2019 NFL Draft: 10 players who could fall out of the first round

The sheer volume of talented defensive tackles could cause Clemson’s Christian Wilkins to slip to the early part of day two.

Wilkins isn’t likely to catch up with Alabama’s Quinnen Williams, who appears to be the consensus No. 1 ranked defensive tackle in this draft class. That leaves Wilkins in competition with a slew of talented prospects who will be scraping and clawing their way toward first round contention.

Following Williams, in some order there will be, along with Wilkins, Houston’s Ed Oliver, Mississippi State’s Jeffery Simmons, Clemson teammate Dexter Lawrence, Ohio State’s Dre’Mont Jones, Notre Dame’s Jerry Tillery, and Miami’s Gerald Willis III all competing for first round consideration.

Not all of those players will be picked in the first round, some will fall to gleeful hands early on during day two. Wilkins could be one of those players, or he could easily be a standout during the combine and his pro-day and ultimately jump toward the Top-15.

Wilkins has a lot of versatility and plays with a high-energy motor. The Clemson captain could have been a first round pick last season but returned to the Tigers in order to win another National Championship. In the process, Wilkins put together his best statistical season in college, racking up 14 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks.

There are no real red flags with Wilkins like there are with some others, but he doesn’t possess the length you would look for in a prototype three-technique defensive tackle in the NFL. That could cause him issues going up against NFL-caliber interior linemen at the next level.

I fully expect Wilkins to end up being picked in the first round, but there will be a mad dash of talented prospects hoping to usurp him and take his place among the first 32 selections.