• UCLA’s Laiatu Latu wins best in show: Latu is excellent with his hands — his precision and timing when swiping offensive tackles off of him is NFL-level already. He also shows a variety of moves from a euro step to a two-handed swipe, a cross-chop, a dip-and-rip and much more.
• Best swim move actually comes from an interior lineman: When lined up anywhere from a one-technique to a three-technique, Jer’Zhan Newton can get out of his stance and get his arm up and over interior offensive linemen before they can even get their hands up to grab him.
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With so many different sizes and styles of pass rushers in the 2024 NFL draft, we wanted to point out a handful of superlatives that recognize players on the defensive line who boasted the best moves and traits for winning on the line of scrimmage.
Deepest Pass Rush Repertoire: EDGE Laiatu Latu, UCLA
It’s crazy to think that we almost didn’t get to see the UCLA version of Latu due to a neck injury he suffered while playing at Washington that almost forced him to medically retire from football. Since missing time and getting his body right after that injury, Latu has been in the lab (film room) studying some of the best pass-rushers in the game and bringing their moves to the college field. Latu is excellent with his hands — his precision and timing when swiping offensive tackles off of him is NFL-level already. He also shows a variety of moves from a euro step to a two-handed swipe, a cross-chop, a dip-and-rip and much more. He can use so many counters with great muscle memory.
Best Burst: EDGE Chop Robinson, Penn State
I recently wrote about Penn State’s Chop Robinson as a potential high-ceiling but low-floor player due to some deficiencies in his game. However, getting off the line of scrimmage quickly is not one of them. At 255 pounds, he recorded a 1.54-second 10-yard split and a 10-foot-8 broad jump, which were 97th and 95 percentile numbers for his position. Both showcased his explosiveness from a stand-still position, which shows up in his tape, too. Though there are some other physical concerns (arm and stride length) that can explain why he didn’t have more backfield production, he is the king of explosiveness for this draft class.
Best Bend: EDGE Dallas Turner, Alabama
Alabama’s Dallas Turner put on a show when he showed up at the combine and ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash while also leaping 40.5 inches in the vertical, showcasing some serious explosiveness. However, Turner not only wins with great burst on tape, he also does so with flexibility and bend. Turner has the ability to get even with an offensive tackle and corner their outside shoulder at a high level. His combination of explosiveness and flexibility is a big reason why he is projected to be the first pass-rusher off the board in April.
Best Long Arm: EDGE Dallas Turner, Alabama
There are a few players who display a nice long-arm pass-rush plan. Nelson Caesar, Laiatu Latu, Cedric Johnson has displayed the ability and willingness to gain that separation and leverage with a long-arm technique. But Dallas Turner has the most imposing and dominant long-arm move in the class. Despite being under 6-foot-3 in height, Turner has the wingspan of someone who is typically 6-foot-9. This, plus his athleticism, allows him to fire off the ball and get into the chest of offensive tackles before they can even get their hands up to grab him. From there, he has them on their heels and can manipulate their balance/weight in a variety of ways, which is very alluring for NFL defensive coaches.
Best Bull Rush: EDGE Marshawn Kneeland, Western Michigan
There are a handful of edge rushers in this class who have devastating power – Jared Verse, Darius Robinson, Bralen Trice. And that’s not even mentioning defensive tackles like T’Vondre Sweat and his teammate Byron Murphy II. Nonetheless, I’m giving the nod to Kneeland here because I don’t think he’s getting enough love in this class. To quote the PFF draft guide: “Kneeland's film looks like a car crash from an action movie (in a good way). He puts his big body on the line every snap, and doesn't want to run around his blockers; he wants to run through them.” His pass rush profile is built around imposing strength early on in the game, then adding more finesse as offensive tackles over-set to counter his strength.
Best Swim Move: DT Jer’Zhan Newton, Illinois
This was a tough call between Ohio State’s Michael Hall Jr. and Newton, but I gave the edge to Newton just because of how productive he has been with that (and other moves) in his arsenal over the last two seasons. Newton is devastatingly quick on the inside. When lined up anywhere from a one-technique to a three-technique, he can get out of his stance and get his arm up and over interior offensive linemen before they can even get their hands up to grab him. Hall Jr. is also very effective using this move, so I wanted to make sure I gave him a shout-out as well. But for as productive as Newton has been, he gets the honor here.
Best Spin Move: EDGE Jonah Elliss, Utah
The spin move feels like everyone’s favorite pass-rush move. When a player hits it cleanly, it’s a thing of beauty, and there is often nothing a quarterback can do to escape it. Of all the defensive linemen I’ve watched, Elliss might not have the most violent spin move, but he has the most effective one. He mentioned at the combine that he likes to base his pass rush plan around a two-hand swipe. From there he throws in more speed or power to keep offensive tackles guessing. Once he feels he’s getting them to overset to protect the outside shoulder, he’ll hit them with an inside spin move that is “teach tape” in quality.
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