NFL Draft Watch: Can undersized pass rusher Vic Beasley crack Round 1?

What does the NFL do with a 235-pound pass rusher who completely burns up the edges in college football and short-circuits almost every passing game he faces?

That’s the debate that will linger with Clemson defensive end Vic Beasley over the next six months as his draft stock is carefully weighed. There are not too many players who have projected to have the same body dimensions, edge speed and tenacity that Beasley has.

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Khalil Mack and Dee Ford, the fifth and 22nd picks, respectively, in the 2014 NFL draft, are close comparisons among this year’s rookies. So, too, are Von Miller, Bruce Irvin, Robert Mathis, Cameron Wake and Rosevelt Colvin from previous draft classes. But all of those players either were bigger than Beasley is or they bulked up after entering the NFL.

“Body-wise, he’s probably closest to Von,” one college scout told Shutdown Corner about Beasley. “People forget, but [DeMarcus] Ware wasn’t very big either [coming out of Troy]. But what a lot of them have — Ware, the Jason Taylor types, Aldon Smith, all those — is length. I’ll want to see that number, those numbers, on his height and [arm length].”

What is not in question is Beasley’s first step. It’s lightning-quick, and most college left tackles just can’t handle it. Florida State’s Cameron Erving was beaten by Beasley before even getting out of his stance in the Seminoles’ victory this season, one in which he has seven sacks

His seventh sack this season — which tied the Clemson all-time mark at 28 — came in last Saturday’s 41-0 stomping of North Carolina State in which Beasley whipped around the edge, stripped Wolfpack QB Jacoby Brissett and all in one motion scooped up the loose ball and ran 16 yards into the end zone. There likely were receivers who were still running their routes on the play while Beasley was in the end zone.

“Years ago there was a kid at Virginia Tech named Corey Moore, [and Beasley] kind of reminds me of a juiced-up, jacked-up, bigger and better version of him. And teams faced the same problem then: What do you do with him? [Moore] was, what, not even 6-foot and maybe 225 pounds? But every Saturday he’s living in the backfield, just torching teams off the edge. What do you do with him? He played with his hair on fire, and that’s kind of what I see with Beasley too.

“Now Corey kicked around for a few years, but the thing that helps [Beasley] now is that there are a lot more teams using the 3-4 that can help him at that size, and he’s just a far better all-around player. He’s also taller and doesn’t just use his speed. He has some pop in him, too. That will help him.”

The scout believes Beasley will be a first-round pick, perhaps even a high one, but not as a defensive end. He said feels Beasley will fit best as a weak-side 3-4 edge rusher or, perhaps more likely, as a 4-3 linebacker in the mold of Miller and the role he plays in the Denver Broncos’ defense.

“Joey Porter was another one in that mold,” he said. “Now Joey was a different cat. He had that different gene that some of these guys have. I’ll want to see in the [interviews] what [Beasley] is like.” 

Beasley certainly has confidence. Earlier this season, Beasley said he thought he was a better player than Jadeveon Clowney, who was the first overall pick in the draft this May, a comment that raised a few eyebrows. They’re certainly different players, anyway, with Clowney being more of a Range Rover and Beasley more of, say, a Ford GT.

Last year, Beasley considered declaring early and received a second-round grade but returned to school to finish his degree. It’s likely, even with his less-than-ideal measurables, that he’ll end up in Round 1 this coming spring.

TIDBITS

• There’s an excellent chance that Louisville WR DeVante Parker will play his first game this weekend against Clemson, and Parker will have a chance in the second half of the season to make his claim as being the best draft-eligible receiver in college football, which many felt he was prior to Parker suffering a fracture in his foot before the start of the season. The 6-3, 208-pound Parker has incredible explosion, can play up in the air (perhaps more so than Alabama’s Amari Cooper, another elite WR prospect) and has a terrific wingspan. He’s also strong and agile, but we’ll have to see how the injury has affected that agility over the past two months while he has been rehabbing.

• Against Nebraska, Michigan State DE Shilique Calhoun played like a man with something to prove. Prior to that game, Marcus Rush, not Calhoun, had been the more consistent performer for the Spartans. But Calhoun was dominant in the 27-22 win over the Huskers. One play, he was knifing into the backfield to stop the run, on the next he was even dropping into deep coverage on a tight end. Yes, the Huskers appeared to shade their blocking schemes toward Rush, but Calhoun had a sack and a 39-yard fumble return and has the kind of angular, athletic build that a lot more teams seek in a 4-3 end, provided he can continue adding strength.

• The name of Colorado State OT Ty Sambrailo is starting to heat up in scouting circles, and it’s possible that he could go higher this coming spring than former CSU center Weston Richburg did when he was a second-round pick of the New York Giants in May. Whereas Richburg was extremely strong for his position, Sambrailo could stand to add a little more bulk on his frame and power in his game for the left tackle spot he has been playing and could project to play in the NFL. But Sambrailo has the raw template and a fiery on-field demeanor to be very attractive as a top-50 possibility in the NFL.

• The next Steve Smith? We’re not ready yet to vault Utah senior WR Kaelin Clay up to Smith’s lofty level, but the similarly built Clay has some similar traits to what Smith offered when he came out from the Utes a generation ago. The 5-10, 188-pound Clay has four return touchdowns in five games this season and has the vision, quickness and knack for moving in traffic to be a prime returner target. But he also projects as a No. 3 or 4 receiver in the NFL, so it wouldn’t be stunning to see him land in the middle rounds as an intriguing prospect.

Top 5 pass rushers

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

1. Beasley — In terms of raw juice off the edge, there are few, if any, better, even at his size.

2. Randy Gregory, Nebraska — Dion Jordan-like athleticism with fewer questions about focus.

3. Shane Ray, Missouri — Another freak athlete who wins with quickness and effort; current NCAA sack leader with 8.

4. Mario Edwards Jr., Florida State — Could opt to return to school after slower start to junior season, but terrific skills.

5. Leonard Williams, USC — Not a true edge player, Williams nonetheless can penetrate inside or out in almost any technique.

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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