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Denver Broncos: Potential Prospects showed out at Miami Pro Day

By Jordan Lopez

MIAMI, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 21: Gregory Rousseau #15 of the Miami Hurricanes celebrates with the "Turnover Chain" after a sack and fumble recovery in the first half against the Central Michigan Chippewas at Hard Rock Stadium on September 21, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 21: Gregory Rousseau #15 of the Miami Hurricanes celebrates with the "Turnover Chain" after a sack and fumble recovery in the first half against the Central Michigan Chippewas at Hard Rock Stadium on September 21, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
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Jaelan Phillips, Denver Broncos
Oct 10, 2020; Clemson, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) throws to running back Travis Etienne (9) against Miami Hurricanes defensive line Jaelan Phillips (15) during the first quarte at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports /

The University of Miami had their official Pro Day on Monday, showcasing the talents of star pass-rushers  Gregory Rousseau, Jaelan Phillips, Quincy Roche, and tight end Brevin Jordan. The Denver Broncos will undoubtedly have some level of interest in all of those guys for the 2021 NFL Draft.

Scouts and NFL general managers, such as Bill Belichick, were in attendance for Miami’s Pro Day, getting a closer look at some potential talent to help their rosters.

As of now, the Denver Broncos have the ninth overall pick in the NFL Draft and George Paton has many options.

Some suggest trading up in the draft to select a quarterback, others say to stay put with the ninth pick and select the best player available, and then the rest of the people say to trade back in the draft to acquire more draft capital and still select a very talented player in the late teens, early twenties.

My best guess what the Broncos will do is that they are going to survey their trade options with the ninth overall pick and move back in the draft to obtain more draft capital and select somewhere in between the middle or the late parts of the first round.

If doing so, some intriguing prospects from the University of Miami will be available to the Denver Broncos with two potential first-round pass rushers in Gregory Rousseau and Jaelan Phillips.

Gregory Rousseau (EDGE)

In 2019, Rousseau was arguably one of the best pass rushers in college football alongside the former second overall pick Chase Young.

His stats go as followed:

  • 15.5 Sacks (2nd best in the country behind Chase Young)
  • 19.5 TFL
  • 34 Solo Tackles with 20 Assisted
  • 2 Fumbles Forced
  • 1 Fumble Recovery

Nonetheless, Rousseau was the best player for the Hurricanes and simply one of the best players in college football as a redshirt freshman.

The following year, he opted out of the 2020 season and was determined to prepare and get ready for the 2021 NFL Draft, and on Monday, he finally got his moment to remind everyone why he is a first round talent.

The official measurements for the star pass rusher were:

  • Height- 6’5
  • Weight- 266
  • Hand- 11
  • Arm- 34 3/4
  • Wingspan- 83 1/4

Rousseau ran a 4.68 in the 40-yard dash with a vertical jump of 30.0, a broad jump of 9’7″, and had 21 reps on the bench press. He also tallied an unofficial 7.50 on his 3-cone drill.

Some scouts around the league still have some questions on his ability to perform as of late, since opting out of the 2020 season, but if he gets back to playing how he was in 2019, he can have a Chase Young type impact for an NFL team right away.

Jaelan Phillips (EDGE)

If I am George Paton and I have a chance to select Jaelan Phillips from the University of Miami, I will not give up anything on selecting this young man. The potential for him on any defense, especially Fangio’s, is through the roof.

With Rousseau not playing last year, Phillips made an immediate impact transferring to Miami from UCLA.

With a year of uncertainty, it was certain that Jaelan Phillips was the best player on defense and arguably on the whole Miami roster.

Playing 10 games for the Hurricanes, he recorded:

  • 8.0 Sacks (Team Best)
  • 15.5 TFL (Team Best)
  • 21 Solo Tackles with 24 Assisted
  • 1 INT
  • 3 Pass Deflections (Team Best amongst DL)

Viewing Phillips highlights this past year was simply eye-opening. A guy that is that big and strong and fast making big plays on the field consistently is what makes him so great. Games like Virginia Tech, when he took the game upon himself and dominated and versus Duke as well. Clemson had to focus their whole offensive game plan around Phillips and still got a sack against Trevor Lawrence.

At the Pro Day, his official measurements are:

  • Height- 6’5
  • Weight- 260
  • Hand- 9 3/4
  • Arm- 33 1/4
  • Wingspan- 80 3/4

Phillips impressed many people out their with his performance at Coral Gables, notching in with a 4.56 40-yard dash time!

He also repped out 21 times on the bench press, having a broad jump of 10’5″, 36 on his vertical jump, tallying a 4.12 20-yard shuttle, and a 7.01 on the 3-cone drill.

It is without a doubt that Jaelan is a freak athlete and proved it more today while putting on a show.

The Denver Broncos should strongly consider selecting Phillips in the first round or (IF he drops) even second round. You can only imagine what Vic Fangio can do with a special and unique talent like him. From his ability to get to the passer, to knocking down balls at the LOS, when it is all said and done we can be talking about how Jaelan Phillips was one of the best players to come out of the 2021 NFL Draft.

https://twitter.com/CanesFootball/status/1376631846499328000?s=20

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