NFL Draft: 3 position groups that look worse after the combine
By Will Lomas
EDGE
What a massive disappointment this group was during the athletic testing this weekend.
After a streak of pretty good EDGE groups testing well over the last few years, the 2020 NFL Combine saw one player break the 7.00 3-cone mark.
Historically, very few test results have been as important to EDGEs as that drill because it quantifies your ability to accelerate through turns which is crucial for rushing the outside shoulder of an offensive tackle.
On top of that, most of the big name EDGEs like Chase Young, A.J. Epenesa, K’Lavon Chaisson, and Bradlee Anae all looked average for the most part.
The one exception to that was Curtis Weaver who has been compared to Derek Barnett a lot this offseason and it is a comparison that only picked up steam after the two were confirmed to stack up pretty well in the athletic testing.
It is very expensive to go out and get a quality EDGE in free agency, but at this point you almost have to start considering it if you need one like the Titans do. At 29 you were already going to be picking at the low end of the first round grades and were going to be lucky to get a quality EDGE that low.
Now you are going to have to reach for someone who you have to immediately defend to the public and to the media because he will almost inevitably have a red flag somewhere in his athletic testing.