ESPN NFL

There have been some major changes in recent years regarding the defensive line, and this draft will continue to shed light on those changes. Over the past few years, defensive ends appear to be getting smaller and smaller. On the flip side, defensive tackles are getting much bigger.

In terms of the defensive end position, you would have to qualify this year's class as average. Mario Williams of North Carolina State is the cream of the crop and will be a top-10 pick, but even he has flaws. Williams has been compared to Julius Peppers (Carolina) by some experts, but you don't see that on tape. He doesn't play the run as well as Peppers did when he came out.

There also has to be some concern about whether Williams is going to be the 10-sack-a-year guy some think he can be. At 6-foot-7, Williams plays a little tall; he doesn't have that explosive quick twitch and takes far too many plays off. Williams should be a very good player, but the next Peppers? The jury is still out on that. You also have to question just how great Williams is because of the lack of depth at the defensive end position. Is he really a top-five pick, or is he a top-five pick because he is the only true defensive end who will go in the first round?

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