A DE that runs a 4.41???? Or even if he plays LB, 4.41 speed is absurd. Geez, no wonder he got so insulted when someone asked who was faster between he and Mario Williams.

Does this push him into the top 20, possibly top 15?

I thought his performance at the Senior Bowl moved him up to that range. His workouts at the Combine just add credence to his "freak" status. I see him as a real candidate for a 3-4 OLB to Cleveland at #12.

Perfect fit for the Browns, if they like him... I'm pretty sure we were the first site to have him at 12 in our mock...

No doubt. I always laughed because I thought it was way too high. Now the joke's on me seeing that this guy is a freakin monster. I wonder what his vert is.

Yea, I've heard that the Browns really like him. He would be an ideal 3-4 OLB. I do wonder what his vert was. He was rumored to have a 45 inch or higher vert.

He was also voted the mvp d-lineman on his team by his teamates 2years in a row. So that goes to show his teammates favored him over Williams. And apparently he ran some low 4.4s at 230 lbs.

His vert was 39.5"... not quite 45", but still probably twice as much as mine.

Wow what an athlete. 6'5 39 inch vert with 4.43 speed? This guy sure he doesn't want to play WR?

Seriously though with 20 pounds without sacrificing that much athleticism he would be a scary DE. Right now he looks like a stud at OLB.

I heard from another website he wieghed in at 247. But the sneior bowl had him at 229. Which one is true or how much does he really weigh now.

245

Perfect size for a LB but he would need 2 years before being a decent size as a DE.

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Here is the quintessential "workout warrior." I could be wrong, but I don't think he's deserving of a top 15 grade at all, and that's about as deep as this draft actually is in true 1st round talent. Will he be a good player? Perhaps. Is he a 1st round talent? I don't think so. This is not a very strong draft at the top, thus players who can "wow" you with their measureables will make a jump. Five years from now, players who showed in their films they knew how to play, and did so game in and game out will be outplaying him. I look at him and see a great athlete, not a great football player. He certainly is no Mario Williams, and I highly doubt he'd have been half as successful if he hadn't been playing on the same line as someone so talented who drew the real pressure away from him. Hey, I hope someone does reach for him, because if they do, one of those 15 players with actual 1st round talent might drop to my Chargers at 19, or even my Giants.

I disagree. Manny Lawson is a workout warrior in the sense that he posted great numbers and has good measurables. BUT, he isn't a workout warrior in the sense that he will be taken higher than he should simply because of good work-outs.

Yes Lawson played with Mario Williams on the other side and good talent all around him. But so what? I don't like bashing guys like Leinart because "he's got all those weapons". That's the hand he was dealt- he's got Mario Williams on the other side- that shouldn't hurt his stock.

If you've seen NC State play, you've noticed that Lawson is a play-maker. He gets pressure even when he doesn't get the sack. How do we know that Lawson didn't make Mario look better? Why do we assume it's vice versa?

Most quintessential workout warriors are guys that scouts fall in love with after posting good workout numbers, and ignoring what they've done on the field. (Example: Fabian Washington last year.)

Look at Lawson's stats:
2005: 58 tackles, [B]19.5 TFL[B], 10.5 sacks, 14 QB hurries, 1 FF
2004: 32 TKL, 13 TFL, 7 sacks, 4 PBU, 4 QBH, 2 fumble recoveries

Arguably the best defensive player in this draft.

Really? He does not stand up to the run at all. He's a great pass rusher, that I will give you. But, he weighed 241 at the combine, even lower than the 245 he was previously listed at. At 6'6", he has the room to put on more weight, but what is he...a DE, or a LB? If he's a DE, he'll need another 30 pounds. He's a project right now, and in my opinion, projects are not top 15 prospects. My opinion right now is he will be best served if he's drafted by a 3-4 team that already has some good LBs and can bring him along slowly, grooming him for 2-3 years from now. They could take advantage of his pass rushing skills now, and teach him the LB position. His great speed will not help him unless his football instincts become rote for whatever position he ends up at, and at the present time, I do not believe he has those.

I had the same type of criticisms about Shawne Merriman last year...

241 is fine for an OLB in a 3-4. He can also add a little weight and be an ideal situational pass rusher in a 4-3...

I've seen Manny Lawson play, and he is instinctive, especially in terms of rushing the passer... If you've never seen him play all you have to do is look up the stats... Lawson had nearly 20 tackles for loss this year... That's run defense, not rushing the passer....

You cannot put up the numbers Lawson has consistently put up without being a good football player in the ACC...

Merriman was a "project" too, in the sense that he still could be coached up... Crennel+Lawson could be scary, IMO.

Andrew...it's not the 241 that scares me. If he were 6'3 or even 6'4 I'd have nothing to worry about. But he is 6'6"--way to long and lean to take the pounding at the next level. He absolutely MUST bulk up. Some players can, some can't. I tend to think if he were the type that could, he already would have for the combine, and yet he comes in even lighter than at the Senior Bowl??

I hope he makes me eat my words. He certainly has the speed and flexibility to transition to OLB. But he will (IMHO) have to...

I am not saying he isn't a great football player, but I personally think he was the third-best player in that 3-4 at NC State.

I dont think we can talk about DEs weight or height anymore unless they 5'5 100lbs and even then they might be able to slip through the gap. But you have two DEs on the same team that already broke the mold: Dwight Freeney 6'1 and Robert Mathis 235. Mathis and Freeney were both in the top 10 pass rushers and Mathis was at one point leading the NFL in sacks this season and has produced double digits in sacks 2 seasons in a row. So that is why I support Lawson as a DE or OLB.

Bingo. A freak is a freak. Look at Kearse, Rice, and Jason Taylor. All 3 are all-pro and all were undersized coming into the league. If Cleveland doesn't get him at 12 they are stupid.

I'll just have to agree to disagree here. I'm not saying he won't be a good player...perhaps he'll even become a great player. I just do not believe he's worth a top 15 pick. Somewhere on the back end of the 1st round is as high as I'd go for him, although he's very solid for the 2nd. That's my opinion, I could be wrong...it won't be the last time.

If you're the Browns how is he not a top 15 pick? Do you go with Greenway who was anything but impressive at the combine or a proven guy who's 6'6 and didn't dissapoint at the combine with speed as high as 4.41 in the 40?

I don't think that durability should be a question for anyone with no prior history of injury... If a guy's lasted undersized in the ACC, I would assume they can last at the next level, too...

Injuries do happen, but I don't think that being "undersized" plays as big of a role in injury as we think... Even if a WR is 70 pounds, if he's stayed healthy through an NCAA football career in a premeir conference, I would think that he could handle the NFL...