Cowboys Pre-Draft Visit Tracker: DT Will Sutton And DE Kareem Martin To Visit Cowboys

The Cowboys have almost filled up their quota of 30 national draft-eligible players they are allowed to bring in for pre-draft visits, as news reached us that two more prospects will visit the Cowboys in the coming days:

Josh Norris of Rotoworld.com reports that one of those visitors is Arizona State defensive tackle Will Sutton.

Combination of visits and private workouts for Will Sutton: #Bears, #Patriots, #Cardinals, #Rams, #Cowboys and #Lions.

— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) April 22, 2014

Sutton currently ranks 63rd on the CBSSports big board. Over the last two years of college, Sutton amassed a staggering 37 tackles-for-loss and 16 sacks in 17 games for a production ratio of 2.04, second only to Aaron Donald in this year's draft class.

But in contrast to Donald, the 6-0, 303 pound Sutton did not impress with his athletic markers at the combine, which is one reason why Sutton finds himself ranked at the bottom of the second round. But in terms of pure disruptiveness from the defensive tackle position, he has few peers.

Sutton played all along the defensive line at Arizona State, playing all DL positions in both 3-4 and 4-3 lineups. He is most comfortable and most disruptive as a 4-3 defensive tackle lining up as the three-technique. As such, he could be a highly interesting option for the Cowboys, should they miss out on Aaron Donald.

Sutton has received some flak for gaining "almost 30 pounds" of weight between a stellar 2012 junior season and his 2013 senior season, but an in-depth scouting report from Football Outsiders sets the record straight on that:

The 6-foot-1 defensive tackle took college football by storm as a 271-pound junior. However, the NFL’s Draft advisory committee gave Sutton a fifth-round grade at season’s end –- the same round [La'Roi] Glover was drafted 14 years ago. However, Glover was a lean, muscular, and undersized defensive tackle, who didn’t try to gain weight for the sake of pleasing a bunch of guys with a clipboard.

There will be some who believe that the advisory committee’s fifth-round grade of Sutton motivated the Sun Devils star to gain 34 pounds. These were some of the same people writing off Sutton as a limited prospect when he played at a weight similar to Glover and Randle. This is the same mindset that dwells on the rule rather than being open to the exception. [...]

While he was destroying offensive back fields at 271 pounds, Sutton physically looked like a smaller Warren Sapp with Glover and [John] Randle-like technique and intensity.

Any defensive lineman whose scouting report namedrops Sapp, Glover and Randle has to be worth taking a very close look at.

The other prospect coming in for a visit is North Carolina defensive end Kareem Martin:

DE Kareem Martin (UNC), who is projected to go off the board in rounds 2-3, has pre-draft visits with the #Vikings, #Cowboys, and #Panthers.

— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) April 22, 2014

Martin (6-6, 272 pounds) had the longest arms (35) measured at the combine of any DE, but like with Sutton, it is his college production that really stands out: In 25 games, Martin notched 15.5 sacks and 37 tackles-for-loss for a production ratio of 2.10, which is only marginally lower than the 2.22 recorded by Jadeveon Clowney.

Martin looks like a prototype 4-3 defensive end in the NFL. He has a pro-ready frame, a good amount of athleticism, quickness and explosiveness. Tony Pauline of Draftinsider.net provides this summary of Martin:

Martin showed consistent progress and quietly had a terrific senior season. He's an athletic prospect with natural pass-rushing skills and offers ability at defensive end in a four-man front.

This brings the total number of confirmed national draft prospects invited to Valley Ranch to 28. Notably, those 28 players contain 15 defensive linemen, who are conspicuously bunched in the first three rounds of the draft and at the very end.