FanPost

LSU Tigers 2015 NFL Draft Scouting Report

This is a team that faces a lot of attrition every year. It may appear that since I don't have many guys getting drafted that they are not extremely talented. That'd be wrong. They are strong at QB,RB and WR but the talent isn't draft eligible. They'll be a force for years to come.

#41 Travis Dickson (rSr.) TE/H-Back 6-3 230. Has appeared in 30 games with 1 start. Has been versatile and a quick study. Has lined up out wide and in the backfield. 12 career catches and won't be the primary focus at the position. One of six TE's on the team. UDFA.

#55 Elliott Porter (rSr.) C 6-4 300. Has appeared in 22 games with 13 starts. Great frame for the position. Long arms and well distributed weight. Looks the part. Lacks strength and power. Gets pushed back far too often in pass protection which collapses and shrinks the pocket drastically. Doesn't get much push in the run game. Can't steer and redirect to open run lanes. Decent at the second level but not the type you'd want in the trenches. UDFA.

#75 Evan Washington (rSr.) OG/RT 6-6 334. Has appeared in 13 games with 1 start. Big, strong and talented. Missed the 2011 and 2012 seasons due to injury and academics. Hadn't taken a snap in a game until 2013. Was the teams 6th man off the bench. Appears as though that that'll be his role this season as well. UDFA.

#31 D. J. Welter (rSr.) MLB 6-1 235. Has appeared in 21 games with 13 starts. Lines up his teammates and makes defensive calls. Is a heady player with a high football IQ which enables him to be at the right place seemingly all the time. Is very productive and is a solid tackler. Is undersized and isn't as athletic as you'd like. Can at times be in perfect position but still get beaten on a play because of his lack of foot speed. Needs to be covered by his linemen to be effective. Could eventually be displaced by a younger more talented teammate before long. Is worth a look because he brings a lot to the table. Has a good football head on his shoulders and if put in an ideal situation he could surprise a lot of people. UDFA.

#32 Jalen Collins (rJr.) CB 6-2 195. Has appeared in 26 games with 3 starts. Tall, lanky and physical. He possesses the traits that are en vogue in today's game. Likes to jam WR's at the LOS and is at his best in man to man. Struggled early last season in man coverage and in zone early and lost his starting spot to a freshman. Hasn't played up to his talent level and hasn't been inconsistent. A loss of aggression and poor tackling hasn't helped him either. Bit too much on double moves. Doesn't appear he'll be getting a starting position back again so his best bet would be at NCB where he can get a lot of reps. Has an enviable skill set but hasn't played anywhere near it. Still has a high upside and I see him declaring after an improved season. 5th-6th.

#70 La'el Collins (Sr.) LT 6-5 315. Has played in 32 games with 25 starts (13 at LG and 12 last season at LT). Is absolutely dominant in the run game. He pulverizes opponents. It would be hard to find any better at it. He's physically imposing with long arms and really strong hands. Has a powerful leg drive as well. Gets out to the second level and destroys LB's. Is a very good pass protector but I'm not sure he's elite there. Can handle strength and power coming right at him but its speed that exposes a flaw. His feet aren't on that elite level. He's not lumbering but he isn't a dancing bear either. Had problems like anyone would with Georgia's Leonard Floyd but it showed how his kick slide isn't very impressive. I'd look at his matchup against someone with speed like Donte Fowler Jr. This season as a barometer. Mid to late 1st.

#27 Kenny Hilliard (Sr.) RB 6-0 233. Has appeared in 37 games with 1 start. Built for a physical brand of football. A tough inside runner with surprising speed for a big back (4.55 40?). Has been LSU's short yardage back. Has only 212 career carries but 21 have gone for TD's which is a fine ratio. Has every down back abilities, he can run it, has solid hands and is good in pass protection. He has been a part of a very deep and talented backfield so his carries have always been limited. They will continue to be because of an extremely talented freshman and another solid senior back. Could go down as a steal in the late rounds or as I see him going as an UDFA.

#14 Terrence Magee (Sr.) RB 5-9 214. Has appeared in 27 games with 0 starts. 86 of his 114 career carries came a season ago. Took on the role of the 3rd down RB. Low center of gravity aids in his tremendous balance. Is a between the T's runner but can bounce it outside as well. Has good patience and vision. Was depended on more as the season wore on, rushing for 358 yards in their last 5 games. Has good hand as well. Should be teams number two back this season. Should get an increase in carries but getting drafted may be a daunting task. UDFA.

#26 Ronald Martin (Sr.) SS/FS 6-1 218. Has appeared in 24 games with 8 starts. Started 7 games at FS before missing the rest of the season to a foot injury. Put on 18 pounds over the winter and moved to SS. Looks to have improved his tackling which was a major issue for him last season. He also was undisciplined and didn't stick to his assignments at times, giving up big plays. He's a good athlete with good ball skills but he didn't show that last season. He's at a new position and there may be a learning curve there. Needs a big bounce back season in order to get drafted. 7th-UDFA.

#59 Jermauria Rasco (Sr.) DE 6-3 262. Has played in 35 games with 13 starts. Athletic with a nonstop motor. Has long arms to help him keep blockers away from his frame in the run game as he did. Is stout there and doesn't give up much ground. Has an average burst off of the snap and will never be a sack artist. Had 4 sacks a season ago and 3 of them were from bad and/or missed blocking assignments. Has had to have shoulder surgery two off seasons in a row on the same shoulder so this will be examined thoroughly. 6th-UDFA.

#4 Kwon Alexander (Jr.) OLB 6-2 218. Has appeared in 20 games with 11 starts. Exceptional athlete! Sideline to sideline ability is an understatement. Can chase down a ball carrier from one side of the field to the other. Plays great in space but his forte is his abilities in pass coverage. He can cover WR's, TE's and speed backs. Has great instincts. Reads and reacts quickly. You'd think for a player with less than ideal size for the position would be a liability in the run game but not him. He's taken on some of the SEC's biggest and best T's and he stands up strong against even them to make the tackle. Is a great ST performer as well. Taking over the WLB position this year after Lamin Barrow's departure. He'll be in position to make more plays now and I expect that he's going to make more than any other LB in the SEC. He's added more weight and muscle this offseason. A future franchise type player. 1st round.

#74 Vadal Alexander (Jr.) LG 6-6 342. Has appeared in 26 games with 22 starts (13 at LG and 9 at RT). Big, powerful athlete. He's mammoth and hard to get around. Has dominant traits. Has powerful hands and if he gets them on an opponent they're finish. His versatility is a bonus. He's a good athlete for someone his size but that size does come at a cost. He's not very nimble on his feet and speed and/or change of direction give him problems. His balance isn't great and if faced with power and speed combined his technique suffers. Pulling isn't a strength either. He often lunges and whiffs while attempting to make blocks on the second level. I don't think he declares but if he does he an go in the 6th-7th round range.

#69 Fehoko Fanaika (rSr.) RG 6-6 348. Has appeared in 12 games with 0 starts. Big, strong and surprisingly nimble road grader should be the starter this season. Another power lineman in the run game who's technique may not be as good in pass protection. UDFA.

#85 Dillon Gordon (Jr.) TE 6-5 286. Has appeared in 26 games with 12 starts. Has only 6 receptions in two years of work and he's known as a blocker. He isn't a physical blocker though, he doesn't own his blocks. He lacks aggression and often loses against guys much smaller. On the ground too much. Shouldn't declare.

#65 Jerald Hawkins (rSo.) RT 6-6 301. Has appeared in 13 games with 13 starts (12 at RT and 1 at LT). Big and athletic with long arms. Has the potential for more growth. Is very strong. Is an athletic T but hasn't used it to make many consistent performances. Can dominate and in turn get dominated. Can and will improve especially after all the reps he got last year (808 offensive snaps) but I don't see a player who'd be ready to declare after this season.

#94 Danielle Hunter (Jr.) DE 6-6 255. Has appeared in 25 games with 10 starts. Awesome athlete! Tremendous wingspan. Shows glimpses of how good he can be if he stays low and uses his hands. Is very quick, fast and rangy. Has a nonstop motor. Has added size going from 241 to 247 and up to 251 up to 255. Was playing on pure talent it seemed last season. Never put consistently good performances together. Inconsistent in his ability to stay low and never really uses his hands to fight much. Played with poor technique. Doesn't really shoot off the LOS as fast as he should. Pass rush hasn't been extraordinary. Gets blocked easily by TE's in the run game. Putting on weight is hard for him. Body fat has been as low as 2% and no higher than 6%. His weight will go down as the season goes along, losing some strength is to be expected. Needs more performances like the one he had against Florida a season ago and not like the one he had against Alabama. He has 1st round ability but oftentimes played like an UDFA. Has been a force since the spring and if he follows thru with that work he declares. Late 1st-early 3rd.

#45 Deion Jones (Jr.) OLB 6-2 208. Has appeared in 26 games with 0 starts. Is extremely athletic. Looks to run no slower than a 4.5 40. Hasn't had a great deal of defensive snaps but he does stand out for his speed and how disruptive he can be. Is a ST weapon on kickoffs. Can blitz the QB and is a sure tackler. After a terrific spring he's primed for a lot of work at OLB. He's be a starter most other places but the depth is really good. Needs to add weight. Doesn't declare.

#23 Lamar Louis (Jr.) OLB 6-0 216. Has appeared in 24 games with 5 starts (starts came at MLB). Another undersized but really fast and athletic player. Has the versatility to start at Mike and to now be that starter at Sam. Needs to add the mass necessary for the next level because otherwise he's a S right now. Doesn't declare.

#28 Jalen Mills (Jr.) FS/CB 6-1 189. Has appeared in 26 games with 26 starts (25 at CB and 1at FS). Lanky with long arms. Stronger than he looks. Has excellent blitzing abilities, knows how to bend to prevent the T from getting a clean block. Stout as a run defender, doesn't give up ground and isn't afraid to stick his head in there against anyone. Struggled on the outside and got picked on and burned and moved to NCB. Played better there. Has since been arrested and is suspended indefinitely so his status is in question. Doesn't declare at this point.

Non draft eligible player(s) of note:

#7 Leonard Fournette (Fr.) RB 6-1 224. Size, speed, balance and vision. All are elite. Will come in as a true freshman and take over the starting role in this offensive backfield. No small feat.

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