40. Texans - Ross Blacklock, DT, TCU (6-3, 290) Dane Brugler: As the son of a Harlem Globetrotters legend, Blacklock checks the boxes for size, core strength and athleticism, firing off the ball to win early or make himself small through gaps. He displays contact balance and length at the point of attack, although his shed and pass rush technique are still a work in progress. Overall, Blacklock doesn’t get home enough on tape, but all the traits are there with his blend of size, quickness and power to develop into a disruptive presence, projecting as a versatile lineman who can play anywhere from the nose to the five-technique. Bob McGinn/Anonymous Scouts: Played RB and TE for some of his high school career. “Dad was a (Harlem) Globetrotter,” said one scout. “Great home life. Best football is ahead of him. He’s got feet, eyes, strength to push the pocket. He can two-gap. Understands how to use his hands. Has a feel for the game. Has quickness and burst. All his is upside. I do see him as a first-rounder.” Redshirted in 2016, started in ’17, blew out his Achilles and sat out ’18, started in ’19 and declared a year early. “Depending on what he weighs, he can do a lot,” another scout said. “He was 310 at one time. He ran 4.9 at 310, same as at 290. It’s hard to find college players on the inside that have legit pass-rush ability. He does. … He’s immature. That shows up in his film, too. When he gets hard coaching from guys that make him grow up and be a man, it’ll show up on the field as well.” Finished with 67 tackles (15 1/2 for loss) and 5 1/2 sacks. “You see some athletic ability,” said a third scout. “Nimble, quick. But a non-explosive guy. He just gets beat up inside. I don’t think he’s very tough or competitive. Just a flash gap-penetrating guy.” From Missouri City, Texas. BACKGROUND: Ross Blacklock was a do-everything athlete growing up in the Houston area, competing in swimming, baseball, basketball and the Junior Olympics as a sprinter. He played running back most of his life, including his freshman year at Elkins High School. As he continued to grow, Blacklock moved to linebacker and then became an all-district tight end before landing on the defensive line. Despite his father’s wishes to stay on the hardcourt, he gave up basketball in high school to focus on football. As a senior, he posted 56 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and three sacks, seeing snaps at defensive end and tackle. He was named a 2015 U.S. Army AllAmerican. A four-star defensive tackle recruit out of high school, Blacklock was the No. 25 defensive tackle in the country and the No. 38 recruit in Texas. He cut down his college list to Alabama, Houston, TCU and Texas A&M, choosing to sign with the Horned Frogs. His father, Jimmy, played basketball at Texas, where he was a senior captain and team MVP in 1972 and one of the first African Americans to play in Austin. He played for the Harlem Globetrotters from 1974 to 1987 and is the Globetrotters' head coach. His cousin Dallas is the assistant head coach at Texas Southern. Blacklock elected to skip his final season of eligibility and enter the NFL Draft. STRENGTHS: Passes the eye test with an athletic, NFL-ready frame…naturally powerful with strong hands to pepper and toss blockers…quick-twitch movements, creating movement with his initial quickness (credits his athleticism to playing five different sports growing up)…flashes an arm-over and swim move…nimble body control to slip blocks or retrace his steps…lateral agility to party in different gaps vs. the run…dog fighter and consistent finisher, pursuing through the whistle…played over multiple gaps and the defensive front looked noticeably different when he was on the field…mature mindset and named a team captain as a junior (Blacklock: “I’m not your average 21-year-old. I’m all business.”). WEAKNESSES: Tall pads, losing leverage and making himself a big target for blockers…active hands, but needs to be mindful of his technique to more efficiently shed blocks…doesn’t consistently split double-teams…more flash than substance as a pass rusher, lacking a consistent plan or move-to-move transition…needs to lower his strike zone as a tackler…minimal sack production…had a season-ending Achilles injury (August 2018) and missed the entire season. SUMMARY: A two-year starter at TCU, Blacklock was the nose tackle in head coach Gary Patterson’s slanting, multiple front. Highly recruited out of high school, his college career didn’t go quite as planned, missing two seasons and starting two seasons, but people didn’t need to know his jersey number to spot him on the Horned Frogs’ defensive line. As the son of a Harlem Globetrotters legend, Blacklock checks the boxes for size, core strength and athleticism, firing off the ball to win early or make himself small through gaps. He displays contact balance and length at the point of attack, although his shed and pass rush technique are still a work in progress. Overall, Blacklock doesn’t get home enough on tape, but all the traits are there with his blend of size, quickness and power to develop into a disruptive presence, projecting as a versatile lineman who can play anywhere from the nose to the five-technique.
