on.