What Might Best Predict A DE's NFL Success?

[ChiefMojo]

beach tribe you are right. 3-4 DL are so hard to evaluate because good DT's in general are very difficult to evaluate. Finding 3-4 DE's as a whole aren't difficult but finding good ones that do their job the way you want them to do is.

Personally when I'm looking at 3-4 DE's, I first off look at their height, weight, arm length, ability to engage/shed blocks, can they beat a double, etc. Do they stay within the confines of their position or do they try to become something they aren't (a pure pass rusher you find in a 4-3 DE). It is even harder when your evaluating DE's in a 2-Gap system. Unless the player played in that type of system in college, you have to project if they will be able to take on the demands of taking on 2-Gaps.

Imo the three best 3-4 DE's in this draft are Fletcher Cox, Michael Brockers and Kendall Reyes. Cox can play either 4-3 DT or 3-4 DE very well as imo Brockers and Reyes are purely a 3-4 DE's.