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Darryl Richard
6-3/297 Georgia Tech
5.08 Senior

Pros: Has good size and strength and does a nice job winning the battle of leverage up front. Does a nice job fighting through and taking on blockers. Has a nice motor and is a decent bull rusher. Has a decent first step that helps him get leverage more so than as a pass rusher.

Cons: Is not going to be a factor as a pass rusher at the next level. Tends to overly rely on his strength and needs to develop some pass rush moves and better hand technique.

Overview: Richard isn't as flashy as his teammate Vance Walker, but he's the more consistent and solid player. He projects well as a run stopper in the 4-3 scheme. Productive career with 12.5 sacks, 32 tackles for loss, and 43 starts. Missed all of 2005 with a knee injury. Had a disappointing 17 bench reps at the Combine, which was lower than most running backs. But plays much stronger on the field.

NFL Forecast: He's a capable run stopper that isn't going to do much on passing downs. But he's tailor-made to be a nose guy in the 4-3 scheme. He's overall a good player. He won't be a dominant NFL player, but will be a solid starting nose tackle in the same vein as a John Thornton in his prime. While his impact won't be big on the stat sheets, if he has a capable tackle beside him, he should form a solid pair of starters. Particularly if that starter is a capable pass rusher.

ATL Forecast: Richard would be a solid developmental nose tackle here in Atlanta. He's probably not going to be a starter right away, but certainly could contribute 20+ snaps as a rookie, and then by the end of his second or third year become the team's starter. And at that point, while he's a guy that may only get 1 or 2 sacks a season, he'd be worth a contract extension.

Value: For a 4-3 team looking for a starting nose tackle, Richard is a solid fourth round pick.