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DE/OLB Dante Fowler, Jr., Florida -- I absolutely love watching Fowler play, but there is no question he has a long ways to go. Fowler's measurables are all over the place online -- he's universally regarded as 6'3", but his weight is listed anywhere from 260 to almost 280. Watching his tape this year, he looks like a trim, athletic 260. Fowler's forte is obvious to anybody watching any tape on him: the guy penetrates. He does an outstanding job getting into the backfield, and forces even the best offensive lines he faces to constantly double- and triple-team him to keep him neutralized. As a result, his sack numbers are pretty puny. It's doubtful that NFL offenses will be able to double-team him with any frequency, however, so it's likely a team will look at him as early as the 1st round. He does need to work on his fundamentals: his tackling is atrocious (it has cost him several sacks and TFLs over the past two years), and he does struggle at the point of attack against the run. There are questions if he can play the OLB position, but he looks hella fast and I think he's perfectly able to do it with some grooming. And perhaps most damning, there are questions about how well he responds to coaching -- the Florida coaches have a term called the Dante Fowler Way, which means if Dante doesn't see the results from doing things his coaches' way, he'll start freelancing. In the right situation, with the right locker room leadership, and the right longterm coaching, I think Fowler could be a major sack artist in the NFL. But who's willing to take that gamble, and where? I'd consider him in the 2nd round if I thought I had a locker room and staff that could handle him.
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