NFL Draft Watch: Which non-quarterbacks could crack the top 5 picks?

If the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NFL draft is not a quarterback, it could be one of two prized lineman prospects.

One on each side of the ball.

The bottom three teams in the Week 4 Shutdown Corner power rankings are all teams that appear to be set (or moderately set) for the present and/or future at quarterback — the Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins.

The Jaguars took Blake Bortles with the No. 3 pick in the draft in May and appear to like the early results.

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The Raiders selected Derek Carr at the top of the second round and were impressed enough to name him the starter for Week 1, although a coaching/general manager change certainly don’t iron-clad lock them to Carr.

And though the Redskins have to figure out the Robert Griffin III-Kirk Cousins situation, it’s unlikely they are thinking about drafting another quarterback high in the draft just yet.

We also must account for the fact that those three teams might not be picking first, second and third — in whatever order — by the time the draft rolls around in the spring.

But if they do, we have two names for possibilities for the top spots: USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams and Texas A&M offensive lineman Cedric Ogbuehi. Through five weeks of the college football season, they appear to be the two most dominant non-quarterbacks who could be taken in the top handful of picks at this early stage.

Williams is receiving the Jadeveon Clowney double-team treatment this season after a breakout 2013 campaign and has not been dominant. Injuries, especially an ankle, have slowed him so far. The 6-foot-4, 295-pound Williams also has shifted from tackle to end in the Trojans’ new 3-4 scheme, and the adjustment period — for everyone on that defense — remains ongoing. Teams also have been running away from Williams, lessening his impact from a statistical standpoint.

But Williams’ size-speed-strength ratio is off the charts, and his disruption capability was on display against top competition when he locked horns with Stanford offensive tackle Andrus Peat, a possible future first-round pick, earlier in the season. Williams won the head-to-head battle (even though they did not line up opposite each other every play) as he racked up 11 tackles, a key fourth-down stop and a sack despite playing on one healthy ankle. 

There was some disappointment in the scouting community Saturday when Ogbuehi and Arkansas’ talented rusher, Trey Flowers, ended up not facing each other that much head to head. That would have been a fun battle to break down. As it was, Ogbuehi — as he has all season — was very clean against the Razorbacks, perhaps not lambasting the competition but most certainly keeping it safely at bay.

Still, there’s much to like in the game of the 6-5, 310-pound Ogbuehi, who seamlessly has made the transition from guard to tackle and from right tackle to Jake Matthews’ vacated left spot. It’s as if the Aggies have top-10 picks growing in the weeds up front every season.

Ogbuehi is a rare athlete and can flash power, too. He also has vine-like arms and good hand punch, but some scouts would like to see a bit more of an aggressive mentality here and there.

Still, despite their wart or two, Williams and Ogbuehi project as very high draft picks (Williams is a junior but a three-year starter) in late April if they’re both available. The Raiders could continue to beef up their offensive line, the Jaguars might want to keep beefing up their defensive front (bonus connection: Williams grew up down the road in Daytona Beach) and the Redskins could stand to do both.

If quarterbacks are not in the discussion for the top couple of spots, and even if they are, these two players are prime candidates to move in on that turf.

TIDBITS

• Flowers and Ogbuehi might not have gone head to head a lot, but the 6-4, 268-pound Arkansas end did give some fits to the Aggies’ other talented tackle, Germain Ifedi, for a good portion of the game as a pass rusher. Flowers received a third-round grade for the 2014 draft and returned to school. But most teams had higher marks on Flowers than former Arkansas teammate Chris Smith, who ended up being taken in Round 5 this spring by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Flowers likely will go higher and has a better all-around game than Smith, displaying constant pressure ability and sniffing out multiple screens, although Flowers was washed out of some run plays against the powerful Hogs on Saturday and will need to better shed blocks, use his hands and play with more power consistently to be considered a three-down end in the NFL. 

• Last week, we talked about Washington’s talented linebacker Shaq Thompson and his unique skills. This week, let’s focus on UCLA senior linebacker Erik Kendricks, who is coming off a terrific game against Arizona State last Thursday and who has been outstanding all season. Versus the Sun Devils, Kendricks displayed three-phase ability by knifing into the backfield, fighting off blocks and defending the pass exceptionally well. He recovered a fumble in the game, short-circuited several runs and screen plays, and dropped into coverage, showing enough versatility to be considered a first- or, more likely, a second-day draft pick. The 6-1, 230-pound Kendricks can overrun plays and will never be a true stack-and-shed linebacker, but he has the energy, will and instincts to be an NFL starter in the right scheme.

• Cincinnati quarterback Gunner Kiel still has work to do to convince NFL evaluators that he possesses starting ability, and the third-year sophomore might not even come out this year (or next). Some scouts have questioned his mental makeup, with his circuitous route to play for the Bearcats — first committing to LSU, then going to Notre Dame before transferring — the big reason for that doubt. But the 6-4, 208-pound Kiel’s hot start (1,041 passing yards, 14 TDs, two INTs in three games) and big performance in a loss to Ohio State have his stock back on the rise. He has four or more TD passes in every game and has taken only three sacks in 108 pass attempts.

Top 5 non-quarterbacks

Every week we’ll run a top-five list related to the 2015 NFL draft.

1. Williams, USC — Despite a slower start to the season, the scouting community knows how rare a talent he is.

2. Ogbuehi, Texas A&M — Offensive Line University keeps cranking out the NFL talent, and Ogbuehi could be better than Luke Joeckel or Jake Matthews.

3. Clemson OLB-DE Vic Beasley — Size will be his only limiting factor, but he has lit up the edge again this season.

4. Alabama WR Amari Cooper — Could he be drafted in the same range as Sammy Watkins was last year?

5. Alabama S Landon Collins — Better than Mark Barron and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix with rare speed and instincts.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm