2023 NFL Draft Preview: Scouting report on Northwestern defensive lineman Adetomiwa Adebawore

We have covered the defensive line in this year’s draft class heavily, as it is a position of need for the Seattle Seahawks. In this article, we are going to discuss defensive lineman Northwestern’s Adetomiwa Adebawore, a recent top-30 visit for Seattle.

Games watched - 2021 Rutgers, 2022 Ohio State, Nebraska, Penn State

Previous edge scouting reports - Will Anderson, Myles Murphy, Tyree Wilson, Lukas Van Ness, Nolan Smith

Relative Athletic Score (RAS)

Strengths

• Biggest strength - very good (7) twitchy/high end athleticism - In both the passing and running game, he is rapid off of the line of scrimmage. He is able to beat linemen to the spot on reach blocks as well as beating linemen and tight ends who overset to the outside. He is shot out of a cannon off of the snap, which results in multiple tackles for a loss and blown-up plays. When running a stunt or a twist he shows off a very good burst if presented with an opening, looking almost like an off-ball linebacker.

• Adebawore is extremely smart with how he sets the edge. He gets his shoulders parallel to the line of scrimmage whilst extending his inside arm into the chest of the lineman and keeping his outside arm free.
• Adebawore is able to shed off blockers with relative ease in the running game, sometimes tossing offensive linemen aside like rag dolls. He is able to do this by starting every play with accurate and heavy hands that go right into the chest plate of the offensive lineman, whilst he extends his arms. His hands are active throughout the course of the play is he is consistently readjusting and relocating them. Then as the play goes, he either uses a push and pull or simply just jerks the lineman one way to get off of them and get involved with the play.

• Adebawore is able to physically dominate blocking tight ends and is a mismatch every time he is blocked with one.

• Adebawore has a bendy upper body, which allows him to maintain his play strength and balance throughout the course of the play.
• Adebawore is slowly learning how to convert speed into power and generate a strong bull rush. When he is successfully able to do so and gain leverage, he almost always gets a pressure, even if he is facing bigger and more physical guards if lined up inside.
• He has a push and pull move and swim move that showed flashes but neither are refined and both were used rather sparingly at Northwestern.

Weaknesses

• Biggest weakness - Lack of a refined pass rushing arsenal - He struggles to create true pressure that is not generated by a slower lineman or stunt.
• He is a bit slow to locate the ball on option plays and some runs. There are multiple instances in which he chases the quarterback once he gets to the outside even if he does not have the ball.
• Adebawore can get cleared out by more physical lineman on reaches or simple 1-on-1 blocks. He did not have to face many double teams at Northwestern, which does raise questions as to how he will do against them at the pro level.
• Adebawore does need to improve as a tackler. He has the ability to make a solid tackle with ease, and it shows on his film. But there are far too many instances in which the ball carrier is able to slip his tackle or get out of the tackle whilst he is trying to bring them down. He does not get his body involved much as a tackler, instead trying to let his hands do the majority of the work.
• Adebawore needs to work on getting more consistent leverage in the running game. He has the capabilities to do so but there were far too many instances in which he was not able to or simply did not seem to want to get under the pad levels of the blocker.
• When trying to use his athleticism to win to the outside rather than the inside, Adebawore struggles as he does not have much bend and does not have a true speed move. He often gets forced far up field past the QB’s landing spot which takes him out of the play.
• Adebawore looked extremely uncomfortable and stiff in coverage and should not be used in it at the NFL level.

Floor/ceiling - Adebawore’s combination of very good (7) athleticism and good (6) play strength, shed ability, hand usage and body control gives him the ceiling of a high-end 3-down starter. However, his unrefined pass rushing arsenal, tweener size and inconsistencies locating the ball and making tackles gives him the floor of a flexion backup.

Grade - 6.6 - Low end starter first day of second season - Late first early second

Grade explanation - There is a lot to love in Adebawore’s game. He has off the charts athleticism which can be seen in his RAS which is going to make teams drool over him. If he can correct a few problems in the running game and can add a good pass rushing move to his arsenal with one or two sufficient moves, the sky is the ceiling. His athleticism does give him a higher floor than most raw players, however, because of the rawness in his game it does also lower his base grade.

Schematic fit - Adebawore projects best as a starting 3-tech in a 4-3 scheme who can be used on either side and go up to a 5-techif needed. It is difficult to see him playing in a 3-4 scheme because of his smaller size and struggles in coverage. He will be able to play all three downs early in his career but will be a certain first and second down starter in the NFL because of his impact against the run in terms of shedding defenders and beating linemen to the spot.

Film Highlights