2014 NFL Draft: Defensive Tackle Prospects You Should Know

 In this series of articles, I will be picking one position group each week from which I will be choosing four players to evaluate.  There will be three that you’ve probably heard of, and one that you probably haven’t. I am not linking any of these players to the Chiefs. This is merely to introduce you all to the upcoming prospects. Please enjoy and I look forward to reading your comments.

Louis Nix III – 6’3 345lbs – Notre Dame

Louis Nix is a name people should have been talking about last year but with all of Manti Teo’s distractions, Nix and Stephon Tuitt were destined to play the background until 2013. In 2012, Nix accumulated 50 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, five passes batted away and one forced fumble. Nix is by far the largest defensive tackle in the group but not necessarily the least athletic. Nix has very quick feet for his size and the ability to make plays from sideline to sideline. Nix is very stout against the run and considered a prototypical run stopper. Not known for rushing the passer but in the right scheme, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be able to. Nix’s biggest issue thus far has been his consistency. Perhaps it’s endurance, perhaps motivation but his motivation has never been called into question before so I lean towards the latter. So far this year, Nix has recorded 20 tackles with one tackle for a loss. He has been frequently double teamed so the numbers on the stat sheet don’t necessarily tell the story of his contributions throughout the team. Nix is also known to have a big personality taking on the nickname “Irish Chocolate” and hosting a series of youtube videos called Chocolate News. He will be a top 20 pick, likely top 15.