Dallas Cowboys Draft: 10 Edge Rushers for the Cowboys
Clelin Ferrell, Clemson
What’s Good: Hand Usage, Strength, Hustle
What Ain’t Good: Creativity, Flexibility, Tackling
FERRELL IS NOT A FIRST ROUND TALENT! Now that is out of my system, let’s make something clear. I think Ferrell will be a good edge rusher but his film wouldn’t suggest he’s a first round talent. Most of that argument is is related to his athleticism.
Something that was apparent in Ferrell’s film was his lack of burst. This was a way bigger issue in 2017 but there’s a noticeable improvement from 2017 to 2018. He was jumping out of his stance quicker and he was just more disruptive in general. His production is really solid but once again, the Clemson defensive line is the definition of strength in numbers.
Ferrell doesn’t bend particularly well but he’s definitely more flexible than his teammate Bryant. Also something that bothered me was when he had the opportunity to tackle in the running game, he whiffed on a lot of tackles. He would separate from his blocker and he looked ready to make a tackle only for the runner to escape through his grasp.
Speaking of hands, he is more technically sound with his hands than some other guys in this draft. A great instance of this is when he used his hands to swipe past Dan Moore, Texas A&M left tackle, to cause a strip sack. I don’t bring this up because it happened to the Aggies in specific, but Ferrell didn’t have it particularly easy that game so when he did get past Moore he became a problem.
Ferrell also is a strong rusher. He’s a capable bull rusher using his 34 1/8″ arms to drive the offensive tackles back. When Ferrell gets past the tackle, he becomes a serious issue for opposing offense. The issue is, it doesn’t happen as much as we think. He gets stood up at the line way more than you’d expect from a first round edge rusher.
Where does he fit?:
He’d be a perfect complement to Lawrence when Crawford isn’t playing. If he’s available at pick 58, I’m sure the Cowboys would definitely be considering the Clemson edge rusher. He’s built more like Taco than a Randy Gregory and the athleticism would suggest that’s true as well. He also plays more like Taco.
Something Taco does well, when he plays, is using his arm length to drive tackles back or using his arms to swipe past his opponent. As mentioned, this is something Ferrell does well. While Taco is more explosive, he’s not that much more. The real difference between Taco and Ferrell is Ferrell doesn’t have the same attitude. Ferrell is a hard worker and was a leader in that locker room.
The issue is that since Taco was selected in the first round, the expectation is Ferrell would go in the Top 20. Teams love hard working players who displayed leadership on a championship team. This will cause Ferrell to go higher than he should and that’s not always a bad thing, but it doesn’t help the Cowboys who are in pursuit of another defensive end.