After Jadeveon Clowney and Khalil Mack were each selected in the top five a year ago, it seemed preposterous to think that the 2015 NFL Draft could be even more blessed with pass rushers. Sunday’s defensive line and linebacker drills, however, provided plenty of evidence that this year’s pass-rushing class might rival last year’s.

Several collegiate defensive ends who will be asked to make the transition to outside linebacker in the NFL demonstrated that they have the agility, speed and explosiveness to handle the conversion.

Clemson’s Vic Beasley, Florida’s Dante Fowler Jr. and Nebraska’s Randy Gregory enjoyed particularly impressive performances. Missouri’s Shane Ray did not participate (citing a foot injury sustained in a bowl game) and some expect that he will match or even exceed some of Beasley’s eye-popping numbers when he works out at the Tigers’ March 19 Pro Day.

Here are my five takeaways from Sunday’s defensive line and linebacker workouts:

5. Beasley is a beast. The 6-foot-3, 246 pounder enjoyed one of the great Combine workouts in recent memory, leading all linebackers in the 40-yard dash (4.53 seconds) and bench press (35 repetitions of 225 pounds) and finishing among the top five in the three-cone drill (6.91 seconds), short shuttle (4.15), the vertical (41 inches) and broad jumps (10 feet, 10 inches).

Unlike some of the other workout warriors in these and other position groups, Beasley is also a verified productive player, leaving the Tigers as the program’s all-time leader with 29 career sacks.

Boasting as explosive a first step as any pass rusher in this class, Beasley is a first-round cinch and could be wind up in the top 10.

4. So-called second-tier prospects staked their claim. Beasley was terrific (and so too were other projected first-round picks Fowler, Gregory and Kentucky’s Alvin Dupree), but scouts won’t let their widely expected performances Sunday distract from more surprising results, including from a handful of underclassmen attempting to break into the Day Two conversation.

Among the defensive linemen, LSU’s Danielle Hunter and Washington State’s Xavier Cooper showed off the athleticism that could result in a late charge up draft boards.

The rangy 6-foot-5, 252 pound Hunter showed off his unusual combination of length (including 34 1/4-inch arms), strength (25 reps) and speed (DL-best 4.57-second 40-yard dash).

The 6-foot-3, 293-pound Cooper quietly proved to be one of the more athletic defensive tackles, clocking in at 4.86 seconds — fastest among any of the defensive tackles tested Sunday.

3. Did Paul Dawson forget to eat his Wheaties? The tape says that Dawson is one of this year’s best three down linebackers, but he certainly didn’t look the part of a top 50 selection on Sunday, clocking in at a startlingly slow 4.93 seconds in the 40-yard dash after measuring shorter than expected at 6 feet, 235 pounds.

The poor showing wasn’t limited to just the 40-yard dash — complicating the narrative that perhaps Dawson just lost his technique on the drill or is faster on the field than the track due to good instincts. Dawson also showed very little explosiveness in the leaps. His 28-inch vertical ranked dead last among linebackers tested Sunday and would have ranked fifth worst among the defensive linemen. It was a full 2.5 inches shorter than that of Washington’s 6-2, 339-pound nose guard Danny Shelton.

2. Dawson was not the only disappointment. Dawson’s numbers were surprising because on tape, he looks much faster. Two other players who looked much more athletic on tape than they appeared during drills Sunday were Oklahoma defensive tackle Jordan Phillips and Miami linebacker Denzel Perryman, arguably the best traditional Mike ‘backer in the draft.

At 6-foot-5, 329 pounds and flashing terrific burst and straight-line speed on tape, Phillips generated comparisons to former workout warrior (and current Kansas City Chiefs star) Dontari Poe. He won’t be charging up draft boards after a relatively non-descript workout Sunday that saw him register a 5.17-second 40-yard dash, 28 repetitions of 225 pounds and a 30-inch vertical jump. Dawson’s numbers aren’t bad given his massive size, but given his hype, talent evaluators expected more.

Unlike Phillips (who struggled with inconsistency throughout his Sooners career), Perryman was the picture of reliability for the Hurricanes, leaving the program as a four-year starter with 351 career tackles to his credit. While instinctive, physical and tough, however, Perryman didn’t exactly quiet critics of his speed and overall athleticism with a 4.78-second showing in the 40-yard dash. In fact, it may give voice to those who suggest that the 5-foot-11, 236-pounder is just a two-down run-stuffer in the NFL.

1. Positional drills are the most important. It is easy to get overwhelmed by the information overload that comes with all of the statistics from the Combine. At the end, we all know the tape is most important and that among the “tests” given in Indianapolis, the medicals and interviews hold the most weight. Perhaps the most underappreciated workouts (at least by the media and fans) conducted each day are the positional workouts.

On Saturday, I focused all of my analysis of the showdown between Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota on their throwing sessions. Among the positional workouts I liked most Sunday were those of NFLDraftScout.com’s top-rated prospect Leonard Williams from Southern California, his cross-town rival Owa Odighizuwa from UCLA and Mississippi State’s Preston Smith.

Rob Rang (@robrang) is a Senior Analyst for www.NFLDraftScout.com, a property of The Sports Xchange distributed in partnership with CBSSports.com.