2014 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Daniel McCullers, DT, Tennessee

It's hard to believe that there are people out there who can make 6-foot-3, 320-pound Johnathan Hankins of the New York Giants seem small. Yet, Jared Lorenzen exists. So does Daniel McCullers, who stands at a preposterous 6-7, 353 pounds. How good is he, and where will he go in the upcoming 2014 NFL Draft?

Pros

- Like I mentioned, 6-7, 353 pounds is absurd. So is his arm length, coming in at 36 and 5/8 inches. The craziest part of it is that he keeps that weight on well. Looks as svelte as a 350+ pounder can be.

- Shows clear two gapping potential and can positively swallow up any runners in his way.

- Durability isn't an issue, hasn't ever missed a game.

- Takes on multiple blockers and can win.

- Has some quick twitch traits, and you see him make a few plays here and there that make you say "wow."

- As you can imagine, he's powerful. Really powerful.

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Cons

- Those quick twitch plays are few and far in between.

- If you can get past him, don't expect him to be in on the play 40 yards downfield, though its kind of understandable.

- Not much pass rush ability at the moment because of a dearth of pass rushing moves. Doesn't know how to use his hands.

- As with all defensive linemen that are tall, he suffers from becoming out-leveraged because his pad levels rise. That being said, he can still hold up despite that.

-Sluggish. Slow off the line.

Does He Fit With The Giants?

Depends on how you see him. Traditionalist thinking is that with Johnathan Hankins established as the 1 technique plugger, there's no reason to draft McCullers. However, its very easy to see two gigantic 1 techniques inside, like Hankins and McCullers, who can apply pressure on the QB simply because they both require multiple blockers. One of them is certain to be single teamed and you can just see the entire offensive line get forced backwards. One thing's for certain, if the Giants grab him and develop him, I don't see much room for running backs to win.

Prospect Video

Daniel McCullers vs South Carolina (2013) (via DCheeseB)

Shoutout to draftbreakdown for being such an incredible resource.

Big Board Rankings

Big Blue View - Not in top 100

Mocking The Draft - 188

CBS Sports - 108

Draft Countdown - 85

Draft Tek - 133

Final Thoughts

Out of all those rankings, I'd likely agree most with Draft Tek's. McCullers' value drops significantly because of his lack of pass rush ability. He's got the upside to be disruptive, but not nearly close enough to say that its a positive at this point.

I think he gets over-drafted by a desperate 3-4 team in need of a true nose tackle. I'm not alone in that thinking, as several pundits have him going in the second round. I think I'd absolutely draft him in the later rounds (thinking perhaps a trade back in round 4 or going in round 5) as possibly a back up to Johnathan Hankins. I am certainly intrigued by having two mammoths inside at one time, and its something that some teams like the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots employ from time to time.

While he's the classic underachiever, I've never heard of anything negative about him regarding his work ethic, so if he can get with a good defensive line coach (and I think Robert Nunn is definitely a good one) and refines his skill set and adds some pass rush technique, he could be a successful player in the league.