Joshua Paschal 2022 NFL Draft Profile

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

Joshua Paschal Background

Position: Edge Rusher

Size: 6-foot-3, 278 pounds

Class: Redshirt Senior

2021 stats: 52 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 1 forced fumble

Paschal battled through a lot of adversity during his college career, but has made himself into a quality draft prospect. He is now preparing for the 2022 NFL Draft.

As a four-star prospect out of Maryland, Paschal decided to sign on with Kentucky for his college career. He started one game as a freshman, producing 3.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Paschal was diagnosed with cancer before the 2018 season and was only able to play in three games. He registered one tackle for loss and redshirted. For his sophomore redshirt season, Paschal showed his improvement, totaling 9.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. His play helped Kentucky go 8-5 and win the Belk Bowl. He was an All-SEC Honorable mention in 2020 with 6.5 tackles for loss and one sack. The Wildcats went just 5-6, but did win the Gator Bowl at the end of the season. Paschal improved to become a First Team All-SEC player with 15 tackles for loss and five sacks. He led the team as a captain for the third straight season and helped them win 10 games including the Citrus Bowl over Iowa.

Following a career that saw him overcome a lot, Paschal is getting ready for the NFL. He is currently projected to be a second to fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Josh Paschal Strengths

Joshua Paschal #4

Paschal doesn’t have the best measurables, but he is a well-built player. At 6-foot-3 and 278 pounds, he already has an NFL-ready body and can continue to improve it at the next level. His length won’t be the greatest, but he has great strength for an edge defender.

His versatility will make him appealing to teams. He lined up all over the defensive front for Kentucky. Whether it was 4-3 defensive end, 3-4  defensive end or 3-4 outside linebacker, Paschal proved he could do a lot for a defense. He may need to slim down or bulk up more to be ideal for the NFL at those positions, but he held up well at the collegiate level.

He is a great run defender, which partially comes due to his strength and his ability to shed blocks. Paschal can diagnose plays well and then shows good pursuit of the ball after shedding. He is a solid tackler and routinely fulfills his role as a run defender. Paschal could see some work on rushing downs early in his career.

Josh Paschal Weaknesses

He lacks length as a shorter edge rusher. Primarily he wins because of his strength, but NFL offensive linemen could negate some of that by using their long arms to control the matchup. He’ll have to be great with his technique to make up for the length difference.

His flexibility is also limited. He doesn’t have the bend to beat offensive tackles around the edge consistently. Even though he gets a good jump at the snap of the ball, it can be negated because he can’t get around the tackle blocking him. Like mentioned with his lack of length, this makes his technique even more important.

Paschal needs to add pass rush moves to his arsenal and have a better plan to get to the quarterback. He currently can become predictable as a rusher and needs to add counters to his game to win if his first move is stopped. Because of his lack of length and flexibility, he really needs to improve his moves and hand fighting.

Projected Draft Range: Second Round Pick-Fourth Round Pick

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