Ed Oliver, the Houston DT, sits at No. 3 on the consensus board across 27 public boards. The tier model reads him as a NFL starter — 41% elite, 46% starter.
Athleticism
ESPN's Todd McShay: “Oliver is a highly disruptive, one-gap run-defender with good instincts and elite first-step quickness.”
Production Context
ESPN's Todd McShay: “He has excellent range and makes plays in pursuit.”
Production Context
NFL.com's Lance Zierlein: “Oliver's athletic ability is beyond rare, but his ability to add and maintain mass could be the critical for his future success.”
Technique
ESPN's Todd McShay: “He has violent hands but is undersized with shorter arms and needs to play in a one-gap scheme to be at his best.”
Sources · 6 · quotes 3
The report above is our synthesis. These links preserve the research trail; quoted language below remains the source's own.
- Todd McShay, ESPN
- Lance Zierlein, NFL.com
- Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN
- Lance Zierlein, nfl_com_zierlein
- Todd McShay, espn_todd_mcshay
- Mel Kiper Jr., espn_mel_kiper
“…Twitched-up ball of explosive fury from the moment he comes out of his stance, but his lack of NFL size and length creates challenges with his NFL projection. Oliver's athletic ability is beyond rare, but his ability to add and maintain mass could be the critical for his future success. He creates early advantages but must convert them into early disruption to prevent NFL size from swallowing him. Scheme fit will be…”
“…Oliver is a highly disruptive, one-gap run-defender with good instincts and elite first-step quickness. He has excellent range and makes plays in pursuit. He has violent hands but is undersized with shorter arms and needs to play in a one-gap scheme to be at his best. He hasn't realized his considerable potential when it comes to getting to the quarterback.…”
“…I don't think we've seen the best of Oliver quite yet, and that should terrify offensive linemen across the league. He will wreck games in the NFL. Stat to know: In 2018, Houston allowed 6.8 yards per play when Oliver was on the sideline and 4.9 when he was on the field.…”
Sourced synthesis from 6 scouting sources, not original film. How these reports are written →