What exactly is a safe NFL draft prospect?
While we all can acknowledge there are no guarantees with any college player making the jump to the NFL, some players definitely carry more "risk" than others.
But let's not just give up trying to define the term "safe."
There are two types of draft evaluators -- the film junkies and the combine-number, athletic-metric enthusiasts.
Each side swears by its preferred scouting philosophy; however, cross-checking between the two evaluation ideologies has become more prevalent, which has created smarter, more comprehensive reports.
Which top prospects in the 2015 draft class check both boxes -- film and workout figures?
We'll call those the "safe" prospects.
Vic Beasley, edge rusher, Clemson
The Tape: Beasley routinely showcased an outrageous burst off the snap, speed and ability to dip around the edge and an occasional counter -- sometimes a tornado-like spin -- when asked to get after to the quarterback during his time at Clemson.
He wasn't simply a sleek edge-rusher who won with quickness around offensive tackles either. Most of his secondary moves seemed calculated and worked to perfection -- after three straight blazing speed rushes to the outside, he'd cross the facemask of the tackle and win to the inside or stand up that lineman with a surprisingly powerful bull rush.
While Beasley didn't toss 300-pound blockers aside with ease or consistently blow up run plays, his exceptional athleticism and always-humming motor make it difficult to label him a ground-game liability. Then again, the team that drafts Beasley wants him for his dynamic ability to get to the quarterback around the corner, and what he's capable of if he's initially stymied at the pass-rushing apex.
The Workout: To some, Beasley is too small to be an every-down edge player in the NFL, especially in a 4-3 base alignment. However, here's how his athleticism compares to Von Miller and Cliff Avril, two similarly sized havoc-wreakers who've been extremely successful as pros:
| How Beasley stacks up | |||
| Von Miller | Vic Beasley | Cliff Avril | |
| Height | 6'3" | 6'3" | 6'3" |
| Weight | 246 | 246 | 252 |
| 40-yard dash | 4.53 | 4.53 | 4.51 |
| Bench press | 21 | 35 | 27 |
| Vertical jump | 37" | 41" | 36 1/2" |
| Broad jump | 126" | 130" | 117" |
| 3-cone drill | 6.7 | 6.91 | 6.9 |
| Short shuttle | 4.06 | 4.15 | 4.31 |
For defensive linemen, the 40-yard dash is overhyped, but the three-cone and short-shuttle drills are not.
Those drills overtly illustrate how "bendy" an outside linebacker or defensive end is. Beasley is nearly a spitting image of Miller, and he actually tested better than Avril.
Kevin White, WR, West Virginia
The Tape: Everyone, and I mean everyone agrees: White's 2014 West Virginia film is sensational. He demonstrated incredible yards-after-the-catch talent -- most namely top-level speed and aggression -- and made leaping catches in traffic in just about every game.
His "my ball" attitude in jump-ball situations was reminiscent of Dez Bryant … the NFL's preeminent "go up and get it in the red zone" receiver.
Though White played in a wide-open, pass-heavy system with the Mountaineers, he caught passes on a variety of routes, and his drops were few and far between.
Some evaluators value speed and ability to separate more than anything in a wideout. Others believe the most vital pass-catcher attribute is the knack to make tough, arm-extended grabs in tight coverage … with White there's no picking sides. He's super-charged and possesses refined "high-pointing" skill.
The Workout: White's speed and athletic talents on the field were certainly reinforced in Indianapolis at the combine. Check out how he stacks up to two of the game's more imposing possession big-play combo wideouts:
| How Kevin White stacks up | |||
| Larry Fitzgerald | Kevin White | Julio Jones | |
| Height | 6'3" | 6'3" | 6'3" |
| Weight | 225 | 215 | 220 |
| 40-yard dash | 4.48 | 4.35 | 4.39 |
| Bench press | N/A | 23 | 17 |
| Vertical jump | 38" | 36.5" | 38.5" |
| Broad jump | N/A | 123" | 135" |
| 3-cone drill | 6.94 | 6.92 | 6.66 |
| Short shuttle | 4.28 | 4.14 | 4.25 |
| Hands | 10 1/2" | 9 1/4" | 9 3/4" |
For receivers, who need to quickly get in and out of breaks and make cuts in the open field, the three-cone and short-shuttle drills are important. While White isn't a clone of Jones in terms of explosion and flexibility, he's close.
