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Perhaps unfairly underhyped throughout his college career because of his non-power-conference status, Ed Oliver, 21, deserves plenty of accolades for what he accomplished all three years at Houston. After choosing to play at Houston despite his five-star status and opportunity to play at Alabama, Oliver was an All-American as a true freshman for the Cougars with 22 tackles for loss. He backed that up by winning the Outland Trophy as a sophomore, then dealt with a knee issue as a junior that cut his season short. He also got into a verbal altercation with coach Major Applewhite about wearing the wrong jacket on the sideline.
Oliver profiles as a 3-technique in the NFL. He had 13.5 sacks and five forced fumbles in his three college seasons. His Combine proved his explosiveness coming off his knee injury, even though he didn’t run the 40.
Size
6-foot-2, 287 pounds
Combine notables
Bench: 32 reps (4th at position)
Vertical: 36 inches (3rd at position)
Broad jump: 120 inches (T1st at position)
What the analysts say
“Twitched-up ball of explosive fury from the moment he comes out of his stance, but his lack of NFL size and length creates challenges with his NFL projection. Oliver's athletic ability is beyond rare, but his ability to add and maintain mass could be the critical for his future success. He creates early advantages but must convert them into early disruption to prevent NFL size from swallowing him. Scheme fit will be critical with shade nose or three-technique as the obvious considerations.” – Lance Zierlein, NFL.com
“Ed Oliver projects cleanly as a 3T starting interior DL in the NFL. Oliver has superb penetration ability and can be a true asset on passing downs to collapse the pocket and disrupt passer visuals. Oliver will require an aggressive system, however. Tasking him with playing along the line of scrimmage will negate his burst and hinder his ability to get off of blocks.” – Kyle Crabbs, The Draft Network
What PFF says
-21st in run-stop percentage (8.8 percent)
-20th in pass-rush productivity
-40th in snaps per outside pressure
[caption id=attachment_47907" align="alignnone" width="627]
Chart via Pro Football Focus Draft Guide[/caption]
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CHECK OUT THE REST OF THE
ZONE COVERAGE DRAFT GUIDE
MINNESOTA VIKINGS NEEDS & TARGETS
POSITIONAL TOP 5 RANKINGS & VIDEO BREAKDOWNS
MINNESOTA VIKINGS DRAFT TRENDS
INMAN: NFC NORTH WORST CASE DRAFT SCENARIOS
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