Jabrill Peppers, Safety, Michigan. Peppers is a 6’1″, 205 lb, 21 year-old redshirt sophomore who finished 5th in the Heisman voting and was an unanimous 1st team All-American last year.  He was awarded the Paul Hornung Award, College Footballs Most Versatile Player, as well as the Lott Trophy, Defensive IMPACT (Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity) Player of the Year. He finished 2016 with 73 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, four sacks, and one interception. He also had one TD from his kick returns, averaged 15 yards per attempt on punt returns, and 3 TDs from playing on offense.

Take: Just going to this start off with the fact that when I google search “Jabrill Peppers”, two of the top related searches are “body” and “jacked”….

Peppers is a freak of nature athlete. He played 15 different positions on the field and played them well.  He lined up as a middle linebacker almost more times than safety in the game film I watched. Michigan would line him up at DE half the time and let him rush the passer and hell, he excelled at that too.  He plays every play with such a high motor and is constantly around the ball.  He’s a hard hitter who takes good angles. His acceleration off the snap is fantastic which helps him in pass rush. He sheds blockers well but could improve here. He can go man to man on any TE, RB, or slot receiver. He has the speed and agility to take any kick to the house too. Overall, this guy is a play maker. He plays with great instincts very similar to Tyrann Matheiu.

So why would someone so talented fall to #17? Well, scouts are starting to nit-pick his game saying he doesn’t have a “true position” and was part of a scheme in Michigan. He’s a little undersized at 6’1″ 205 and played in a Big Ten Conference that had a rough few years. His stats don’t jump out at you, either.  Only having 1 pick and 1 pass defended in 2016 is hurting his draft stock tremendously. Scouts are beginning to think of him more as a undersized LB than a hard-hitting safety making him the “wildcard” of the 1st round.  Also, he didn’t have the best game against OSU in their rivalry game which felt like a playoff game.

I don’t know what more I can say other than this guy would look glorious in the burgandy and gold. He has those Polamalu-like instincts that every safety/ defensive player needs to excel and the athletic skill set to be superstar. If he falls to #17, I think he would be the ideal piece to start rebuilding the defense. It will be interesting to see how he performs at the combine and see how hungry he is in the interview process. Scot McCloughan loves “football players” and I don’t think anyone else that mold better than Peppers.

Mid Round Talents to Consider:

Dalvin Tomlinson, DT, Alabama: Tomlinson has below average size standing at 6’3″, weighing 305 lbs and is ranked as the 15th best defensive lineman available in the draft. He started alongside of projected top 5 pick Jonathan Allen and finished his senior year with 54 tackles, 3 sacks, 7 QB hurries, and 4.5 TFLs. He was used primarily in run-stop situations where he racked up 48 of his tackles.

What makes him interesting is his story. Tomlinson was offered a full scholarship to Harvard, was an all state wrestler in high school, played striker and goalie in high school soccer, plays the saxophone, and is an artist.  Needless to say, this guy is smart and very multi-talented.  His tape isn’t impressive but you can tell he is a team-first kind of player. He eats up double teams, doesn’t lose ground, and controls his gap assignments. He could either be a product of Allen getting all the attention, or he could be reason Allen was so successful.  I’m choosing to believe the latter.

Javancy Jones, EDGE, Jackson State University: Here is a guy that stood out at the East-West Shrine Game. He is a 6’1″, 245lb DE/OLB who dominated his competition in the SWAC. He boasts a 4.62 40 and led his team in tackles for three straight years and led the black college league in TFLs his junior year. He was a late addition to the Shrine Game but turned a lot of heads finishing with 4 tackles and blowing up multiple counters and screens.  Will be interesting to see how he fares at the combine but this guy appears to be a vocal leader with a high motor.  He could help on special teams at least.

Sam Rogers, FB, Virginia Tech: Sam Rogers is a 5’11” 230lb swiss army knife of a FB. He finished as a 2nd team All-American his senior year after amassing 6 TDs (4 receiving, 2 rushing) and leading the Hookies to a victory over Arkansas in the Belk Bowl.  Skins flat out stink in the Red Zone and need a full back so why not take a home-town hero who started four years after walking on?   Sam was given the Frank Beamers Honorary Jersey before his senior game against rival UVA which is given to the Hookie player who most resembles the legendary coach and is the coaching staffs greatest honor. The kid is a leader as well as a tremendously hard-worker and it shows on the field.  The redskins need players like this.