The Washington Huskies started a new era with former Boise State coach Chris Petersen taking over. There was quite a bit of top-shelf talent, but depth issues and growing pains with talented young QB Cyler Miles created some tough losses. They finished 8-6, including a bowl loss to Oklahoma State.

Marcus Peters--this should probably read “ex-Washington” because the highly talented cornerback was kicked off the Huskies midway through his senior season. Peters had several clashes with new head coach Chris Peterson and his staff after being recruited and developed by former coach Steve Sarkisian. It culminated with controversy from a practice where there were reports--later widely refuted--of Peters instigating a physical altercation with a coach. Details of his troubled 2014, and his contrition, are nicely chronicled by Tom Pelissero of USA Today here.

Those bouts of immaturity overshadow a very talented corner. Peters is unquestionably the most gifted and inherently sticky man coverage back in this draft class. In terms of covering receivers, Peters is the best prospect since Patrick Peterson in 2011. He has outstanding instincts, excellent closing burst and a tenacity to stick with wideouts that approaches elite levels. Peters is a potential lockdown “island” corner a la Darrelle Revis.

 

The questions about his maturity will dog him. So will his oft-apathetic run defense, as well as his occasional overconfidence that will lead him to getting beat on double moves. He cedes leverage on the edge and almost never wraps up or finishes his tackles in run support, which is going to raise blood pressure from his coaches at the next level. Still, his coverage skills are undeniable in a league where having a shutdown cornerback is The New Black. The fact Washington is allowing him to participate in its pro day is a good sign Peters’ troubles are behind him.

Current projection: Top 10 pick

Shaq Thompson--the biggest question with Shaq Thompson is, what position does he play in the NFL?

At Washington, he primarily played linebacker. And some nickel safety. And even some running back. I would love it if he could continue to be that sort of versatile defensive weapon, a base outside linebacker who slides to a heavy nickel safety in passing downs. It’s his ideal role, playing to his numerous strengths: speed, closing ability, nose for the ball, fluidity in space.

Unfortunately, I don’t see many NFL defensive coordinators who are bold or creative enough to deploy him that way. Here’s part of the problem: he’s going to be the best coverage LB on his team, so it makes no sense to move him from LB to safety and bring on an inferior coverage LB. Thompson is not a downhill player versus the run at all, he’s a second-level cleaner and not an attacking instigator. He prefers to try and use his great speed and agility to run around blocks, which is easier to do in college than the NFL. His game is more Justin Durant than Lavonte David, a player to whom he’s often compared.

Thompson can be a very effective off-the-ball linebacker and a playmaker at the second level, picking off passes and forcing fumbles. Hopefully focusing on one position--ideally a 4-3 weakside backer--will allow him to blossom. Adding a few pounds of bulk could morph him into a Lance Briggs sort of talent, but it is not a given he achieves that sort of status even though he will drafted as such.

Current projection: Top 15 pick

Danny Shelton--Washington’s nose tackle is the correct answer to the late Clara Pell’s plaintive “Where’s the beef?” wailing. Shelton is an agile behemoth on the inside. He has unusual playmaking range for a 350-ish pound man. He made 93 total tackles, including 53 solo. That’s 13 more than Thompson, a linebacker often playing in his wake. 16.5 of those tackles were behind the line of scrimmage, with 9 sacks as a senior.

Shelton accomplishes this by doing an excellent job of shedding blocks and finding the ball. He’s got great functional power in his shoulders and it’s coordinated with his tree trunk legs. When he has his wind, Shelton shows great leg drive and the ability to steer blockers if he cannot shed them. There is surprising short-area burst to close on the football, too.

One of the big criticisms of Shelton is that he has a lot of plays where he is ineffective. My view is that he was grossly overused by the Huskies, playing nearly 1,000 snaps. In the NFL it’s extremely unlikely he plays more than about 70% of that number (only Dontari Poe topped 900 in ’14), and that will keep him fresher and more able to positively impact the game. His weight fluctuations are more of a concern. A very credible Washington source advised me Shelton played their bowl game at over 360. When he weighed in at 343 at the Senior Bowl he was visibly enthused.

I’m often reminded of Shaun Rogers when watching Shelton. At his best, Rogers was a bullish epicenter of the defense, too strong for even double teams to handle. While not fast, he was quick and adept enough to make plays in the backfield. That’s Shelton. The worry is the same as with Rogers; weight and motivational fluctuations produce only sporadic greatness melded with overall underwhelming results. He’s best-used as an attacking DT in a 4-3 in about 40-45 snaps a game, and in that capacity he could be great. I’m betting on him making it.

