DESPERATELY SEEKING WOODLEY

Well, kinda.

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Could he go No. 1 overall?

Here's where ESPN The Magazine's online division extended the current issue's NFL "Department" page. Essentially, it's about the development of LaMarr Woodley into a beast of fury—and how that type of thing tends to unfold. As such, it seemed a logical time to rank some pass rushers who might appear in the 2009 NFL Draft. One caveat: we're not Todd McShay or Mel Kiper Jr. (or else the byline would say that!), but we do spend every Saturday of our life watching college football from roughly noon 'till the Pac 10 ends. (Museums? Pfft!) If you want McShay, go here. If you want Kiper, go here. You want fan opinion, click 'Read More.'

The Top Pass Rusher Drafted: Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas
Going into the season, before Sam Bradford proved to be even better than we expected, the No. 1 thing about Oklahoma was how ridiculous their O-Line was. Specifically, we're talking Phil Loadholt and Duke Robinson. Orakpo exposed that line in the Red River game, especially Loadholt. His pressure on Bradford was a huge factor in that game. Side note: a drunk Oklahoma fan at the place we were watching kept saying "O-CRAP-OH," and let's just say the situation didn't end well.

The Second Pass Rusher Drafted: Michael Johnson, DE, Georgia Tech
Read this. Then read this. Finally, watch this.

The Third Pass Rusher Drafted: Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU
OK, we know. LSU's defense has looked absolutely awful in those losses to Florida and Georgia (overheard in this office Monday morning: "There are some people working here that could run it up the gut on LSU.") But Jackson is legit. Glenn Dorsey will likely end up being a good pro (the Chiefs need to sort out a few issues, sure) and Jackson is from the same program. Hey, Les Miles loves him!

The Fourth Pass Rusher Drafted: Ian Campbell, DE, Kansas State
Read this. Our sleeper in this spot would be Penn State's Aaron Maybin, but (a) we don't know if he's considered "pro build" enough (we're not McShay!) and we don't know if he's coming out. Maybin is a beast, though: over 11 sacks already this year, including three on third and long. Campbell is really good too, but his intangibles—being a rock for a faltering K-State team—might be even more important to a team in position to grab him.

The Fith Pass Rusher Drafted: B.J. Raji, DE, Boston College
There are some linebackers—Aaron Curry at Wake Forest, Brian Cushing and Rey at USC, Animal's Son at Ohio State—who will probably become better "pass rushers" in the NFL, but we're going with mostly D-Linemen here, as you can likely tell. Raji slimmed down a little recently, but still has NFL size and speed. He plays for a coach (Jeff Jagodzinski) who spent a lot of time with the Packers, a team that knows how to evaluate defensive talent.

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