IN A RUSH

Ohio State's Joey Bosa and Oklahoma State's Emmanuel Ogbah appear to be first-round locks, with Oakman, Michigan State's Shilique Calhoun and Oregon's DeForest Buckner likely to go on opening night if they perform well. Here are five other pure DEs who could work their way into the top round.

SHAQ LAWSON

Junior

Clemson

The 6'3", 270-pound Lawson showed his skills in last Saturday's 24--22 win over Notre Dame, when he took it to All-America left tackle Ronnie Staley. Lawson had 3½ tackles for a loss and once forced Staley to tackle him to avoid a sack.

JONATHAN ALLEN

Junior

Alabama

After racking up 11½ tackles for loss, 5½ sacks and a first-team All-SEC selection last year, Allen added about 15 pounds; he's now 6'3" and 283. So far, so good: Allen has three sacks, including two in the season-opening win over Wisconsin.

CARL NASSIB

Senior

Penn State

The former walk-on and brother of Giants backup QB Ryan had just seven tackles and one sack in 2014; the 6'7" 272-pounder already has eight sacks, an interception and three forced fumbles this season.

JONATHAN BULLARD

Senior

Florida

He got a "stay in school" grade from the draft advisory committee, and he's capitalizing on that advice with 9½ tackles for loss and 4½ sacks. At 6'3", 283 pounds, Bullard has great strength, and all but one of his sacks have come against SEC foes.

BRONSON KAUFUSI

Senior

BYU

The 6'8", 280-pound Kaufusi doesn't need to get a sack to disrupt a passing attack. He has broken up 12 passes over the last two seasons, and already has four tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception this year.

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RICHARD SHIRO/AP (LAWSON)

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VASHA HUNT/AL.COM/LANDOV (ALLEN)

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PAT LOVELL/USA TODAY SPORTS (NASSIB)

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JOHN RAOUX/AP (BULLARD)

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JOE ROBBINS/GETTY IMAGES (KAUFUSI)