Adetomiwa Adebawore, EDGE Northwestern: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Adebawore was a three-star recruit from North Kansas City High School in North Kansas City, Mo. in the class of 2019

Northwestern defensive lineman Adetomiwa Adebawore is a versatile prospect who showcases an explosive first step and the ability to shift along the line. The three-year starter is an undersized player who excels thanks to his athleticism and motor. Here’s an in-depth look at his prospect profile.

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Adetomiwa Adebawore, EDGE Northwestern: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Senior defensive end from Kansas City, Mo.

Background: Adebawore was a three-star recruit from North Kansas City High School in North Kansas City, Mo. in the class of 2019. He was the No. 1,151 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 1,147 for On3.com. Adebawore was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 76 grade out of 100. He chose Northwestern over offers from Air Force, Army, Cornell, Navy, Princeton, Toledo, Tulane, Washington State, and Yale. As a high school senior, Adebawore was named All-Suburban White League Defensive Player of the Year, earned Kansas Class 5 First-Team All-State honors, and made the Academic All-State team. According to Rivals, Adebawore tallied double-digit sacks, more than 70 tackles, and more than 20 tackles for loss as a senior while leading North Kansas City High School to its best record in 60 years. He broke the Missouri state shot put record and won the state championship with a throw of 62' 7.75" in his final high school season.

2021 Production: 12 games, 36 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 30 pressures, 4.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 interception, 3 passes defensed

2020 Production: 9 games, 17 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 17 pressures, 2 sacks, 2 passes defensed

2019 Production: 8 games, 6 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 15 pressures, 1 sack

Injuries & Off-Field: N/A

Awards: 2021 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten

Pros: Offers ability to reduce inside and play 3-tech, large mitts, rarely penalized, special teams snaps on the punt return and field goal block units, quick off the line, flashes of an explosive first step, attacks inside rush lanes when lined up as a 5-tech, swim move, active and violent hands, strength to play through contact in half-man rush, plays with natural leverage, overwhelms blocking tight ends, compresses the line on inside runs, scrapes down the back of the offensive line to the running back, swats down the tackle’s hands, motor runs hot, shows upside shooting gaps with his explosiveness, gets hands up for PBUs, some pop in his hands, primarily relies on a bull rush as a pass rusher, sheds blocks and redirects to the football

Cons: Small player likely under 6'2", double-digit missed tackles in 2022, lacks elite arm length, lacks the bend to consistently flatten his rush, doesn’t maintain momentum on stunts, lacks the play strength to generate push along the interior, won’t reduce inside nearly as often at the NFL level, not a twitchy or sudden athlete, still room to improve his use of leverage, sometimes successfully sealed outside, agility and change of direction skills, lacks diverse bag of pass rush moves, counters are underdeveloped or ineffective, lacks pursuit speed, struggles to finish tackles in the backfield, bull rush generates inconsistent displacement, struggled against Dawand Jones’ long arms (2022)

Overview: Adebawore is unofficially listed at 6'2", 280 lbs. He applied pressure on 10.83% of his pass rush attempts in 2021 and on 10.03% of his attempts during the 2022 regular season. Adebawore appeared on Bruce Feldman’s 2022 Freaks List for The Athletic. According to Feldman, the Northwestern product benches 225 lbs. for 30 reps. He maxes out at 410 lbs. on the bench, 685 lbs. squatting, and 375 lbs. power cleaning. Adebawore reportedly runs a 4.05 20-yard shuttle and a 6.9 three-cone while jumping 10'5" in the broad and 37.5" in the vertical. Northwestern primarily lines Adebawore up as a 5-tech, but he also takes significant snaps as a 3-tech and a few snaps as a 4-tech. The former three-star recruit flashes an explosive first step, which helps him shoot gaps as an interior rusher and blow up plays. His first step also helps cross tackles’ faces and attack inside rush lanes when lined up as a 5-tech. Adebawore has large, active, and violent hands that pack some pop. He frequently gets his hands up for pass breakups and uses them to attack and swat the tackle’s hands. Adebawore has the strength to play through contact in a half-man rush around the edge. He plays with natural leverage and primarily relies on a bull rush. However, he also uses a swim move. Adebawore compresses the line on inside runs and scrapes down the back of the offensive line to the running back. His motor runs hot, and he overwhelms blocking tight ends. Ohio State (2022) tried blocking Adebawore in the running game with tight end Cade Stover several times, and it was a massacre. Adebawore is far too powerful to block with tight ends one-on-one. He doesn’t have elite arm length but is strong enough to shed blocks and redirect to the football. Adebawore is likely smaller than his unofficial height (6'2") on Northwestern’s website. He struggles to finish tackles in the backfield and has double-digit missed tackles in 2022. The senior lacks ideal agility and change of direction skills and isn’t a sudden or twitchy athlete. He doesn’t have the bend to play around the edge and flatten his rush to the quarterback. As an interior player, Adebawore creates plays by shooting gaps, but he lacks the play strength to consistently generate push along the interior or anchor against the run. Despite having natural leverage, there’s still room for Adebawore to play with a lower pad level and increase his advantage. His bull rushes frequently stall, and he lacks a diverse bag of pass rush moves and counters to turn to in these situations. Adebawore struggled against Dawand Jones’ long arms (2022) and can be neutralized by opponents who outreach him at the NFL level.

Overall, Adebawore is a versatile, explosive player who does his best work as a penetration-style chess piece, but he lacks the physical tools, agility, bend, and pass rush repertoire to disrupt plays consistently. Adebawore’s status as a tweener with below-average on-field agility that doesn’t match his reported testing numbers limits his draft stock in jeopardy.

Role & Scheme Fit: Defensive end in a 3-4 scheme

Round Projection: Late Fourth to Mid Fifth

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 12-01-22