Amin Vanover, Penn State: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Vanover was a three-star recruit from St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, N.J. in the class of 2020

Penn State has built a pipeline of edge rusher talent. That includes Amin Vanover, who projects as a backup for Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton. Injuries limited Vanover in 2023, but his 2022 tape revealed a player with plenty of untapped upside. He projects as a Day 3 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

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Amin Vanover, Edge Penn State: 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt senior defensive end from Newark, N.J.

Background: Vanover was a three-star recruit from St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, N.J. in the class of 2020. He was the No. 441 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 478 for On3.com. Vanover was an unranked four-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 77 grade out of 100. He lettered three times in high school and earned All-State and All-Conference honors twice. As a senior, Vanover totaled 49 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, an interception, three passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. He also posted eight sacks as a junior and eight sacks as a sophomore.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed first two games of 2023 season, suffered a leg injury vs. Ohio State (2023) that led to him missing three more games

Awards: N/A

Pros: Arm length appears to surpass edge thresholds, potential to rebound from injuries in upcoming season, some excellent first steps, explodes off the line, flashes of a violent upper body, fires hands into tackle’s chest and displaces with arm extension, two-handed swipe, converts speed to power, rip move, chains a two-armed bull rush into a rip, long-arm move, swim move, inside swim, works a long-arm into a swim, attacks the B-gap, uses power to pry open B-gap, dips inside shoulder to try and get under offensive tackles, solid straight line speed in open field

Cons: Penalized four times in 2023, limited special teams experience, never played 300 defensive snaps in a single season, pad level pops up quickly at the snap, lacks high-end agility and COD, limited bend to win outside track, stiffness limits his bend and COD, driven up and around the pocket, showed less raw athleticism than fellow PSU pass rushers in 2023, needs to diversify pass rush plan and hand counters, needs to add a spin counter, no counters once linemen get into his frame, bites on misdirection and run fakes, drawn inward surrendering the edge, ends up on the ground too often, not a wrap-up tackler

Overview: Vanover primarily lines up as a 5-tech in two and three-point stances for Penn State. Injuries significantly derailed his 2023 campaign and limited the quality of tape he posted. Revisiting his 2022 tape reveals a much more explosive, loose, and natural athlete. Taking the offseason to get back into that form will open a lot of possibilities for Vanover to raise his draft stock. The redshirt senior has long arms that appear to surpass edge rusher thresholds. He explodes off the line of scrimmage with an excellent first step. Vanover’s upper body is violent and immediately helps him access the tackle’s chest to cause displacement. His pass rush plan includes two-handed swipes, converting speed to power as part of a bull rush, long-arms, rips, inside and outside swims, and some combination moves. He chains his two-armed bull rush into a rip move and transitions his long-arm into a swim move. Vanover also uses his power to open the B-gap and counter inside. He’s not the bendiest rusher out there, but he dips his inside shoulder to get under the offensive tackle’s frame. The former three-star recruit has solid straight line speed in the open field as a pursuing defender. He offers limited special teams experience and has never played 300 or more defensive snaps in a single season. His pad level rises too quickly after the snap, and he lacks the agility and change of direction to quickly redirect and hunt down a quarterback or running back. Vanover suffers from some stiffness that limits his bend and change of direction. This causes him to be driven up and around the pocket by offensive tackles. Vanover has a nice total pass rush arsenal to work with, but he needs to diversify his rush plan and counters on a down-to-down basis. Adding a spin counter would go a long way. The New Jersey native doesn’t have a counter for when offensive linemen get into his frame. He frequently bites on misdirection and run fakes, causing him to be drawn inward and surrender the edge. Vanover ends up on the ground in the run game too often and isn’t a consistent form tackler.

Overall, if Vanover gets back to his more athletic and explosive 2022 form, he could easily rise to the level of a top 100 pick. He has the pass rush foundation and build to be more than just a designated pass rusher at the next level, but a lot of that relies on him staying healthy and seeing enough snaps in 2024 to continue his development.

Role & Scheme Fit: Outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme

Round Grade: Late Fourth to Early Fifth Round

Size: 6'4", 262 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 06-29-24