2021 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Levi Onwuzurike

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Levi Onwuzurike, 6-3/290 Defensive Tackle Washington

Levi Onwuzurike Scouting Report
By Charlie Campbell

Strengths:

Polished defender

Athletic, quick interior defender

Quick at the point of attack

Good get-off; fast off the ball

Quick feet

Fires his gap quickly

Disruptive in the backfield

Quick at the point of attack

Good technique

Plays with good pad level

Can contribute some interior pass-rush

Quality run defender

Developed upper body strength

Strong to stack at the line

Hustles downfield

Good motor

Can contribute interior pass-rush

Weaknesses:

Needs to improve pass-rushing moves for the NFL

More disruptive than productive

Gets pressure in the pass rush but rarely finishes

Frame could be maxed out

Lost a year of development

Lack of length and weight make him a poor fit in a 3-4

Summary: Over the last decade, Washington has had a nice run of interior defensive line prospects for the NFL, including first-round picks Danny Shelton and Vita Vea. While Onwuzurike is not projected to end up as a top-20 pick like those two, he should carry the tradition on by being selected in the early rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Onwuzurike recorded 16 tackles and two sacks in 2017. He made a nice jump in 2018 as a sophomore, totaling 34 tackles with three sacks. Onwuzurike then notched 45 tackles and two sacks in 2019. That was his final season of college football because Onwuzurike decided to sit out the 2020 season.



In the pass rush, Onwuzurike is more disruptive than productive. He is quick to fire his gap, using his excellent burst off the ball to get into offensive linemen faster than they expect. Onwuzurike uses that speed to push upfield and create some interior pressure. He can get tied up after his initial burst, however, and as a result, Onwuzurike never produced many sacks. He needs to improve his pass-rushing moves to shed those second-effort blocks and get home more often. If Onwuzurike maintains his current level of play or just has marginal improvement, he might be a 3-5 sack-per-year defender who is more of a contributor in the pass rush rather than a difference maker.

Onwuzurike is a tough run defender who shows some developed strength to stack his blocker at the line of scrimmage. He plays with nice pad level and leverage to not get pushed backward while keeping gap integrity. With strong hands and some power in his upper body, he is able to fight off blockers and does a nice job of getting in on tackles outside of his gap. Onwuzurike has a good motor and gives a real effort to run to the ball downfield to get in on tackles.

At the next level, Onwuzurike’s best fit would come as a three-technique in a 4-3 defense. He lacks length to play five-technique defensive end in a 3-4 and does not have the size of a 3-4 nose tackle. Onwuzurike is a polished defender who should be able to contribute quickly in his NFL career.

Some, like NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, are projecting Onwuzurike to the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, while other projections have him going on the second day. If Onwuzurike is not taken in the first round, Onwuzurike looks very likelt to go on Friday night and should not make to the third day of the 2021 NFL Draft.



Player Comparison: Maurice Hurst. Onwuzurike reminds me of Hurst. Both are fast penetrators who are more disruptive than productive. They also are slightly undersized, giving them the ability to create some pressure but not produce many sacks. Hurst (6-1, 291) would have been a second-day pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, but medical concerns caused him to slide. Onwuzurike could go on the second day of the 2021 NFL Draft.

2021 NFL Draft Player Previews - Choose Player 2021 NFL Draft Player Previews - Home Paulson Adebo, CB, Stanford Tutu Atwell, WR, Louisville Jhamon Ausbon, WR, Texas A&M Aaron Banks, G, Notre Dame Christian Barmore, DT, Alabama Carlos Basham, DE, Wake Forest Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota Nick Bolton, LB, Missouri Baron Browning, LB, Ohio State Dyami Brown, WR, North Carolina Spencer Brown, OT, Northern Iowa Tyson Campbell, CB, Georgia Jackson Carman, OT, Clemson Ja'Marr Chase, WR, LSU Andre Cisco, S, Syracuse Zaven Collins, LB, Tulsa Sam Cosmi, OT, Texas Jabril Cox, LB, LSU Christian Darrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech Jamin Davis, LB, Kentucky Wyatt Davis, G, Ohio State Landon Dickerson, C, Alabama Liam Eichenberg, OT, Notre Dame D'Wayne Eskridge, WR, Western Michigan Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State Paris Ford, S, Pittsburgh Pat Freiermuth, TE, Penn State Kenny Gainwell, RB, Memphis Richie Grant, S, Central Florida Najee Harris, RB, Alabama Kylin Hill, RB, Mississippi State Trey Hill, C, Georgia Jevon Holland, S, Oregon Jaycee Horn, CB, South Carolina James Hudson, OT, Cincinnati Talanoa Hufanga, S, USC Creed Humphrey, C, Oklahoma Teven Jenkins, OT, Oklahoma State Mac Jones, QB, Alabama Patrick Jones, DE, Pittsburgh Brevin Jordan, TE, Miami Kelvin Joseph, CB, Kentucky Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson Alex Leatherwood, OT, Alabama Walker Little, OT, Stanford Hunter Long, TE, Boston College Terrace Marshall Jr., WR, LSU Jalen Mayfield, OT, Michigan Tre' McKitty, TE, Georgia Davis Mills, QB, Stanford Trevon Moehrig, S, TCU Elijah Molden, CB, Washington Kellen Mond, QB, Texas A&M Dan Moore Jr., OT, Texas A&M Elijah Moore, WR, Ole Miss Rondale Moore, WR, Purdue Dylan Moses, LB, Alabama Israel Mukuamu, CB, South Carolina Jamie Newman, QB, Wake Forest Greg Newsome, CB, Northwestern Daviyon Nixon, DT, Iowa Dayo Odeyingbo, DE, Vanderbilt Osa Odighizuwa, DT, UCLA Azeez Ojulari, LB, Georgia Levi Onwuzurike, DT, Washington Joseph Ossai, LB, Texas Jayson Oweh, DE, Penn State Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah, LB, Notre Dame Micah Parsons, LB, Penn State Kwity Paye, DE, Michigan Ronnie Perkins, OLB, Oklahoma Jaelan Phillips, DE, Miami Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida Dillon Radunz, OT, North Dakota Aaron Robinson, CB, Central Florida Quincy Roche, OLB, Miami Larry Rountree, RB, Missouri Gregory Rousseau, DE, Miami Asante Samuel Jr., CB, Florida State Trey Sermon, RB, Ohio State Penei Sewell, OT, Oregon Tyler Shelvin, DT, LSU Rashawn Slater, C, Northwestern DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama D'Ante Smith, OT, East Carolina Trey Smith, G, Tennessee Marquez Stevenson, WR, Houston Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, Oklahoma Eric Stokes, CB, Georgia Chazz Surratt, LB, North Carolina Sage Surratt, WR, Wake Forest Patrick Surtain, CB, Alabama Tamorrion Terry, WR, Florida State Kadarius Toney, WR, Florida Kyle Trask, QB, Florida Joe Tryon, DE, Washington Jay Tufele, DT, USC Payton Turner, DE, Houston T.J. Vasher, WR, Texas Tech Alijah Vera-Tucker, OT, USC Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama Tylan Wallace, WR, Oklahoma State Rashad Weaver, DE, Pittsburgh Javonte Williams, RB, North Carolina Rodarius Williams, CB, Oklahoma State Marvin Wilson, DT, Florida State Zach Wilson, QB, BYU

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