You can call any position you draft a hit or miss proposition, but I think that a pass rusher is probably the most hit or miss position you can draft. Players can be absolutely dominating in college and come to the NFL and do absolutely nothing, i.e. Vernon Gholston. All a scout or general manager can really do is evaluate what they see on film and hope that he works out. With that in mind, Barkevious Mingo from LSU looks great on film and while it is still difficult to say whether or not he will work out in the NFL, I would be shocked if ended up being a complete bust.

Mingo is an intimidating human being; standing at 6’4” he has some great size for a defensive end and has a good wingspan. He has a great knack for batting balls down at the line of scrimmage, which is certainly a skill that NFL scouts will love to see when they watch his film. His length is something that not many human beings have, and it’s something any NFL team would love to add to their front seven.

Barkevious mainly played defensive end in LSU’s primarily 4-3 defensive scheme and did a great job of pushing the line back and creating havoc in the backfield. He also did a pretty good job in coverage when asked to spy on the opposing running back. I could easily see Mingo moving to outside linebacker in a 3-4 if he can continue working on his coverage abilities. It seems like Mingo is very flexible and defensive coordinators will fall in love with figuring out ways to use him their defensive schemes with exotic blitzes and coverages.

While Mingo didn’t have an outrageously high sack total this past season, only recording 4.5 sacks, he was a force in the Tiger’s defense. On nearly every play I watched, I saw him push back the offensive and create a new line of scrimmage, creating chaos in the opposing team’s backfield. Mingo also plays the run fairly well; in three years for LSU Mingo recorded tackles for loss, a pretty impressive total.

One of the most impressive things I noticed about Mingo is his ability to take on double teams. Mingo was certainly known by other team’s offensive coordinators, so he had to deal with double teams regularly. Even with this hurdle, Mingo was still able to cause a lot of disruption, which is something that really impressed me while watching his film.

Mingo is just simply an impressive player to watch on film. He just seems like the kind of defensive player that can wear down an offensive line over the course of a game. He has great size, good speed, a good arsenal of pass rush moves, can play the run as well as the pass, and has some experience in pass coverage. I would have no problem taking Mingo in the top 10 and I think there is a good chance he makes an impact right away rushing the passer; that being said, there is no way I can be 100% that he won’t be a bust. I can only reiterate that I would be shocked if Mingo ended of being a flop of an NFL player.

Follow me on Twitter: @bill_slane

Highlights :