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- Position: Interior Defensive Lineman
- College: Alabama
- Class: Redshirt Senior
- Number: 92
- Drafted at: Round 4 Pick 5 (105th overall)
- Age when drafted: 23.04
| Measurable | Measurement | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 6' 4⅜" | 83rd |
| Weight | 297 lbs | 28th |
| Wingspan | 80¾" | 69th |
| Arm Length | 33⅜" | 58th |
| Hand Size | 10" | 53rd |
| 10 Yard Split | 1.8s | 22nd |
| 40 Yard Dash | 5.18s | 30th |
| Vertical Jump | 28" | 31st |
Production
| YEAR | GP/GS | TACKLES | TFLs | SACKS | PD | INT | ADDITIONAL INFORMATION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 10/2 | 10 | 3 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 13/9 | 19 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Pandemic-shortened season |
| 2021 | 15/3 | 19 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 4/0 | 11 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Redshirted; Missed the final nine games (herniated disc) |
| 2023 | 14/14 | 63 | 11.5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | First Team All-SEC |
| TOTAL | 56/28 | 122 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 1 |
Games Watched:
- Ole Miss - 9.23.2023
- Texas A&M - 10.7.2023
- LSU - 11.4.2023
Injury History:
Justin missed most of his Junior season with a herniated disc that he suffered in October 2022, the herniation was pushed against his spinal cord which resulted in season-ending surgery (performed by neurosurgeon David Okonkwo) and wore a neck brace followed by a bone stem device to help stimulate bone growth for three months. He was fully cleared for football activity after seven months and he went on to play his first game less than one year after the injury.
Positives:
He clearly has a strong back and lower half to take this kind of shock from two lineman and keep working towards the ball. The raw power is there though, he did a nice, if unconventional, two arm lift move before surging straight through and over the running back chip-help to get pressure and force the QB to take off. Knifed through the zone blocking scheme to force the back to take a wide path, his impact on the game is certainly felt against the run more than the pass. His anchor against pullers is an interesting trait as they just don't get an inch from him once he counters with his long arm and then steps into it, this could be where teams see the potential for dealing with gap blocking concepts. One thing that stands out consistently is his motor, he recovered from being 7 yards past the QB to get back and be the one to bring him down from behind after looping the long way around. We finally have a good pass rush rep and it results in a sack, he gets under the pads of the tackle with an impressive long arm move before disengaging with quick hands to swim back over and reel in the QB, this showed positive traits but the flashy disengagement in a tight space is the one that stands out to me. Against LSU he looked more twitched up converting his speed to power more efficiently, his arm length isn't elite but his wingspan is because of his large torso. He's a tad under 300lbs but he's huge which shows he's got a good physique and that reveals itself on tape where he wins the contact battle if he's got his feet under him. He just has a real knack for burrowing through turned lineman to find the back in crowded spaces, he refuses to accept he is out leveraged and just keeps on pushing, it's a good habit to have gained, he's a hungry lad. One play against LSU highlighted this where he fights through four blockers from two gaps over to take down the back from behind and everyone is surprised that he made the stop from that far away. He looks much more fluid acting on the weak side of an even front especially when he's asked to attack either A gap, he shows a quicker first step when knifing inside allowing himself a full first stride. The way in which he can bench off a Tackle and shoot inside to get a run stop a gap over from his own is very nice, needs to use his length to his advantage like this rather than getting in too close like he often does. He was rarely asked to be the spiker on stunts but he has the profile for it, he just needs to be more decisive and crash down when he does get the green light for it. God forbid you have to down block across him as an OT because he just blew #66 from LSU off his feet and sent him flying into the back for a highlight reel TFL; this is what happens when he plays from a low stance with a straight back, he really fired off on those poor dudes. I did not expect to see him flatten 90 degrees to bring down the jet motion hand-off player, wow he dropped anchor and bent the edge completely uncharacteristically, where has this been?
