Buchsbaum's top 10
(as of March 9)

1. Gerard Warren
2. Justin Smith
3. Andre Carter
4. Richard Seymour
5. Marcus Stroud
6. Shaun Rogers
7. Jamal Reynolds
8. Damione Lewis
9. Casey Hampton
10. Aaron Schobel

Positives: Very dedicated and determined. Extremely coachable. Known for his character and never-say-die attitude. Fundamentally sound. Excellent leverage player with ever-improving strength and power. Plays the run very well at both end slots. Has long arms, excellent balance and good functional football strength. Has spent most of his college career lining up on the strong side. Is not just a one-trick pony. Has double and even triple moves he can use when he needs them. Does a good job of coming off blocks and rushing the passer. Excellent athlete. Runs well. Very agile. Can jump like an NBA small forward. Has a closing burst to the ball.

Negatives: Undersized for an every-down NFL defensive end. Might be almost too disciplined and assignment-oriented and is very reluctant to freelance, even when he has a chance to make a big play. Is not a great pass rusher. Had a tough time with Illinois’ young right tackle, Tony Pashos, in 2000.

Summary: Top-flight defensive end who may be able to come right in and start as a rookie. Is well worth a first-round draft pick despite his lack of great weight and bulk.

Positives: Great football character. Will play hurt. Self-starter. Always plays hard. Even when he is nearing empty, he will still continue to play hard. Leader. Pushes his underachieving teammates, such as Shaun Rogers. Very wide and thick build. Has tremendous lower-body strength, power and explosion and is strong in the upper body. Can play over the center, over the guard or in the gap. Has quick, strong, vice-like hands and uses them well. Very tough to block on running plays and can really clog up the middle.

Negatives: Lacks height and may be a little too heavy. Looks a little tight in the hips at times and is not a really gifted athlete. Will never be a top pass rusher, despite the fact he is very tenacious because of his height and lack of great long speed. May be close to as good as he can be.

Summary: A true overachiever with a great motor. Can be a top run-stuffer in the middle of the line. But what you see is what you get, and he will not be another Warren Sapp or La’Roi Glover when it comes to rushing the quarterback. That said, he does have Sapp’s leadership and Glover’s love of the game and motor.

Positives: Good athlete. Extremely quick off the ball. Very quick into gaps. Can really penetrate and has the speed to get to the quarterback. Can be explosive. Can hold the point of attack when he stays low and plays with good leverage.

Negatives: Lacks ideal size. Is short, does not have long arms and is not really massive. Did not play that well in 2000 because of his injury. At times, his playing strength looked questionable in 2000, but that may have been because he could not push off his foot. Never was overpowering. May need to get stronger in the lower body.

Summary: Is not the next Warren Sapp, because he does not have Sapp’s superior quickness, athletic ability and explosiveness. But there are some similarities, and Lewis has a chance to be a very good pro. However, off of his 2000 tapes, you would not draft him in the first round unless you were convinced that his foot injury played a major role in how he played.

Positives: Superior playing speed and quickness. Comes off the ball like a shot and can really explode up the field. Tremendous pass rusher off the edge, where he often beats left tackles cleanly with just pure speed. Is very athletic and has catlike quickness, exceptional balance and coordination and good change of direction. Plays hard and competes well. Is like a shark who smells blood when he thinks he can get a sack.

Negatives: Lacks size and bulk strength. Will have problems holding the point of attack on the next level. Has trouble shedding if the blocker gets his hands on him quickly. May be more of a pass-rush specialist than an every-down player, unless he becomes a 3-4 outside rush ’backer. But not many clubs use the 3-4 anymore.

Summary: One of the best, if not the best, pure pass rushers in the draft, but he is more one-dimensional than teams would like.

Positives: Huge and massive. Very powerful and has a chance to get even stronger. Excellent athlete for a man his size. Has quick, strong hands and can be sudden. Will flash explosive strength and explosive quickness. Can collapse the pocket and stuff the inside run. Can take over and control a game when he really wants to. Is playing technically sound football and staying low. Can play in either a one- or two-gap scheme. Played almost the entire season with a bad ankle.

Negatives: Tires quickly and tends to let up when he does. Tends to get too heavy. Can balloon up to well over 350 pounds, especially in the offseason. Is not a real self-starter. Inconsistent player and worker. Has a very bad tendency: Instead of coming off low and staying down, he often will pop straight up, making him much more blockable and controllable because he has no leverage. Gets hung up on blockers when this happens.

