The 15th installment of our draft preview series focuses on Nebraska defensive lineman Jared Crick.

Scouts Inc. ranks: No. 9 defensive end, No. 57 overall
Bio: All-Big 12 selection in 2009 and 2010 who finished his career with 167 tackles (35 for losses) and 20 sacks. His senior year was cut short due to a torn pectoral muscle suffered in the fifth game of the season. That prevented Crick from lifting at the scouting combine, but he proved he had recovered with 26 bench press reps at 225 pounds during Nebraska’s pro day.

Size: 6-foot-4 ¼, 279 pounds
40-yard dash: 4.94 seconds
Vertical jump: 31 inches
Broad jump: 8-foot-8
225-pound bench press reps: 26
20-yard shuttle: 4.40 seconds
Three-cone drill: 7.47 seconds

Broaddus Breakdown (viewed Wisconsin, Ohio State and Washington games): Lined up as a defensive tackle for the Cornhuskers but is projected to play in the NFL as a defensive end, which he did some in the Ohio State game. … The best trait he has is his ability to get up the field. When he comes off the ball, he can be a factor. When he doesn’t, he can be just another guy. … Like the way that he plays with a high motor and effort, but was a little inconsistent with it at times. Surprised when I observed plays where he was stopped in his pass rush and just stood up and mirrored the quarterback along the line of scrimmage. … His worst trait is that he really doesn’t play with much power at the point of attack. Tends to play too high, and you will see times where the blocker will simply wash him out of the play because he is not able to anchor down. You will see plays where he loses leverage at the point of attack much too often. Will tend to play too upright, allowing blockers into his chest. When you play end in a 3-4 defense, you had better anchor down against the run, which was a problem for the Cowboys last season at times with Marcus Spears, Jason Hatcher and Kenyon Coleman. … Is a much better player when he can play on the move and work the edges. … Showed the ability to rush in a way that didn’t give the blockers much of a hitting surface. Had a nice swim move shooting the gap against Wisconsin that allowed him to get in the backfield and get in on the play. … There were plays where he did flash good technique, but he still needs to do a better job of playing with his hands. Crick struggled to control blockers. You do not want to see him go toe to toe because it’s just too much trouble for him to handle their power. … Did not play with the explosiveness against Ohio State that you saw in the Wisconsin and Washington games. … When I sat down to study Crick, I really thought that I was going to see so much more to his game. There are some that think he compares to J.J. Watt from Wisconsin, but it’s really not even close. Watt was so much better at the point in the run game, but he also was a big factor as a pass rusher. … Really worry about his lack of power to hold up down after down in the running game. Will need to get a lot stronger and learn to play with his pad level down to really be effective.