NFL Draft – Defensive Tackle Rankings
20.) Chris Whaley, Texas (6’3, 269): Former running back at Texas, who outgrew the position and switched to DT. Great speed and quickness for the position, but has raw technique and needs to gain weight to hold up against the run. Sound familiar? Whaley is a Henry Melton clone as a prospect and like Melton would take a few years of development before he is ready to contribute, but has similar upside. Draft Projection: UFA
21.) Ryan Carrethers, Arkansas St (6’1, 337): Didn’t dominate as much as he should have in the Sun-Belt conference, but has the size and strength to be an NFL nose tackle. Carrethers is a good athlete for a man his size. He was tough against the run in college and showed some pass rush ability but not consistently. Good developmental prospect. Draft Projection: 5th-6th round
22.) Zack Kerr, Delaware (6’1, 326): Athletic for his size with a good burst off the line. Kerr plays a little too soft for the NT position, but he has talent and is a good developmental DT prospect. Draft Projection: 6th-7th round
23.) Beau Allen, Wisconsin (6’2, 329): Solid run-stopper who is versatile enough to play the 1 technique in a 4-3 or NT in a 3-4. Allen showed some ability to rush the passer with 6.5 sacks (combined) in his sophomore and junior seasons when the Badgers ran a 4-3 scheme, then moved to NT as a senior when they switched to a 3-4 and played well. He’s a late round prospect with limited upside, but should provide good interior depth. Draft Projection: 7th round – UFA
24.) Eathyn Manumaleuna, BYU (6’2, 296): Good strength and a solid run stopper inside. Won’t provide much of a pass rush, but should be a solid back-up eventually. Draft Projection: 7th round – UFA
25.) Khyri Thorton, Southern Mississippi (6’3, 304): Raw technique, but good strength (28 reps) and quickness. Thornton played against weak competition in college but was the best player on the field in the NFLPA bowl. He has a quick first step and NFL athleticism. He’s ideally a practice squad guy in 2014, but with some coaching he could be a valuable rotation guy at the 3-technique position in 2015 with starter upside in a couple of years. Draft Projection: UFA
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