In the land of the milk-eyes, skim is king

Defensive End is probably the weakest part of this defense. Basically all you have are run-stopping JAGs on either side of the undersized Ratliff, and next to the underperforming Spencer. If you want more pass-rush, and pocket-collapsing pressure, look absolutely no further than DE. I could attest that getting a stud NT would be the best move, but... where is he? If this defense had JJ Watt, it would be tremendously improved, just from one player. So, who in this year's draft class looks the most like Watt?

Defensive Ends

We all know how much of a monster JJ Watt is. Last year he absolutely crushed the combine. He posted a very rare set of measurements. As its been said before, its not about getting great numbers in just one drill, its about getting great numbers in a combination of drills. There is not a DE in this draft that is JJ Watt, but who comes close? We'll be using Watt's combine numbers as a guide for these guy's measurables.

JJ Watt

40 Time	Bench Reps	Vert	Jump	3Cone	20 YD S
4.81	34	37	10'	6.88	4.21

All the numbers comined show that Watt was strong, fast, and agile. Lets find out who comes close to meeting that criteria.

Which guys are really fast for being so big? I'm going to set the Watt benchmark at under 4.90.

Coples	4.78
Cox	4.79
Crawford	4.85
Martin	4.88

Now, who is adequately strong? Benchmark at 32 or above.

Martin	36
Reyes	36
Thompson	35
Forston	35
Wolfe	33
Roy	32

Onto explosiveness/leg strength. Vert = above 32, Broad Jump = 9' or better.

	Vert	B.Jump
Crawford	33	9'8"
Reyes	34.5	9'5"
Martin	33.5	9'5"
Randall	34	9'3"
Wolfe	33.5	9'0"

Let's look at who is the most agile among them. 3 Cone set at 7.3, 20 Yard Shuttle at 4.55 (gotta be generous here with this class).

	Cone	20Yard
Cox	7.07	4.53
Crawford	7.15	4.25
Martin	7.19	4.25
Wolfe	7.26	4.44

Finally, I want to look at their production ratios. Bench at 1.20 or above.

Crawford	1.62
Crick	1.31
Coples	1.29
Wolfe	1.26

Lets look at the overview of all the DE's benchmark hits. X = Benchmark hit, X+ = preferred benchmark hit, and D for a decent score.

	40 Time	Bench	Vert	Broad	Cone	20Yard	Prod.Ratio
Cox	X+	D			X+	D
Brockers
Coples	X+		D	X			X
Still			X+				D
Worthy				D
Thompson		X+	D
Reyes	D	X+	X+	X		D
Crick	D		D			X	X
Winn	D			D	D	X	D
Forston		X+
Martin	X	X+	X	X	X	X+
Guyton			D			D
Crawford	X		X	X+	X+	X+	X+
Randall	D	D	X+	X
Roy		X		X	D		D
Wolfe	D	X	X	X	X	X	X

Based on benchmarks hit, here is my ranking of this year's DE class. This is just my opinion based on the data range. You won't find a ranking like this anywhere else.

1. Crawford
2. Martin
3. Wolfe
4. Coples
5. Reyes
6. Cox
7. Randall
8. Crick
9. Winn
10. Roy
11. Still
12. Thompson
13. Guyton
14. Worthy
15. Forston
16. Brockers

As far as players who I feel are worth a darn, I would cut this list off at #10, as far as preferred players, I would cut it off at #6 or 7. This is a weak class. Martin would be the clear winner if not for a weak production ratio. In fact, I would only consider 4 of these players to have a production ratio you could feel good about. Last year there were more than 6 players with a good ratio. Wolfe is one of my pet cats, and I think he will be a real dark horse in the draft. Many of these players who performed well at the combine are still being undervalued it seems. That adds up to a lot of value throughout the draft. Thats good, considering many of them don't have the production ratio you want to see. But, Mike Martin available in round 3? Heck yes. Here is my short-list of these guys based on projected round.

Round 1

• Quinton Coples
• Fletcher Cox

Round 2

• Kendall Reyes

Round 3

• Mike Martin

Round 4

• Tyrone Crawford
• Kheeston Randall

Round 6

• Derek Wolfe

As you can see, more than half of my short-list is being undervalued, and is available after round 2. Talk about value. I thought more of these guys would be concentrated in the 3rd, not so. If the Cowboys want to improve DE play, they have options in nearly every round. Could Derek Wolfe be the next Ratliff?