South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Which Hurricanes DE will go first in NFL draft?
Making the case for Rousseau, Phillips
Jaelan Phillips may have said it best about prospects’ different paths to the NFL draft when describing his own unorthodox journey.
“Everybody’s path to success isn’t linear at all. There’s ups and downs,” he said after completion of Miami’s Pro Day on Monday afternoon.
Nowhere could that be more true than in the opposite routes the Hurricanes’ two likely firstround defensive ends took to get to this point. Now, the top draft question surrounding UM in the final month before the April 29 first
round is, “Which one will get selected first?”
Rousseau was an under-theradar three-star recruit before landing in Coral Gables out of small-but-successful Hialeah Champagnat Catholic, where he played various positions including wide receiver.
He burst onto the scene with
a15 ½-sack redshirt freshman season in 2019, and that was enough to solidify his draft stock to the point where he could opt out of the 2020 season amid the
COVID-19 pandemic. Ironically, Rousseau’s opt-out is what opened up the greater opportunity for Phillips, wearing Rousseau’s old No. 15, in the 2020 season. Phillips, first attending UCLA, was once the top recruit nationally in the 2017 class, according to the 247 Sports composite rankings. A wrist injury in a moped accident and multiple concussions were among the injuries that led to his momentary retirement from football before
transferring to Miami. Sitting out the 2019 season due to transfer rules, he transformed his body in the weight room, leading to his eight sacks and 15 ½ tackles for loss in 10 games last season.
While Rousseau’s standout season nearly doubled Phillips’ in sacks, Phillips won on Pro Day, which was even more critical than other years with the absence of a scouting combine due to the pandemic. His 4.56second 40-yard dash bested Rousseau’s 4.68. Phillips’ shuttle time was 4.12 seconds, and Rousseau’s was 4.45. Phillips had better vertical and broad jumps, and both benched 21 reps of 225 pounds.
“I think I’m the No. 1 defensive end,” said Phillips on Monday as he quieted draft concerns over his injuries and brief retirement as much as he could, “and I think my performance [on Pro Day] definitely solidified my rankings in a lot of people’s eyes.”
Phillips (6-5, 260) has the athletic edge over Rousseau (6-6 ½, 266), but the latter has elite measurables. Rousseau was measured out to have an 83 ¼-inch wingspan and 11-inch
hands, which will make NFL general managers and scouts salivate for his ability to keep blockers off of him and get his hand up to bat balls down.
Miami coach Manny Diaz, watching with his players on Monday, was taken aback by Rousseau after he was away from the team over the fall season.
“We were watching Greg from across the indoor [practice facility], and we were like, ‘Did Greg get taller?’ “Diaz said. “Maybe just from not being around him, we don’t remember how tall Greg actually is.”
While the last game film available on Rousseau is from a year and a half ago, not uncommon this draft as several other top prospects opted out, he proved versatile.
“I don’t have a lot of film, but I feel like I showed a lot in the time that I did play, my redshirt freshman year,” Rousseau said. “I feel I proved a lot. I also feel like I’m a very versatile athlete, and I fit in a lot of schemes.”
In 2019, Rousseau was involved in third-down pass-rush packages where he would line up inside and
beat centers and guards to get to the quarterback. He wasn’t even a starter on the edge to begin the year, earning that promotion in the middle of the season, which makes his sack total that was second only to Chase Young that year even more impressive. Rousseau added that his time away helped him improve his first step, hands and added versatility of being able to stand up on the edge.
Most mock drafts have the Hurricanes’ two pass-rushers selected as the second and third defensive ends, after Michigan’s Kwity Paye.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has Phillips going first to the Miami Dolphins with the No. 18 pick and Rousseau ending up in Indianapolis with the Colts and the 21st pick. ESPN colleague Todd McShay’s latest mock draft has Rousseau going No. 26 to the Cleveland Browns and Phillips going 30th to the Buffalo Bills.
CBS Sports mocks Phillips at 26 to the Browns and Rousseau at 28 to the New Orleans Saints. WalterFootball has Phillips going to the Baltimore Ravens at 27 and Rousseau to the Bills at 30.