Danny Shelton, DT - 12th overall pick

Danny Shelton, Washington, #55

Height	Weight	Arm	Hand	10 Yd	40 Yd	Bench	Vertical	Broad	3-Cone	Shuttle	60 Yd Shuttle
6-2	339	32	10 ¼	1.88	5.64	34	30.5	95	7.99	4.65	DNP

Game Film Evaluated:

Oregon (2014)

Arizona (2014)

Pros: Impressive lateral quickness, powerful punch and can toss blockers aside. He will pursue plays outside his area and will go to the sideline to get his guy. He can absolutely destroy a lineman if they let him get his hands on them. Better run defender than pass rusher. He can knock a center several yards into the backfield and blow a run play up. When he does locate the ball, he is an ideal two-gap nose tackle. Plays with a good rip move to offer some pass rush upside.

Cons: Inconsistent 2 gap player, struggles to find the ball at times. Doesn’t have the elite burst at the snap. Played at 5 technique at times vs Arizona but he is not athletic enough to pose any threat at that position. He has difficulty making the proper read on zone read play, gets caught being over aggressive vacating the middle.

Senior Bowl Report: DT Danny Shelton, Washington The mammoth interior lineman has been one of the hottest names in NFL draft circles the past few days and he lived up to the early billing. He impressed with his movement during drills and play when the defense went full speed against the offense. "He's probably a top-10 pick as we start this process," NFL Media analyst Charles Davis said of Shelton. "If you want to find out if a guy can play, you put him in there with Shelton and see if he can block him. Laken Tomlinson from Duke went in there and competed well with Shelton. Jamil Douglas (Arizona State) is a guy who I like more as a guard, he got in a nice shot with Shelton." Given his square-ish, 6-foot-2, 343-pound frame, it isn't surprising that Shelton was the North's stoutest run defender. It was the manner in which he beat double-teams, however, that might surprise observers. Shelton possesses remarkably light feet to maneuver between blockers, effectively splitting them and then extending his arms to drive the blocker closest to the ball back onto his heels. Unlike the inconsistent Davis, Shelton is well-known for his pursuit to the perimeter, which is why he has been a projected first-round pick by NFLDraftScout.com all year long. The most-watched matchup this week in the trenches was undoubtedly the one-on-ones between possible top-10 pick Danny Sheltonand Duke guard Laken Tomlinson. Tomlinson has handled Shelton the best of anybody on the North team and certainly has respect for the guy lining up against him. "He's a really physical cat, really low center of gravity," Tomlinson said of Shelton. "He's just a tough kid to block, honestly. That's why he's the best matchup here." Shelton entered the week with a good amount of hype and he lived up to the expectations, showing off rare movement skills for a 343-pound body. He also has the upper body power to match, but got away with bullying blockers in college and needs to develop his hand technique for the next level. As the week winds down, Shelton is the prevailing favorite to be the first player drafted from the Senior Bowl rosters. Some people believed coming into the week that Shelton could possibly be a top-10 selection in this year's draft, and he did nothing to dissuade them from that belief with his performance in practices. He's a big man at 6-2, 343, but he has better feet and stamina than you might think. Shelton is not just a sit-in-the-middle nose tackle. I think he can be a three-down defensive lineman at the next level -- he played against a lot of up-tempo offenses in the Pac-12 and he didn't come off the field much. Shelton reminds me of Casey Hampton early in his career with the Steelers. Duke OG Laken Tomlinson, who had drawn raves during the week’s practice sessions when he battled star Washington DT Danny Shelton to a standstill, was just as solid in the game. Like Kouandjio, Tomlinson pitched a shutout in the game as he showed textbook technique; he set up quickly and played with a wide base, stayed square, used his hands effectively and re-anchored nicely after absorbing the initial contact. (GBN Draft Report)

Summary: Danny Shelton is the definition of a nose tackle in either front capable of controlling the LOS and be a force to stop the run game inside. He has an impressive motor and will make his share of plays due to that and adequate quickness and more than adequate lateral quickness. Any finesse blockers will get destroyed by Shelton although he needs to do better job protecting his legs from cut blocks. He offers limited upside as a pass rusher and should be taken off the field versus shotgun exclusive passing downs. He will make his money in the run game. He needs to improve locating the ball quickly to properly play the 2-gap but confident he can do that. I project Shelton to a 3-4 nose tackle that will allow inside backers free space to make plays as a late 1^st round pick.