Will Sutton, Defensive Tackle, Arizona State
At 6'1" and 315 pounds, Sutton himself indicated that he's not at the weight he wants to be at when he spoke with eDraft's Luke Inman on Monday.
The two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, has a tremendous amount of lower-body strength and does a great job driving offensive linemen back into the backfield. He's not necessarily a pure 3-4 interior lineman, but his best fit is playing in that type of scheme.
Sutton has a chance to go up against some elite talent in practice this week, including guards Gabe Jackson as well as centers Bryan Stork and Travis Swanson. He should also see the likes of Cyril Richardson and Tyler Larsen in the real game come Saturday.
Dee Ford, Defensive End, Auburn
Reports from our guys down at Mobile seem to suggest that Ford was impressive in the first day of practice on Monday, which shouldn't come as much of a surprise. The 243-pound pass-rusher will need to add some way if he wants to play with his hands down in a 4-3, but seems to be more of a fit as an outside linebacker in a 3-4.
Due to great speed and athleticism, Ford's best asset is his pass-rush ability. He utilizes fluid technique and hip movement to beat blockers on the outside, another sign that he will be best with his hands up at the next level. One of the most interesting matchups in practice will be Ford going up against small-school product Billy Turner. Both have an opportunity to prove that they can go earlier than anticipated in May.
Chris Borland, Inside Linebacker, Wisconsin
Borland has an opportunity to prove that he can be a Day 1 starter out of the gate. As a redshirt senior with 40-plus starts of experience at Wisconsin, there is not a question about Borland's ability to maintain his positioning on the field, especially in the box.
Equally as good against the run as the pass, Borland's lack of size does cause issues as it relates to shedding blocks. His best fit is as a 4-3 inside linebacker that maintains the gaps between the hashes.
Borland will also be given the opportunity to go up against the likes of Gator Hoskins, C.J. Fiedorowicz and Jacob Pedersen in the big game come Sunday.
Kyle Van Noy, Outside Linebacker, BYU
There are many of us in the scouting community that refuse to look at frame/build when it comes to certain prospects. While Van Noy doesn't stand a chance in a game of tape against the likes of Anthony Barr, he's an uber-productive pass-rush threat in a 3-4 scheme ahd possesses a wide away of moves to get to the quarterback. Interestingly enough, Van Noy indicated to us on Monday that live on the line, "he'd rather play in the 3-4" as an outside linebacker. That's where we view his best fit at the next level to be.
Pierre Desir, Cornerback, Lindenwood
A small-school product of all small-school products, Desir continues to receive a ton of play around the scouting community. He boasts the length and range that teams drool over leading up to the draft.
More than that, Desir is always around the ball making plays, continually showing that he has the athleticism to make it at the next level.
There are, however, major concerns over the level of talent that Desire went up against in college.
He will have a chance to quiet these questions against the likes of Cody Hoffman and Jordan Matthews on Saturday as well as Josh Huff and Shaq Evans in practice.
Deone Bucannon, Safety, Washington State
Right up there with Craig Loston as one of the hardest hitters in the 2014 NFL draft, Bucannon needs to prove that he has the ability to cover and not just be an in-the-box safety. While he might not get a ton of chances to do this in Mobile, you can expect his tremendous skillset and freakish build to open eyes among the scouting community during the week. If coaches decide to showcase Bucannon's ability to coverage, it will be interesting to see whether he can go up against the likes of Arthur Lynch, among others.