There's only a few guys in this year's draft that can really play that NT position, seems like if we want one we'll have to target them probably by packaging picks for a trade or maybe Benton is available with our 2nd round pick.

Bryan Breese, 6-5 305 lbs
Mazi Smith, 6-3 337 lbs
Keeannu Benton, 6-4 312


Who am I missing?
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Siaki Ika, Baylor

I think Gervin Dexter has more juice against the run, personally. Feels a bit to me like Jarran Reed.
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Siaki Ika is so damn big, I'm worried about his work ethic tbh. Can he maintain his weight or even reduce it a bit? Dude is huge and I don't want to end up with some bloated monstrosity that goes full Jamarcus Russell. Feel free to correct me on this, just a worry i have with bro's that big when he's only 6'4". He's got a great swim move, but I see on some of his plays he's losing his lane integrity trying to get into the backfield. I can't see spending a 1st or 2nd on him, which is where I usually see him going.
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If he runs well at the combine, he's going to rocket up boards. Guys that move quickly at that size are exceedingly rare.

The last few that did all went in the top 12.

Vita Vea, Dontari Poe, and Haloti Ngata come to mind.

The shelf lives are usually shorter but the rewards are usually high in the short term.

You can look at Danny Shelton in that group but Shelton didn't move like those other guys and he didn't disrupt double-teams like those other guys. I see a lot more of a Vea/Poe/Ngata with Ika's interior disruption than I do a Shelton who is much more of a leaner.
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I think there are plenty of others that can play NT.
I'd say any of these can:
Zacch Pickens, South Carolina
Jaquelin Roy, LSU (prefer as a 3T)
Keondre Coburn, Texas
D.J. Dale, Alabama
P.J. Mustipher, Penn State
Jerrod Clark, Coastal Carolina
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I have trouble understanding our requirements for NT.

Pickens for instance is smaller than Chris Jones, aren't we looking for someone bigger?
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yeah, most lighter guys aren't going to hold up against the run.
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Pickens is the same size as Jarran Reed plus he played NT at South Carolina. I really don't see the concern. You don't need a 350-pound mammoth in a 4-3. It's not much to ask Pickens to put on 10 pounds if you want him around 320.
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Why not Clijah Kancey then? He's undersized at 280, but played NT in college.
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I'm not retarded. Saying a 307-pound guy can do it and a 275-pound guy can do it are two entirely different things.
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I'm asking genuinely, do we need a NT? C Jones is doubled more than any player in the league other than A Donald, and he might retire soon. If C Jones is getting the double teams, isn't he sort of acting as the NT freeing up a second D-linemen?
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I could see Coburn being a really good pick in the late 3rd. Might go earlier in that round but I can't see him going in the first 2 rounds.
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I would take Ika in the 2nd. He's Haloti Ngata 2.0
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Thank you for the feedback! I see Kancey as a similar player to C Jones and I guess I'm wondering if we could play them both at the same time.
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Just looking around at later physical freaks and came across BJ Thompson out of Stephen F. Austin.

Super super SUPER raw, scrawny as hell (6'5" and maybe 240 lbs) but I think that's exactly the kind of guy you use a 7th rounder on and see if you can bulk him up. I mean that frame sure looks like it's 260+ waiting to happen and if so, he's just so damn explosive. He has really athletic feet and plus agility.

Big time project player, don't get me wrong. I don't expect him to contribute this year and hell he may not do much the next. But that kind of length/quickness just isn't easy to get and if you can just add a little weight there and refine some of this hand fighting, you could have a real dangerous rusher on your hands at a minimal cost.
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