41. Colts - Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin (5-10, 226) Dane Brugler: More than simply a north-south runner, Taylor understands where and when to hit the hole while also keeping his options open, smoothly redirecting and making it tough on defenders to square him up for the tackle. His horrendous fumble rate (one every 52.9 offensive touches) and lack of pass pro reps are concerns, although he saw an uptick in targets as a pass catcher in 2019 and handled it well. Overall, Taylor needs to eliminate the fumbles and improve his reliability on passing downs, but his balanced, instinctive run qualities and controlled movements project him as a featured NFL starter. Bob McGinn/Anonymous Scouts: A third-year junior, Taylor averaged a whopping 2,058 rushing yards per season. “(Melvin) Gordon was pretty darn good, but Taylor is better,” one scout said in assessing Badgers backs over the last 25 years. “I think it’s slight, the difference. Montee Ball would probably be next, but the drinking got him out. (Ron) Dayne and Terrell Fletcher and John Clay. John Clay sucked; he was a good college player. Brent Moss, golly. Dope got him but he was pretty darn good, too, wasn’t he? The top-end speed with Taylor’s vision is in the top tier of guys I’ve done.” He finished with 926 carries, averaged 6.7, scored 55 TDs from scrimmage and caught 42 passes, including 26 in 2019. “Only bugaboo with him is ball security,” said another scout. “He had 18 fumbles, and he lost 15. That’s very high. His lower (body) is so thick that he just wouldn’t go down, which gives everybody time to swarm him. I think in the NFL he’ll go down a little easier.” Several scouts said he caught the ball adequately at pro day. “The elite size-speed combo is where people will buy in,” said a third scout. “He’s going to disappoint you between the tackles. He doesn’t run to his size. He’s not going hit up in there. You watch the Ohio State games, he’s cringing before he even gets to the line. He’s cringing in the hole. That was really disappointing. I’ve seen it where NFL running back coaches can get that out (of players). That was the big knock on Le’Veon (Bell) coming out, that he didn’t run very big.” He posted a Wonderlic score of 21 and is from tiny Salem, N.J. “Melvin Gordon was different,” said a fourth scout. “He was slick and explosive and made big plays all the time. This guy is strong, not powerful. Excellent vision, excellent patience. Kind of a typical Wisconsin back. He just might have more of the workout-type attributes that you’re looking for. I’d rather have Gordon, all day.” BACKGROUND: Jonathan Taylor was born and raised in Salem in strict households (his parents never married and lived apart), developing into a top performer on the football field and in the classroom. He attended Salem High School, where he got his first taste of varsity action as a sophomore backup running back before becoming a two-year captain and MVP as a junior and senior. Taylor rushed for 1,383 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior, earning first-team All-Conference honors. As a senior, he set the New Jersey single-season rushing record with 2,815 yards, scoring 35 touchdowns in 2016 and earning numerous All-State and Player of the Year honors. Taylor finished his career with 4,642 rushing yards and 51 touchdowns. He was also an accomplished track athlete and won back-to-back state titles in the 100 meters with 10.61 as a junior and 10.63 as a senior (his personal best was 10.49 in sectionals). A three-star running back recruit out of high school, Taylor was the No. 24-rated running back in the 2017 class and the No. 8 player in the state of New Jersey. A top performer in the classroom as well, he received recruiting attention from Ivy League programs like Harvard. Taylor originally committed to Rutgers as a junior before decommitting during his senior year and flipping to Wisconsin, following in the footsteps of other New Jersey high school backs like Ron Dayne and Corey Clement. His father, Jonathan James, played basketball at San Francisco State (1982-86). His cousin Amani Justice is a rising junior linebacker at Division-II Kutztown. Taylor elected to skip his senior season and enter the 2020 NFL Draft. STRENGTHS: Runs with outstanding balance and forward lean…skilled vision and patience at the line of scrimmage…gravitates towards developing holes…flexible body type, sticking his foot in the ground, dropping his hips and changing course…never gives up at contact and crawls for extra yards…runs through arm tackles, spinning off defenders…outstanding perimeter and second-level speed to force poor angles…shows a home run gear in the open field (10 plays of 35-plus yards in 2019)…well built for the position and physically durable (40 straight starts)…solid hands as a screen target, handling the added usage as a receiver in 2019…described as a “culture setter” by his coaches due to his maturity and intelligence…elite production as the only player in FBS history to rush for 1,900-plus yards in three straight seasons, needing only 736 carries to reach 5,000 yards (fewest in FBS history)…finished in the top 10 in Heisman Trophy voting all three seasons and became the third repeat winner of the Doak Walker Award (Ricky Williams and Darren McFadden). WEAKNESSES: His lateral quickness is efficient, but not sudden…his tape showed a lot of defined holes and wasn’t asked to consistently create, benefiting from a mauling offensive line…work in progress as a receiver…late adjusting to throws and will have his share of drops (four in 2019)…fumbling and ball security were a consistent issue over his career, putting the ball on the ground 18 times, including six fumbles in 2019…pass protection is more of an unknown variable because he wasn’t asked to do it very much…enters the NFL with almost 1,000 touches in college. SUMMARY: A three-year starter at Wisconsin, Taylor was the lead back in head coach Paul Chryst’s pro-style scheme. He is one of the most productive runners in college football history, breaking Herschel Walker’s record (by 578 yards) for the most rushing yards by a player through his junior season, finishing his career sixth on the FBS all-time rushing list. More than simply a north-south runner, Taylor understands where and when to hit the hole while also keeping his options open, smoothly redirecting and making it tough on defenders to square him up for the tackle. His horrendous fumble rate (one every 52.9 offensive touches) and lack of pass pro reps are concerns, although he saw an uptick in targets as a pass catcher in 2019 and handled it well. Overall, Taylor needs to eliminate the fumbles and improve his reliability on passing downs, but his balanced, instinctive run qualities and controlled movements project him as a featured NFL starter.
This! Watching his highlights and he knows how to get in the backfield and moves laterally very quick..I don’t know him but so far passes the looks good
Is it just me but they said he was known for his quickness off the snap, but when they showed the highlights I really didn't see it.
He's disruptive, which is all you want from your DT... imagine Watt coming from the other side as they try to run away from Ross side. Good pick.
