Bruce Feldman talks 'Freaks' list, Myles Garrett in 2016

Key quotes from Bruce Feldman interview

“I have been doing this freak athletes list for about seven years and what I usually do is send out an email blast to every sports information director in the country.  I also talk to a lot of coaches and I will try to also get some comments from players as well at a lot of these media days.  It was funny, the night before we published it I was telling people that the ‘Freaks List’ was coming out and was having them guess who was number one and a lot of people did guess right.

The tricky one was the second guy, Devon Allen from Oregon, who is going to the Olympics and is a world-class sprinter and the USA’s top hurdler.  He is a good player but I think that Myles is a great player and that is the difference.   You could make a case for either one.  The numbers that Myles Garrett puts up in the weight room and on the track, if he was 225 pounds he would still probably be a freak.  The fact that he is that fast and that big, over 265 pounds running and jumping like that is pretty remarkable.  When we talked a bit when I saw him in Alabama, about his commitment to his craft, he has a good diet and he approaches it seriously and I think that is why so many NFL scouts are excited about him, too.”

“The last line of this write up is the fact that Myles doesn’t turn 21 until December.  He is still physically maturing, and you guys have all of the pictures of him with the 8-pack and all of that. You just don’t see defensive lineman who look like that.  The one comparison, and they are a little different, is Jadeveon Clowney who is freaky explosive.  Clowney is even bigger and longer.  He is 6-6 and probably 280.  He can run close to that.  I think Myles is physically stronger; he is definitely stronger in the weight room.  It is fair to say that he is a much more dedicated athlete.  He is a guy that answers all of the right questions even when someone recently brought up the idea of taking the year off and waiting out the draft because of the risk of injuries.  I think that is one of the other things that makes him special beyond being freaky athletic, he also has a level of maturity and focus that is probably different than some other guys.”

"Leonard Fournette has leaned up a little and recently ran a 4.42 40. LSU's strength coach has been a lot of places and I asked him if Fournette was the most explosive athlete he's ever worked with. He said, 'Patrick Peterson was on another level, but what makes Leonard unique is his leadership and his work ethic.' He works as hard as anybody he's had. That combination of being blessed the way he has but also knowing how it affects other people, that's why you're looking at a guy who has a really good chance of winning the Heisman this year."

"I've spent some time in Tuscaloosa this spring and Da'Ron Payne is a guy they talk about. He came in there super strong out of a very advanced high school weight training program. He shed some weight, maybe 15-20 pounds to get down to about 320. They have arguably the greatest defensive line in the last 20 years of college football. They lost some guys to the NFL, but he's the reason why it's going to be tough to run up the middle against the Tide."