Current projection: Top 15 pick

Hau’oli Kikaha--the Hawaiian native led the nation in sacks as a senior, bagging the opposing QB 19.5 times while racking up 25 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He accomplished this with a nice variety of speed and power moves. What really stands out are Kikaha’s hands. He is exceptional at creating space and separating from blocks thanks to his violent, coordinated hands. Rips, jabs, yanks, he’s got the full arsenal.

Kikaha also showed the ability to turn the corner and flatten to the quarterback with burst. That’s a trait that separates the great (think Jared Allen) from the good (think Brian Orakpo) pass rushers in the NFL. He can sink his weight and explode with balance and power. Kikaha is well-built at 253 pounds and 6’2”, a nice size for a 3-4 OLB. There is real dedication to his craft, too; during Senior Bowl practices he opted to stay well past the other players and work on a couple of moves where he got stymied during that day’s session. NFL coaches were very impressed by this.

The problem here is Kikaha’s knees. He’s torn his left ACL twice, in 2010 and 2011. A cumbersome knee brace is ever-present. The missed time also makes him older than most prospects; he’ll be a 24-year-old rookie. In watching him in numerous games, Kikaha clearly has trouble slowing his momentum and changing direction on the fly more than most guys at his position. He also struggles to plant hard and anchor versus the run. He’s not a stack/shed edge player whatsoever, and that will limit his value to many teams.

It’s hard to say how much the knee issues will harm his value. There is widespread talk that several teams have removed him completely from their draft boards, though I have not been able to concretely confirm that in numerous attempts. Teams operating a 3-4 defense and needing powerful juice off the edge would be wise to consider the risk in the 3rd or 4th rounds.

Current projection: 4th or 5th round due to injuries, otherwise a top 50 player

Kasen Williams--when I watched Washington back in 2012, I was enamored with wideout Kasen Williams. He was big, he was physical, he was polished in his route tree and he played with attitude. He made QB Keith Price look competent, and that’s an impressive accomplishment.

Then Williams suffered a nasty broken leg midway through the 2013 season. Recovery was slow and clearly robbed him of his limited speed. He caught just 20 passes and was often an afterthought in the Huskies offense as a senior. Most of his work was as a de facto undersized tight end, short routes where he was the backside of a clear out or a comeback hook safety valve.

I got to watch Williams up close during the Shrine Game practices, and glimpses of the old self were visible. He’s still very good with the ball in the air, able to position his body and extend out with strong hands to snatch the ball with a wide catch radius. He can still set up his breaks with pinpoint body control and no wasted motion. Unfortunately Williams still lacks great burst in and out of his breaks and doesn’t have the top-end speed to separate from man coverage. He’s got a great attitude and a high football IQ, but that can only carry him so far in the NFL. Unless more time facilitates greater recovery (it might), Williams is nothing more than a depth wideout who will have to prove it on special teams to stick around. An adventurous team confident in his medicals could invest a late-round pick and hope for the best.

Current projection: 7th round or undrafted free agent 

John Timu--the inside linebacker led the Huskies in tackles as both a sophomore and senior, finishing his four seasons with over 320 stops. He’s a sure tackler with good form and decent pop behind his pads when he squares up the runner. Timu is also pretty adept at dropping into coverage, nicely anticipating routes and positioning himself in passing lanes. He picked off two passes in each of his final three seasons, and he dropped at least three others as a senior. He’s smart, relatively quick to react and opportunistic.

Unfortunately he’s limited athletically. At 6’0” and 246 pounds, he has decent size but his hips are tight and his top speed is substandard. His strength is average for the position. His game was more about quickly reacting and closing on tackles behind Shelton. Because he does have some short-range zone coverage ability and positional discipline, Timu will get a chance to prove himself. His best chance comes with a 4-3 fronted zone team like the Buccaneers.

Current projection: Priority free agent

Andrew Hudson--defensive end Andrew Hudson is a strange evaluation. He flashed legit skills as a senior, often playing opposite Kikaha and being more of the edge-setting end despite weighing just 246. He’s got good anchor power for his size and decent ability to shed blocks in his own right. He was also productive as a sophomore, as I have several positive notes on him from both the LSU and Oregon games. Yet he barely played as a junior for no apparent reason. Getting 12.5 sacks a year after that certainly raises eyebrows. He’s more of a secondary rusher and effort guy than a dynamic disruptor, but he can set the edge and exhibits good positional discipline. His size will be the biggest issue, as he’s just 246 pounds and is definitely a 4-3 DE. That’s on the light side, and he has a tendency to play tall in close combat, which negates his power.

Current projection: Priority free agent

Others who could wind up in a camp include cornerback Travell Dixon, OL Mike Criste, oft-injured OT Ben Riva and OT Micah Hatchie. If you like to look ahead, mighty mite Jaydon Mickens will intrigue next year as an offensive weapon and the rising junior and sophomore classes are chock full of impressive talent.