2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Owen Pappoe

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Owen Pappoe, 6-0/225 Linebacker Auburn

Owen Pappoe Scouting Report
By Charlie Campbell

Strengths:

Good speed

Quick, sideline-to-sideline defender

Flies around the field

Ability to work through trash

Athletic

Smooth mover

Good in space

Agile

Not stiff

Pass-coverage potential

Dangerous blitzer

Capable of playing zone coverage

Could be a special teams contributor

Upside

Weaknesses:

Undersized

Underweight

Should add strength

Inconsistent instincts

Not consistent at reading his keys

Summary: Auburn had a few down years, but Pappoe was one defender who stood out for the Tigers. He broke out in 2020 with 93 tackles, four sacks, an interception, and two passes broken up. Pappoe was limited to five games in 2021 and recorded just 23 tackles. Pappoe rebounded in his final season with 92 tackles, three passes defended, 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.

Against the pass, Pappoe is a skilled zone-coverage linebacker. He covers a lot of ground, using his speed to close space in a hurry. With his quickness and athleticism, Pappoe is able to drop well thanks to the speed of his backpedal. He also does a nice job in route recognition too.



Pappoe showed serious speed to be a pursuit run defender at Auburn. However, his instincts were inconsistent, and he struggled with reading his keys. He also had size issues in terms of taking on and shedding blocks. In part because of the size and instinct issues, Pappoe was not always a decent downhill defender. His run defense needs to improve for the NFL.

For the NFL, Pappoe’s best fit would come as a Will – weakside – linebacker in a 4-3 defense. In a 3-4, he could use a heavy and tough Mike linebacker next to him. Pappoe could be a mid-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and he could recieve some consideration on Day 2 for a third-round selection.



Player Comparison: Deion Jones. Pappoe could be a poor-man’s version of Jones in the NFL. Jones (6-1, 222) and Pappoe are almost very in size and possess plus speed and athleticism. In the 2016 NFL Draft, Jones was a second-round pick out of LSU, but Pappoe won’t go that high. He could be a mid-rounder in the 2023 NFL Draft who ends up being a sleeper-value pick.

2023 NFL Draft Player Previews - Choose Player 2023 NFL Draft Player Previews - Home Devon Achane, RB, Texas A&M Adetomiwa Adebawore, DE, Northwestern Jordan Addison, WR, USC Will Anderson, DE, Alabama Felix Anudike-Uzomah, DE, Kansas State Steve Avila, G, TCU Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland Micah Baskerville, LB, LSU Keeanu Benton, DT, Wisconsin Matthew Bergeron, OT, Syracuse Mekhi Blackmon, CB, USC Kayshon Boutte, WR, LSU Brian Branch, S, Alabama Julius Brents, CB, Kansas State Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson Chase Brown, RB, Illinois Sydney Brown, S, Illinois Jack Campbell, LB, Iowa Jalen Carter, DT, Georgia Zach Charbonnet, RB, UCLA Malik Cunningham, QB, Louisvile Gervon Dexter, DT, Florida Josh Downs, WR, North Carolina Max Duggan, QB, TCU Jaelyn Duncan, OT, Maryland Zach Evans, RB, Ole Miss Zay Flowers, WR, Boston College Emmanuel Forbes, CB, Notre Dame Isaiah Foskey, DE, Notre Dame Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama Christian Gonzalez, CB, Oregon Derick Hall, OLB, Auburn Jaren Hall, QB, BYU Anton Harrison, OT, Oklahoma Daiyan Henley, LB, Washington State Hendon Hooker, QB, Tennessee Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee Siaki Ika, DT, Baylor Antonio Johnson, S, Texas A&M Paris Johnson, OT, Ohio State Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU Broderick Jones, G, Georgia Dawand Jones, OT, Ohio State Calijah Kancey, DT, Pittsburgh Dalton Kincaid, TE, Utah Sam LaPorta, TE, Iowa Will Levis, QB, Kentucky Quan Martin, CB, Illinois Cody Mauch, G, North Dakota State Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame Will McDonald, DE, Iowa State Kenny McIntosh, RB, Georgia Tanner McKee, QB, Stanford Kendre Miller, RB, TCU Jonathan Mingo, WR, Ole Miss Cam Mitchell, CB, Northwestern Malachi Moore, S, Alabama Mike Morris, DE, Michigan Wanya Morris, OT, Oklahoma Myles Murphy, DE, Clemson Luke Musgrave, TE, Oregon State Zion Nelson, OT, Miami B.J. Ojulari, OLB, LSU Demarvion Overshown, LB, Texas Owen Pappoe, LB, Auburn Jarrett Patterson, C, Notre Dame Clark Phillips, CB, Utah Joey Porter Jr., CB, Penn State Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas Chris Rodriguez, RB, Kentucky Drew Sanders, LB, Arkansas Noah Sewell, LB, Oregon Trenton Simpson, LB, Clemson Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern Cam Smith, CB, South Carolina Mazi Smith, DT, Michigan Nolan Smith, DE, Georgia Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State John Michael Schmitz, C, Minnesota Tyler Steen, OT, Alabama Tyrique Stevenson, CB, Miami C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State Cedric Tillman, WR, Tennessee Joe Tippman, C, Wisconsin O'Cyrus Torrence, G, Florida Henry To'oTo'o, LB, Alabama Tuli Tuipulotu, DE, USC D.J. Turner, CB, Michigan Lukas Van Ness, DE, Iowa Deuce Vaughn, RB, Kansas State Tyree Wilson, DE, Texas Tech Darnell Washington, TE, Georgia Keion White, DE, Georgia Tech Devon Witherspoon, CB, Illinois Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee Bryce Young, QB, Alabama

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