Negatives:
Can get beaten initially as he doesn't have an explosive get off, he's slow to get out of his stance with lumbering movements but he resets really well after absorbing the double teams push. He lacks the pass rush upside of his classmates with a clear lack of explosion and quickness to his movements. He's a disciplined lane rusher but there is really no dynamism to his pass rush skill set, it's simply power and length with the occasional rip move, he really needs to develop some technical skills to continue playing anywhere close to the edge at the next level. Doesn't have the footspeed or bend to be effective as a looper on stunts. When he gets his leverage right he can push good interior lineman back into the middle of the pocket but again he's not reaching his full potential here as he doesnt have a natural feel for the body angle this requires. Can get washed down when lineman attack his sides, needs to be able to pivot his hips a bit better or put more weight on his inside plant leg to stop this. Has a good nose for the ball vs the run but his lack of burst costs him as he is in position to make plays but gets beaten for speed. Man he really lacks the lateral movement skills to adjust to elusive skill position players, he had the QB Max King dead to rights but a slight shimmy sent me flying by, it wasn't even a good move. He needs to build in some counters because when he gets in tight or comes up tall he has no secondary move and will just keep going into his blockers chest, his pad height is a concern in general but this is a bit common in guys his height playing inside. The stiffness in his midsection is probably a result of the long term spinal injury he suffered but he can counter this by pivoting and getting his feet under him, when he gets his chest too high this is the type of move he struggles with. Could do with reading his keys better as the read edge on the option concept because he chooses neither option multiple times, make a decision and hit it early or play both slowly, can't exist in no man's land like he does.
Overall Grade:
DT9 / Tier 4 / Round 4
Summary:
His final year as a redshirt senior was his first as a full time starter and his production exploded. He played all across the bama front all the way from a 5 to a 0 but whilst his versatility can help out for depth I don't think he showed enough athleticism to be effective wider than a 3 in an even front. I like his unceasing tenacity where he never gives up on a play but his lack of pass rush iso winning upside means this is the only way he gets sacks. His real impact is felt in the run game where he can survive against double teams with a solid lower half and he shows a real nose for the ball on interior run concepts. He stonewalls pullers too which is a great trait to have as an early downs guy and he keeps working through contact no matter how many gaps over he is. Eboigbe's Senior Bowl tape may have pushed him further up the Chargers' big board as he dominated any guard that wasn't considered an elite prospect whilst flashing some quicker movement skills than he showcased in season. Overall Justin Eboigbe has been a real slow burner only breaking out in his 5th year in school and his tape got better as the year went on, by the LSU game he was showing some real flashes that could mean he is primed for even more growth at the next level.
System Fit:
Given the quality of the Edge rushing group it seems like the opposite is going to be the case for Jesse Minter's interior defensive line. The fact that any combination of Otito Ogbonnia, Morgan Fox, Scott Matlock or Poona Ford are set to start shows that the strength of this line is not on the inside. Whilst I think collectively that group is being undervalued, there is arguably no one that had the upside to be a three down impact player against both the run and pass. Justin Eboigbe steps into this room with fantastic run stuffing ability with a natural nose for the football that I would argue doesn't already have a presence among this position group. He also has shown flashes in pass rush and could develop into more than a clean up high motor player on passing downs and that gives him upside that will get him more snaps eventually. I think he will be an early downs guy to begin with with some short yardage 3rd down work especially if the Chargers stick with an even front in those situations.
System Player Comp:
This was a difficult one because neither the Ravens or Wolverines had any players who aligned with Eboigbe's skillset and frame that crossed over with Jesse Minter's or Mike Macdonald's tenure so I had to think laterally and eventually thought of a slightly unconventional one. Zach Sieler was Ozzie Newsome's final pick at the end of his long term stint as Baltimore's GM, he was taken in the 7th round of 2018 out of Div II Ferris State to play defensive end in Wink Martindale's defense but never really got a chance to shine in a system that didn't fit his profile and he was released after only two games in purple. He found his home in Miami where he broke through relative unanimity with a huge 10 sacks from the interior last season as well as having a game wrecking gap shooting ability against the run. He continues to be one of the most underrated players in the league despite Miami paying him well enough. I can see Justin having a similar path as I believe if he is pigeon-holed to a 5-tech role in a traditional even front he wouldn't be set up for success however I see his tools being better suited in fronts that put him between a 4i and 1t with the ability to be on the field in a match front. Sieler is more of a quick burst athlete that can get through gaps with quick second phase speed but like Eboigbe he uses his length and power to put guards in unwinnable situations. Zach's draft profile had him as more of a run stop player with flashes of upside in the pass game and that's how I see Justin's potential career trajectory if he harnesses the best of his abilities.