Summary: Can be as good as he wants to be, provided his ankle is healthy, his motor is running and his weight is under control. However, if he can’t work out before the draft and/or balloons up in weight, he could be the elite defensive tackle who lasts with so many good ones available.

Positives: Good worker. Tough. Has not missed a game in four years and played hurt for almost the entire 2000 season. Excellent speed and very good pass-rush ability. Has a quick first step and burst off the edge. Uses his hands very well. Will very often beat his man with his initial move. Had a very good East-West Shrine game, beating the tackles he faced badly and making them look like turnstiles. Runs and chases all over the field and generally takes good pursuit angles. Might be an ideal 3-4 linebacker in a Steelers-type defense.

Negatives: Undersized defensive end who lacks playing strength. Can be run at or run inside of. Has a hard time if he does not win with his initial move. Tweener type who could be either a pass-rushing linebacker or a right end in a 4-3 that lines up its right end wide of the tackle.

Summary: Could be a very good pass rusher if he goes to a team that uses a Steelers-type defense or tailors its defense to fit what he does well.

Positives: Very young and has an upside. Will not be 22 until October. Hustles, chases and plays hard. Has been durable and dependable most of the time. Can play over the center and a power-type DLE position. Has a nice combination of size and speed. Runs well for a tackle. Also fits the mold of a 3-4 defensive end. Has good quickness and a good short-area burst. Shows some range in long pursuit.

Negatives: Is not quite as huge and overpowering as teams would want a tackle to be. Not as fast and sudden as teams would like a pass-rushing end to be. Did not work out at the Combine even though he was healthy.

Summary: An outstanding college player who has a chance to become an excellent pro player if he shows he will go the extra mile. Seymour can play virtually any position along the defensive line and only figures to get better. He’s a lot like the Packers’ Vonnie Holliday but has more natural ability. He will go in the first round, but where he goes in part will be determined by how he works out. If he had played in the Senior Bowl and played well, he definitely would have gone in the top seven or eight picks.

Positives: Rare workout numbers. A workout warrior who can play football. High-motor, high-intensity player with the speed to rush off the edge. Has excellent quickness and speed. Gifted pass rusher who should improve with better technique and moves. Relentless in pursuit. Never slows down. Always hustles and chases vs. the run. Generally takes good pursuit angles. Seems to be both classroom and football smart. Extremely strong in the upper body and athletic. Always seems to play hard and compete well. Has been very durable in college, starting Missouri’s last 33 games.

Negatives: Not quite as big and tall as teams would like. Lacks great functional lower-body strength. Spends most of his time playing on the edge. Does a lot more chasing than playing at the point of attack. Do not know if he could play in a two-gap scheme.

Summary: Still a little raw and almost always plays on the edge (of the blocker), but he has great speed, a non-stop motor and the desire to excel.

Positives: Huge. Looks the part. Fills up a doorway walking into a room. Has room to grow and improve. Naturally strong. Can be incredibly powerful and disruptive inside and destroy the double team when he plays low, bends his knees and keeps his back flat. Shows good hand use at times and can change directions when he stays down. Will control the line of scrimmage when he is at the top of his game. Can also collapse the pocket and is very tough to throw over. Runs well for a man his size. Flashes greatness. Did some awesome things at the Senior Bowl practices when he played low.

Negatives:  When this player pops right up instead of staying low, he loses his playing strength and ability to change directions, and he really struggles to get off blocks. Somewhat immature off the field. Has too many games when his production is nowhere close to his ability level, including the Senior Bowl itself. Needs a lot more work in the weightroom. Is naturally strong but could be a lot stronger.

Summary: In the Daryl Gardener (Baylor product and Dolphins first-round pick in ’96) mold. Has a chance to be a special player at the next level if he can be taught to play low with his back flat all the time. Has tremendous long-renage potential but may never realize that potential unless he matures and becomes more of a warrior. Could have really moved up in the rankings if he played as well in the Senior Bowl as he did in some Senior Bowl practices.

Positives: Massive size. Excellent natural strength and power. Can control the line of scrimmage. Power-type pass rusher with quick hands and quick feet. Good athlete for his size. Has a mean streak.

Negatives: Has not been that durable. Is almost exclusively a power player who needs to refine his game and develop his moves. Seems to let up or lose effectiveness at times. Tends to get too heavy. Has a few off-the-field concerns that he needs to put to rest in teams’ minds if he wants to be a very high first-round pick.

Summary: Has a chance to become a dominating defensive lineman on the next level. Will be a very high draft pick if he works out and checks out well.