Lukas

Denis

Zierlein explains that Denis’ (5'11/190) “success rate as a tackler is below average against his level of competition. He also struggled at the NFL Scouting Combine with a 14th percentile athletic SPARQ composite score. Despite the criticism, Denis is still expected to be selected at some point in the NFL Draft after recording eight combined interceptions during his junior and senior seasons.

Denis was on first-round radars coming into the 2018 season after a junior year that saw him intercept seven passes, but he had just one as a senior, and his tackles dropped from 83 to 49. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound free safety still gets mentioned as one of the top safeties in the class, however, and a strong showing in the Shrine Game along with quality workouts could see him end up as a Day 2 selection.

Denis was ejected after laying a somewhat awkwardly-angled hit high on Isaiah Wright in the first half. It appeared on replay that he was not actually locked onto Wright initially, but rather made a course correction which resulted in the tough hit.

Per Marino, that includes two general managers. The analyst, himself, will also be on hand. He is keen to see the work of several prospects from both teams. On the Boston College side of the equation, he’ll be keying in on S Lukas Denis, DL Zach Allen and OL Chris Lindstrom (AJ Dillon will not be draft-eligible until next year). And over on the Wake Forest end, he’s intrigued to be checking out G Phil Haynes, CB Essang Bassey, WR Greg Dortch and RB Matt Colburn.

Denis (5'11/185) ranks 15th overall on the board, and he’s the only safety ranked among his top 25 player. The senior defender was excellent in 2017, making seven interceptions and forcing two fumbles for the Boston College defense. A team looking for a roamer in their defensive backfield could take Denis in the first round next year -- assuming he plays at the same level in 2018.

Pauline give Harris a fourth-round grade, while Pauline grades Denis (5'11/185) firmly in the middle of Day 3 with a fifth-to-sixth round grade. Pauline notes that Denis is a faster player than Harris, but he sees Harris as the more complete safety. That stands in contrast of what we’ve read from other analysts; with Matt Miller of Bleacher Report grading him as the top safety to begin the 2019 season. Either way, the Eagles are loaded at safety this year. It’ll be interesting to see which one stands out more as a pro prospect after the season, however.