Arnold Ebiketie 2022 NFL Draft Profile

The 2022 NFL Draft will be a great event for teams to start building for their future. Here is the Arnold Ebiketie 2022 NFL Draft Profile.

Arnold Ebiketie Background

Position: Edge Rusher

Size: 6-foot-3, 253 pounds

Class: Senior

2021 stats: 62 total tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 pass defended

Ebiketie had a unique college career that saw him go to two different colleges. He is now a solid prospect in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Out of high school, Ebiketie was a three-star recruit who left the state of Maryland to play for Temple. He redshirted in 2017 and played sparingly in 2018. He started to receive more playing time in 2019 and had two sacks. The 2020 season afforded Ebiketie the opportunity to breakout. He had 8.5 tackles for loss and four sacks, but unfortunately Temple could only record one win. Before the 2021 season, Ebiketie decided to transfer to Penn State. He continued to show his improvement with 18 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks. The Nittany Lions went 7-5 with Ebiketie’s help.

Following one good season at Temple and a great season at Penn State, Ebiketie is headed to the next level. He is currently projected to be a first or second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Arnold Ebiketie Strengths

Ebiketie is one of the more athletic pass rushers in the class. He is quick at the snap of the ball and shows off his good quickness. Ebiketie is also fast, which can put pressure on tackles who need to slide quickly to stay in front of him. He is flexible enough to bend around the edge, but also has solid lateral mobility to go inside-out or outside-in.

His calling card is attacking gaps as a run defender. He won’t often be able to shed blocks, but because he has some speed, he can attack gaps before blocks can be made. Ebiketie made so many tackles for loss by shooting gaps and he was also helped by his athleticism, which helped him pursue ball carriers.

Although his strength limits him in some regards, Ebiketie has shown solid, active hands. He shows a good knowledge off how and when to place his hands on a blocker. Ebiketie already has nice pop in his hands, but if he can add strength his hands could be even better.

Arnold Ebiketie Weaknesses

While he does have good length, his frame isn’t ideal for an edge rusher. He is 6-foot-3 and 253 pounds. After adding weight over his college career, he’ll need to add more to be really effective in the NFL. Bigger offensive linemen can overpower him at times and that will continue to happen if he doesn’t add to his frame.

As mentioned, he found success against the run by shooting gaps. He does struggle against the run at times because he doesn’t shed blocks quickly. With added strength, this should be easier for him, but he also needs to work on not just shooting gaps because that can get him out of position at times.

Ebiketie may be limited to being a 3-4 outside linebacker because of his build. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but fewer teams may be looking at him if they run a 4-3 defense. On top of fitting best in a 3-4 defense, he also isn’t a great candidate to rush from the inside, whether lining up there from the start or on stunts and twists, because he doesn’t have the strength to hold up.

Projected Draft Range: First Round Pick-Second Round Pick

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