Could ASU's Damarious Randall Sneak into First Round of 2015 NFL Draft?

While there may not be a consensus top edge-rusher or running back in the 2015 NFL draft, for the past couple of months the debate appeared settled at the back end of the defense.

Where safeties are concerned, there's Alabama's Landon Collins—and then everybody else.

However, it appears one young defensive back is making a late charge, and with at least one leading draftnik going so far as to bump Arizona State's Damarious Randall ahead of Collins on his board, the $64 dollar question now is whether that charge will be enough to propel Randall into the draft's first round on April 30.

That draftnik is none other than Mike Mayock of the NFL Network, who bumped Randall to the top spot at his position in his most recent rankings.

Rank	Mike Mayock (NFLN)	Matt Miller (B/R)	Rob Rang (CBS)
1.	Damarious Randall	Landon Collins	Landon Collins
2.	Landon Collins	Damarious Randall	Cody Prewitt
3.	Shaq Thompson*	Jasquiski Tartt	Damarious Randall
4.	Quinten Rollins	Gerod Holliman	Ibraheim Campbell
5.	Jaquiski Tartt	James Sample	Jaquiski Tartt

Tom Rock of Newsday was a bit taken aback by Randall's sudden surge up Mayock's board:

Sarcasm aside though, Mayock isn't alone, at least in the belief that Randall could be the first safety drafted in 2015. Bleacher Report NFL Draft Lead Writer Matt Miller is on board that train of thought as well:

Miller recently ranked the 5'11", 196 pound Randall second among safeties behind Collins, touting Randall's playmaking ability for the Sun Devils in 2014:

"

An aggressive prospect with playmaking traits, Damarious Randall is versatile enough to play free or strong safety—or both. He has good speed and shows range on film, with an ability to get outside the hashes from his spot at center field. Randall stands out on Arizona State film not only on defense but on special teams. He has the speed and agility to make plays in space. He also has the hands and awareness for the ball you must have at free safety. Turn on the film and Randall is consistently making plays. He was often the best player on the field. That too often gets overlooked for size and speed.

"

There's a lot to like with the youngster. Randall certainly wasn't afraid to get his jersey dirty in Tempe, racking up 177 tackles over the past two seasons with the Sun Devils. He also displayed quite a knack for forcing takeaways, with 10 over that same time frame.

Year	G	Tackles	TFL	Sacks	INT	FF
2013	12	71	5.5	0.0	3	2
2014	13	106	9.5	1.0	3	2

According to Sheil Kapadia of Philly Mag, Greg Cosell of NFL Films saw enough on Randall's tape to stand with Mayock in rating Randall as 2015's top safety prospect, as he noted in a Philadelphia Eagles podcast:

"

I think he's a better prospect than [Alabama safety] Landon Collins. He's a better mover. He can do more. The Eagles like to play with interchangeable safeties. I, personally, based on my film study don't see Landon Collins as an interchangeable safety with multi-dimensional skills.

"

Add it all together, and it's enough for Miller to draw comparisons between Randall and another young safety plying his trade in the desert—Tyrann Mathieu of the Arizona Cardinals.

"A small, feisty safety with special teams skills and some nickel cornerback upside," Miller said, "it's easy to see Damarious Randall as a Tyrann Mathieu-type NFL player."

Those coverage skills that Miller mentioned have Randall on the radar of several teams, whether it's those picking at the back end of Round 1:

Or the front end of Round 2:

However, not everyone has bought a seat on the Randall bandwagon:

"

Watched some more Damarious Randall, and not as bad as I thought. But still very meh. Watch him get #cooked here http://t.co/KMiWjE3rPB

— Chandler Miller (@CMillerNFL) April 10, 2015"

And the short video clip that accompanies that tweet is a big part of the reason why.

Randall's relentless aggressiveness gets him into trouble with a fair amount of regularity. He bites on play-fakes and takes bad angles against the run. For every interception Randall made, there was a big play given up when Randall didn't get the pick.

His lack of size was an issue at times as well. Yes, Randall was certainly a willing tackler, but he sometimes ran into trouble bringing down bigger opponents. There were a couple instances where it looked like Randall was trying to win the Kentucky Derby, not make a stop.

And in a league with players like Marshawn Lynch and Rob Gronkowski, that isn't good.

Randall no doubt has his warts. His coverage technique needs refinement, and Randall's new team will have to find a way to control the youngster's aggressiveness without neutering it.

However, there just isn't a slam dunk, can't-miss safety in this year's class. Not even Collins. And we've seen a bit of a sea change where the position is concerned the past few years, borne of an increasingly pass-wacky and spread-happy NFL.

Safeties aren't the defensive afterthoughts they once were—especially safeties who are considered adept in coverage. The fact that last year's Super Bowl participants featured the NFL's two best free safeties in Earl Thomas and Devin McCourty isn't a coincidence.

And given the choice between a safety who can cover but needs to work on his tackling as opposed to a safety who can tackle but lacks coverage skills, most NFL teams are going to go the former route 10 times out of 10.

Granted, this could be much ado about nothing, nitpicking at Collins' game borne of the doldrums of the last couple of weeks before the draft.

Or, it might just be that one of the teams picking at the back end of Round 1, a contender who can afford to bring Randall along slowly, sees enough potential to roll the dice on him a lot earlier than many expect.

At any rate, Randall should probably go ahead and keep a phone handy on April 30.

You know, just in case.

Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter at @IDPSharks.