Also, having better times than Larry Fitzgerald in the 40-yard dash, three-cone drill and short shuttle shouldn't be ignored.
Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
The Tape: Cooper is a master craftsman, a savvy technician. Usually, though, those type of receivers have to be precise with their routes -- varying speeds, disguising their breaks, etc. -- to compensate for a lack of natural athleticism or speed.
Not the case with Cooper. He's tremendously athletic and has an impressive fifth gear.
His hands are ultra-reliable, and he played in a relatively "traditional" pro-style offense at Alabama that asked him to run a plethora of diverse routes, locate and react to zone coverage and change his route mid-play based on secondary movement.
Though not a menacing specimen like White, you have to have a Doctorate in Nit-Picking to find faults in Cooper's game.
The Workout: It seems as though the one knock on Cooper is his lack of Brandon Marshall or even Jordy Nelson-type size. But look at how he compares athletically to two former stud Clemson wideouts who appear to be well on their way to NFL stardom despite not being 6-foot-4:
| How Amari Cooper stacks up | |||
| DeAndre Hopkins | Amari Cooper | Sammy Watkins | |
| Height | 6'1" | 6'1" | 6'1" |
| Weight | 214 | 211 | 211 |
| 40-yard dash | 4.57 | 4.42 | 4.43 |
| Bench press | 15 | N/A | 16 |
| Vertical jump | 36" | 33" | 34" |
| Broad jump | 115" | 120" | 126" |
| 3-cone drill | 6.83 | 6.71 | 6.95 |
| Short shuttle | 4.5 | 3.98 | 4.34 |
| Hands | 10" | 10" | 9 5/8" |
Wakins stop-and-go ability and lateral bounce is scintillating, and Cooper timed more favorably than him in the three-cone and short-shuttle tests with a slightly faster 40-time. Plus, he's clearly a more fluid athlete than Hopkins.
Cooper's hands are huge too. His quarterback will like that.
Owamagbe Odighizuwa, edge rusher, UCLA
The Tape: This UCLA standout is a complete defensive end with the twitchiness and sheer explosion of a 3-4 outside linebacker.
With Odighizuwa, you find yourself placing check marks inside all the boxes that stipulate requirements to be successful on the edge in the NFL.
Rarely is he caught playing with high pad level, and his low center-of-gravity makes it hard for large offensive tackles to reach him while giving him leverage to morph speed to power on bull rushes and inside counters.
Odighizuwa doesn't have a Reggie White-esque amount of pass-rushing moves, but his athleticism and strength help him triumph more often than not against the run or pass.
The Workout: With prototypical defensive end size, Odighizuwa also has prototypical defensive end athletic gifts.
Here's how he matches up with former Defensive Player of the Year Robert Quinn and the super-disruptive Jerry Hughes:
| How Owamagbe Odighizuwa stacks up | |||
| Robert Quinn | Owamagbe Odighizuwa | Jerry Hughes | |
| Height | 6'4" | 6'3" | 6'2" |
| Weight | 265 | 267 | 255 |
| 40-yard dash | 4.7 | 4.62 | 4.69 |
| Bench press | 22 | 25 | 26 |
| Vertical jump | 34" | 39" | 34 1/2" |
| Broad jump | 116" | 127" | 118" |
| 3-cone drill | 7.13 | 7.35 | 6.99 |
| Short shuttle | 4.4 | 4.19 | 4.15 |
| Arms | 34" | 33 1/4" | 33" |
Odighizuwa's springiness on tape was undeniably demonstrated at the combine, and the three-cone and short-shuttle times pass the flexibility test at his weight and position.
