NFL Draft 2021: Top 10 LA Rams prospects from the Big-12

Defensive end

The seventh prospect from the Big 12 is a defensive end from a somewhat familiar school of Baylor University. He is William Bradley-King (5.90-grade per NFL.com), and he hails from the alma mater of drafted linebacker Clay Johnston from the class of 2020. Let’s hope he won’t follow in Johnston’s footsteps and sign one with another team.

He is a first-class pass rusher. In 36 college football games, he chalked up 119 tackles, 29.5 tackles for a loss, and 18 quarterback sacks. That is a  solid get-in-the-quarterback’s-face type of production. But for an NFL role at outside linebacker, he’ll need to work on playing in space and shadowing receivers.

Perhaps that is why the 6-foot-4 252-pound edge rusher is not projected higher. He is a tweener edge player, too small for a defensive end, and no pass coverage background to anticipate a plug-n-play outside linebacker.  He will need to be coached up to be a full-fledged NFL player.

But before I scare you off too much, Bradley-King is definitely worth the effort. He is football smart in every sense of the word. He aims at a quarterback’s throwing arm, generating strip-sacks. He fakes to the outside to set up an inside pass rush. He will throw his hands up to block passes and the quarterback’s vision downfield. And he swivels on a dime in his movement to the passer.