NFL.com's Charley Casserly has the Redskins selecting Florida defensive lineman Caleb Brantley with the No. 17-overall pick in his latest mock draft.
With the NFL Scouting Combine over, the Redskins will begin to focus in on a few potential first-round picks come next month's NFL Draft. One area of improvement the Redskins could look to bolster in the draft is their defensive line, the most common position group mock drafts have the Redskins taking in the first round.
That is why NFL.com's Charley Casserly has the Redskins nabbing Caleb Brantley with the 17th overall pick in his first mock draft after Indianapolis.
"The rebuilding of the defensive line continues," Casserly writes.
In three seasons at the University of Florida, Brantley tallied 80 total tackles (20.5 for loss) and 5.5 sacks.
During his junior season, Brantley recorded 8.5 tackles for loss – tied for Gators' lead -- added 2.5 sacks and he was named to second-team All-SEC in 2016.
As a freshman, the Crescent City, FlA., native had 21 tackles and played so well throughout the year that he was eventually named a starter for the team's bowl game. In 2015, Brantley became a full-time starter as a sophomore and garnered seven tackles for loss and three sacks.
As a junior, Brantley had back-to-back great games against two of the nation's best running attacks in LSU and Florida State, where he had five tackles in each of the two games. In his final game at Florida the 6-foot-3, 307 pounder had a strong performance at the 2016 Outback Bowl, where he had 3 tackles and a sack.
According to his NFL.com draft profile, Brantley has a "compact frame with lean muscle mass and thickness in his arms and legs.
"Has tremendous play strength and can dislodge guards with hip torque. Plays hungry and with passion. Able to plant his flag and stand his ground against double teams. When he gets the snap timed up, it's over. Has the initial quickness and play strength to get into the gap and plow through any and all redirect block attempts. Wants blocker to feel the power in his initial punch. Works off blocks and towards the play. Better pass rusher talent than sack total would indicate. Quick punch and pry opens blockers' edge allowing him to wedge into the pocket. Efficient mover with no wasted motion. Considers one-on-one blocks a sign of disrespect," his profile states.
NFL.com's Lance Zierlein compared Caleb Brantley to Rams' All-Pro Aaron Donald.
"Powerful, stout defensive tackle with the quickness to play the three-technique and the power to play the nose," Zierlein writes. "Brantley has the talent and traits that should appeal to both two-gap and one-gap defenses. While we haven't seen Brantley play in even half of Florida's defensive snaps in a single year, the talent is there to become an early starter and a defensive force up front."
