Prospect Profile: Donovan Ezeiruaku, EDGE, Boston College

Evaluation

Get Off

His burst and first-step quickness is frightening in obvious passing situations. He’s a good processor so he doesn’t lose too much on neutral downs when he has to read run/pass.

Rushing the Passer

He is a lethal pass rusher who has a limited selection of extremely effective moves and all the athleticism he needs to get to the Quarterback. He has a plan, he understands what his go-to moves are and how to keep the Offensive Lineman guessing. He could though, adjust his plan more for the opponent he is facing. It is effective to use speed to power, bull rush, and long arm moves to maintain an element of surprise when he unleashes the devastating cross-chop he has in his armoury. But it isn’t an effective weapon for him against thicker-set Offensive Linemen, their lack of fear of his power moves means they don’t compromise the half-man relationship enough for him to hit the move he wants to. His long arm move can be effective at first because of the leverage he’s able to use and because his hand placement is so good, but OL with good anchors can stalemate him before he gets to the QB. He could stand to add more counters to those power moves Having said all that, the moves that do work well are dangerous to all Offensive Linemen. He has a cross-chop, already mentioned that utilizes a violent and accurate hand to the outside hand of the OL, staying clean of the OT with an effective lateral jump. Speaking of his lateral quickness, he is able to win on inside moves by using his impressive change of direction coupled with fast and accurate hands. In the last year he has turned into a more effective finisher on the Quarterback and got his hands on the QB a lot. His outstanding athleticism not only includes speed and explosion but also flexibility and bend, it is this that helps him to corner when he gets to the hip of the Offensive Line and that gives him the beginnings of a good ghost rush. His speed and explosion then helps him to finish on most types of Quarterback.

Defending the Run

He has outstanding length and natural leverage and knows how to deploy it against the Zone running game. If he’s play-side against Outside Zone he can expertly set an edge, using his superior hand timing and placement before locking out to gain leverage with his long arms. His shorter stature helps him to have natural leverage and the power allows him to build a trench on one side of the line. He is able to use his excellent hands to disengage the blocker if he needs to and can tackle the runner in both gaps. On the backside of Zone runs, he is quickly off his spot and in pursuit of the back, he can tackle the runner for an only modest gain on the bend read and will chase down backs from a long way behind. In either instance he will keep his eyes in the backfield and process the run well, bench-pressing the blocker to make a play at the point of attack. When he has to take on bigger OL inside, in close quarters, he can get sealed. He is more tentative on Gap runs and doesn’t recognise movement across the formation quickly, he’ll take on blockers willingly but when he doesn’t see it far enough off and doesn’t have a runway, he can’t maximize his play strength as well as he does when he’s defending Zone runs. He can use his hands well to disengage against Gap blocks and you can rarely make a block stick on him downfield, he’s slippery. He is a bit too tentative against the read option, he reads the mesh too slowly, and can often be caught in between the two ball-carriers.

DRAFTED RAVEN COMP
Tim Williams with more explosion, longer arms and better setting the edge.

PRODUCTION
Final year on campus: 14 Sacks, 20 QB Hits, 57 Total Tackles, 3 FF
INJURY HISTORY: Missed no games in college. Sprained AC joint & severe bone bruise cost him most of JR year of high school

RAVENS FIT
Athleticism 5
Intelligence 4
Versatility 3
Grit 3
Scheme 4