| Measurement | Justin Eboigbe (2024) | Zack Sieler (2018) |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 6' 4 3/8" | 6' 5 6/8" |
| Weight | 297 lbs | 288 lbs |
| Hand Size | 10" | 10" |
| Arm Length | 33 3/8" | 33 6/8" |
| 40 Yard Dash | 5.18s | 4.83s |
| 20 Yard Split | 2.97s | 2.77s |
| 10 Yard Split | 1.79s | 1.8s |
| Vertical | 28 | 29 |
Pick Assessment:
There are some issues I have with this pick. The first is how far in advance of the consensus board they took a one year starter who had a serious spinal injury to recover from. The second is the quality of player that was still left on the board, Brandon Dorlus was available as my DT5 ahead of Justin as my DT9. Overall the consensus board saw this as a reach after he went 47 picks ahead of his 152nd overall ranking and 4 spots ahead of his positional ranking of 15th. Dorlus has pass rushing upside and position flexibility (more so than Justin) gives him an edge, I was surprised he didn't go earlier as I had a second round grade and the Falcons, despite already taking a DT two rounds earlier, pounced on the Chargers' oversight. The good news is that in retrospective this pick was still more than acceptable because the DT talent fall off after Eboigbe and Dorlus was dramatic, plus Hortiz and Harbaugh clearly wanted more of a run stopper and whilst Dorlus is a much better gap shooter, Eboigbe will do the dirty work to fight through blocks, take on double teams and he never stops working and that is exactly what Harbaugh covets. Jesse Minter's edge rushers are so elite that the interior just needs to be the support and Justin fits that role very well.
Nice analysis, Ryan. As I mentioned a few times at the forum I'm now loathe to mention, I have pretty high hopes for this kid. As you've stated, I think he'll be far better as a run defender than pass rusher, but what I really like is his motor & apparent work ethic. He's not Tuli athletically, certainly doesn't have Tuli's pass rush skills, but I believe they both possess traits that will relate well to what Harbaugh is trying to build....hard-nosed, physically & mentally strong, relentless, lunch-pail kind of players. I'm excited to see what the other Herbert can build here in the weight room too. I could easily see another 10-15 lbs of muscle & the accompanying strength without noticeably affecting his stamina or movement ability. And that extra sand in his pants would be a welcome addition to what has been an anemic run defense for too long.
Awesome analysis, Ryan. I am like you and prefered Dorlus's traits as a pass rusher/gap shooter at that draft position. However, I can see why Minter/Harbaugh wanted him.
I've copped flak for not particularly liking the Eboigbe pick after watching 4 of his games and I do have questions about his frame and strength transferring to the NFL. My word was 'tweener', which was shared with Zierlein:
"Tweener with solid power but below-average snap explosiveness and quickness, which prevents him from making more plays. Eboigbe plays base end and can slide inside when needed, but lacks the anchor and power associated with most Alabama interior defenders. He’s more than capable of bullying tight ends as a base end, but will need to move inside as a pass rusher. Eboigbe’s NFL frame and strong pop at contact could create an opportunity for him to compete for a backup role in 4-3 or 3-4 schemes."
The key analysis there is the opportunity to play in an even and/or odd front, and Minter is all about scheme versatility.
Buck, on your comments about his frame, I really think Herbert will have to pack some meat onto him. Eboigbe has the frame to do it (per Ringer):
"At a little over 6'4" and 290 pounds, Justin Eboigbie certainly looks the part of an NFL defensive lineman. He has a good frame that he can add weight to if needed."
I'd like to see him play at around 305lbs if he is going to be mainly interior run-stopper. But at the same time, does that mean he loses scheme versatility/stamina? It is an interesting proposition. Was he drafted because of his versatility? Or did they draft him because they see a frame they can turn into an interior run defender? I like his wingspan and his height, but his weight still worries me in that chart, as it did when we drafted him. Herbert has a bit of a project me thinks!
@wrefordreed89 Jack, great to be able to interact with you directly here. When I listened to the TDU podcast after the draft, I was prompted to post about your comments on Eboigbe, and Alister speculated that when you mentioned 'heavier' you may have meant 'stronger'. To that, I replied:
This doesn't really make sense to me. It was noted in multiple draft profiles (e.g., Dane Brugler, Lance Zierlein, PFF) that one of Eboigbe's strengths was his physical strength/power.
FWIW I also wrote this on another site in reaction to whether or not Eboigbe was a reach:
IMO as you get deeper in the draft, position ranking matters more than overall ranking. Related to the draft pick and whether or not it was a reach:
- Consensus among the 10 ranking sources I used [referring to my fanpost on draft rankings at BFTB] was that his overall ranking average was 165.3, with a range from 118 to 249. He was drafted at 105.