With some coaching refinement, Odighizuwa can be a prolific, three-down 4-3 end or 3-4 outside linebacker.
Andrus Peat, offensive tackle, Stanford
The Workout Peat is a mountain of a man with the feet of a nimble tight end. He won't be 21 until November, but he played on Stanford's power offensive line as a freshman in 2012 and assumed the starting left tackle role in 2013. With the Cardinal, vast power and ability to get to the second level is crucial for offensive linemen, and by 2014, Peat excelled in those two areas.
Also, due to Stanford's old-school system, Peat blocked on five- and-seven-step drops frequently -- there wasn't much quick passing to negate the pass-rush and mask offensive line-deficiencies.
While he's not the absolute consensus No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2015 class, most believe he's relatively "pro-ready" with the highest ceiling at his position.
The Workout: Peat looks as though he was molded by the Offensive Linemen Gods. See how he compares to stalwarts Andrew Whitworth -- who's perennially underrated -- and Joe Thomas -- the league's finest left tackle over the past decade:
| How Andrus Peat stacks up | |||
| Andrew Whitworth | Andrus Peat | Joe Thomas | |
| Height | 6'7" | 6'7" | 6'6 1/2" |
| Weight | 334 | 313 | 311 |
| 40-yard dash | 5.15 | 5.18 | 5 |
| Bench press | 28 | N/A | 28 |
| Vertical jump | 30 1/2" | 31" | 32" |
| Broad jump | 112" | 105" | 110" |
| 3-cone drill | 8.23 | 8.01 | 7.95 |
| Short shuttle | 4.83 | 4.62 | 4.88 |
| Arms | 35" | 34 3/8" | 32 1/2" |
Tackles with insane upside and inherent athleticism like Peat don't come along often, that's for sure.
His 4.62 in the short shuttle is out-of-this-world for a prospect of his physical stature. With youth on his side as well, there's essentially no telling how good Peat could ultimately become.
Stephone Anthony, linebacker, Clemson
The Tape: Clemson boasted one of the nation's most feared and productive defenses in 2014 due to the presence of Beasley, penetrating defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and Anthony, a true football-magnet linebacker.
Though sized to line up at the play-making spot on the weakside, Anthony has the frame and power to take on lead blockers with immense force, shed them and stop a running back dead in his tracks.
His speed to the football pops on tape, his backpedal in coverage is fluid, and he reacts well to crossing routes in front or behind him zone. For teams in need of a versatile, well-rounded linebacker ... Anthony should be a prime target.
The Workout: Anthony isn't as highly touted as Patrick Willis or Luke Kuechly were in their respective draft classes, but he compares similarly to both in the athleticism department:
| How Stephone Anthony stacks up | |||
| Patrick Willis | Stephone Anthony | Luke Kuechly | |
| Height | 6'1" | 6'3" | 6'3" |
| Weight | 242 | 243 | 242 |
| 40-yard dash | 4.56 | 4.56 | 4.58 |
| Bench press | 22 | 23 | 27 |
| Vertical jump | 39" | 37" | 38" |
| Broad jump | 119" | 122" | 123" |
| 3-cone drill | 7.1 | 7.07 | 6.92 |
| Short shuttle | 4.37 | 4.03 | 4.12 |
The 40 and short-shuttle times are superb, as is his 122-inch broad jump and 37-inch vertical leap.
Anthony's an under control thumper who runs like a much smaller weakside 'backer. He'd be a steal in Round 2.
USC's Leonard Williams, the strong and super-skilled defensive lineman, seen my many as the best prospect in this entire draft, just missed the cut here. His three-cone and short-shuttle times were well below the average of comparably sized defensive linemen recently drafted high -- Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy, Muhammad Wilkerson and Fletcher Cox.
His tape shows a future All-Pro, but those who believe combine numbers are predictive of NFL success could be slightly worried about Williams' lack of elite lateral agility.
