I disagree on Payne. I saw almost no penetration with him and I think his power get overrated. I think he ends up a mediocre starting NFL NT. Just very overrated. Watch game film of the guy. It's not impressive at all. Hell most of the tackles he made were 5 yards down field. I'd rather Senat actually. Sometimes guys being ranked high make me scratch my head. That's how I feel on Payne. No idea why he is a first rounder.
I'm with you now on Vander Esch. I actually think he gets knocked unnecessarily. Was an absolute star last year.
I watched Payne vs. Clemson, Georgia and I believe Tennessee. I don't think he'll ever be a great interior pass-rusher and I certainly don't think he's a guy you want as your best 3-T, but he is clearly excellent against the run and I have seen flashes of an excellent first step where he gets off the snap much quicker than his teammates. He also shows good hand use/counter moves with effective swim and rip moves, he just doesn't do it consistently.
To me he's clearly a 1-T who can possibly grow into giving you some pass-rush out of that position, similar to Vea. Vea has a higher ceiling but I wouldn't be surprised at all if they end up playing very similar roles and being fairly similar caliber of players.
I mean, I'm not going to delude myself into thinking he's a 3-T like the Cowboys might try to sell us if they take him, but everybody here is on board with drafting a high caliber 1-T who can stuff the run and that's what Payne is. Could we get a guy like BJ Hill, Settle or Nnadi on Day 2?
Perhaps, and I'd probably prefer that even, but I also recognize that Payne can bring a very similar impact to what people envision Vea bringing.