- Consensus among the 10 ranking sources I used was that his position ranking average was 15.1, with a range from 9 to 25. He was drafted at 11. His position ranking doesn't look like as much of a reach as his overall ranking.
- His rankings very likely suffered due to his medical history (neck injury in 2022), which suggests that there would be more variance in his position on different team draft boards, i.e., some teams were good with it and some weren't, meaning they would rank him very differently. The teams good with his history would presumably value him above consensus averages. The Chargers clearly were comfortable with his history.
- In addition, it is quite possible that the Chargers value run defense on their board more than many teams do. He is one of the best run defense DL players in the draft.
- He also offers rare versatility, basically splitting his 2023 snaps roughly evenly between Edge and IDL, including snaps all over the line. That can offer more value to a team like the Chargers, which has a fairly weak IDL group.
@tau837 awesome to be interacting with you, too! Alister has always shared your thoughts with us via other channels, so it's nice to cut out the middleman and have direct discourse.
I've come around to much of what you say. It was not so much of a reach as I first thought, given the value the Chargers perhaps placed on strengthening the anemic run defence we have had for years (as you point out). Dorlus was more of a pass rusher and gap-shooter, so Eboigbe makes more sense upon reflection. It was the correct pick over Dorlus given the drop-off at that position after those two at that point in the draft.
I'll defend my statement about 'heavier' with some PFF'ing. Let's look at last year's best IDL run defenders, there is an evident trend (and this is where my 'heavier' opinion comes in). These are the heights and weights AND draft positions of the top 12 run defence graded IDL from 2023:
Quinnen Williams 6'3 303 Round 1 (Grade of 90.4)
Derrick Brown 6'5 320 Round 1
Dexter Lawrence 6'4 342 Round 1
Da'Shawn Hand 6'3 297 Round 4
Michael Pierce 6'0 355 UDFA
Grover Stewart 6'4 314 Round 4
David Onyemata 6'4 300 Round 4 (Grade of 77.1)
Alim McNeil 6'2 315 Round 3
Maurice Hurst 6'2 290 Round 5
DJ Reader 6'3 335 Round 5
Armon Watts 6'5 307 Round 6
DaQuan Jones 6'4 320 Round 4 (Grade 74.6)
So, when I say that I see an issue with Eboigbe's weight, this data gives some understanding of my issue. For Eboigbe to be a 'decent' run defender, playing under 300lbs, he already is fighting an uphill battle given the weights seen above.
Now an argument would be 'But he's selected in the 4th round so that's value', hence I placed the draft position of each IDL. But is it really value? Other than the top 3 graded blue-chippers in Williams, Brown, and Lawrence all taken in Round 1 of their respective drafts, the rest of the players bar one (McNeil) are picked in the 4th round or later, with TWO UDFAs making the top 10 list.
I couldn't find each player's starting weight, and I am assuming that each of these players has packed on muscle and strength throughout their NFL tenures. What is positive is that Eboigbe HAS the body type to play heavier, especially given his height and frame. His size is clearly evident on the watching of his tape, as is his motor.
It's not all doom and gloom. I am actually more buoyant about JE than other draft picks. I think Eboigbe has the potential to be ok at the NFL level, perhaps even average. Clearly, teams can find run-stopping talent deeper and later in the draft, so his draft position is indicative of his value. However, my concern about his 'heaviness' is valid when you look at the physical make-up of the best run defenders in the NFL. That being said, most of these guys are proper Interior linemen and don't have the supposed versatility that Eboigbe has, so that is also a limiting factor in these comparisons. But, if he was drafted to help stop the run, his weight will be a factor against NFL-calibre linemen and running backs. Hopefully, this makes my point clear.
Can't wait until Stormcloud gets fully operational - it's going to be great.
Finally officially made the switch. Wow, it feels awesome to have some quality content. Thank you Kyle and team for putting this site together.
@buck-melanoma We're just getting rollin'! Scratching the surface of the organizational/feature capabilities of this forum, and on-boarding a third podcast (and Ryan and I will be back to podcasting when we finish a re-brand we're doing) this week.
There should be a very healthy flow of video and written content coming out, and my hope is to also have a cap space/draft capital/outgoing UFA's and compensatory pick projector page.
We've almost got the bulk of the hard stuff done... lot of fun stuff to follow 
Thank you!
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