Vic Beasley Set for Breakout Season in 2016

The Atlanta Falcons selected Vic Beasley with the eighth overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, and he posted four sacks during his rookie season. Still, he's on track to be an impact pass-rusher.

Most of the knocks on him are anecdotal. Early in his college career at Clemson, he was a tight end after playing running back in high school. His size (6'3", 235 lbs at the time) gave him the "tweener" label and led some to question whether a non-blue-blood defender was worth a top-10 pick.

At the NFL combine, Beasley showed up at 246 pounds and stole the show as an athlete. From there, doubters brought up the name Vernon Gholston, a one-time sixth overall pick who posted zero sacks in his professional career, as a singular data point to why you can't trust "workout warriors."

While Gholston outperformed Beasley in the overhyped 40-yard dash, the latter ranked much better in the drills that matter for pass-rushers: three-cone and short shuttle. A pass-rusher is almost never asked to cover 40 yards in a short amount a time; he's asked to bend corners and change directions.

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According to Pro Football Focus, Beasley earned a plus-5.9 grade in 2015 in 547 reps. He was second on the team in pass rushing (plus-10.0). Among rookies, only Markus Golden, who's two years older, trumped Beasley in hurries.

Beasley's sack total may not seem stellar, but he ranked fourth in the NFL in rookie sacks by edge defenders in 2015. Only Preston Smith of the Washington Redskins posted more than six sacks in his rookie year league-wide.

Further, Beasley's production came despite the fact he played with a torn labrum all year, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Michael Cunningham. "I've played with a torn labrum the whole season," Beasley said. "It was just one of those moments. I've played well with it throughout the season and I played with it in college."

This was all on a team that finished dead last in the NFL with 19 sacks. So heading into 2016, what should be expected?

In 2015, Khalil Mack, a sophomore first-rounder, went from four sacks in his rookie year to 15, earning All-Pro honors.

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Based on Beasley's pedigree and athleticism, don't be shocked if he takes a similar path. He's already in good company among first-round edge-defender types who have run a sub-seven-second three-cone time since 2005:

• Jerry Hughes: 6.99 seconds
• Kamerion Wimbley: 6.98 seconds
• Vic Beasley: 6.91 seconds
• Manny Lawson: 6.9 seconds
• Clay Matthews: 6.9 seconds
• Joey Bosa: 6.89 seconds
• Jamaal Anderson: 6.88 seconds
• J.J. Watt: 6.88 seconds
• David Pollack: 6.87 seconds
• DeMarcus Ware: 6.85 seconds
• Barkevious Mingo: 6.84 seconds
• Melvin Ingram: 6.83 seconds
• Anthony Barr: 6.82 seconds
• Von Miller: 6.7 seconds
• Bruce Irvin: 6.7 seconds

And here are the long-term pass-rushers on the list with similar three-cone times who don't possess out-of-character short-shuttle marks (Beasley ran a 4.15-second short shuttle). Six of the seven posted 10 or more sacks during their best year to date production-wise:

• J.J. Watt: 20.5 sacks
• DeMarcus Ware: 19.5 sacks
• Von Miller: 18.5 sacks
• Clay Matthews: 13.5 sacks
• Melvin Ingram: 10.5 sacks
• Jerry Hughes: 10 sacks
• Jamaal Anderson: three sacks

Mack isn't the only athletic pass-rusher who started his career relatively slowly before breaking out. In the seven-name list alone, Watt only posted 5.5 sacks during his rookie year. Ingram had one sack, while Hughes didn't have any.

One narrative surrounding Beasley that doesn't hold up is the idea of not trusting Clemson pass-rushers. In realty, Beasley has more in common with Ware, Miller and Matthews than he does Da'Quan Bowers, who was recruited under a different staff at Clemson and played at nearly 50 pounds heavier than the 2015 draftee during their college years.

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One of the biggest mistakes a team can make is giving up on an athletic edge defender too early.

The San Diego Chargers didn't give up on Ingram after suboptimal performance his first three years. And in 2015 he broke out, posting double-digit sacks. On the other hand, the Indianapolis Colts traded Hughes on a rookie contract for a third-round linebacker, Kelvin Sheppard, who only played with the team for one season.

Some Falcons fans may be frustrated with Beasley's 2015 results, but patience is needed for draft-and-develop teams, especially ones trying to rebuild an entire defensive line.

If the second seasons of players such as Mack and Watt, who had similar rookie production as Beasley, are any indication, he may reach high-impact status in this coming season. If not, it's coming shortly after.