Anfernee Orji, LB Vanderbilt: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Orji was a three-star recruit from Rockwall High School in Rockwall, Texas in the class of 2019

Vanderbilt linebacker Anfernee Orji excels in zone coverage and racing downhill against the run. He’s a little undersized and likely won’t handle man coverage duties against tight ends. Orji projects as a borderline draftable player in the 2023 NFL Draft.

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Anfernee Orji, LB Vanderbilt: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Senior weakside linebacker from Rockwall, Texas

Background: Orji was a three-star recruit from Rockwall High School in Rockwall, Texas in the class of 2019. He was the No. 468 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 496 for On3.com. Orji was an unranked four-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 79 grade out of 100. He committed to Vanderbilt over offers from Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Indiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Purdue, UCLA, and Utah. Orji amassed 299 tackles and five interceptions during his four high school varsity seasons. As a senior captain, he totaled 94 tackles and two interceptions. He earned All-District honors in 2017 and was the Region 11-6A Defensive Newcomer of the Year in 2016. Orji also earned Academic Second-Team All-State honors in high school. He lettered in football, track, and wrestling and was in the school orchestra from fifth to 11th grade. Orji has two brothers, Alston and Alex. Alston played football at Vanderbilt, and Alex is a quarterback at Michigan.

2022 Production: 12 games, 106 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 13 pressures, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 interception, 1 pass defensed, 1 defensive touchdown

2021 Production: 12 games, 92 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 pass defensed

2020 Production: 9 games, 66 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 2 passes defensed

2019 Production: 9 games, 5 tackles, 1 pass defensed

Injuries & Off-Field: Exited 2020 game against Kentucky with an injury, missed some time in August 2022 with a soft tissue injury

Awards: 2022 Second-Team All-SEC (Phil Steele)

Pros: Nearly 450 special teams snaps to his name split across the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units, high-effort pursuit player, instinctive downhill gap shooter, some upside making blockers miss with quick footwork, dips and bends on stunts and blitzes, gains excellent depth in coverage, high level awareness in zone, strong understanding of his assignments in zone, reads the quarterback’s eyes in coverage, uses physicality to re-route pass catchers early in the play

Cons: Arm length, uninspiring speed and burst, lacks sideline-to-sideline range, missed tackles are a concern, sealed or picked off by climbing tight ends, doesn’t have the mass to handle climbing linemen, lacks the upper body strength to combat climbing blockers, arm length makes it difficult for him to stack and shed blocks, loses track of the ball in the backfield, run fits are hit-or-miss, lacks the athletic profile for man coverage duties, some lower body tightness

Overview: Orji took official measurements at the Shrine Bowl. He’s 6011 and weighs 230 lbs. He has 10 1/4-inch hands, 31 7/8-inch arms, and a 78 3/4-inch wingspan. He projects as a weakside linebacker in a 4-3 scheme at the NFL level. Orji played nearly 450 special teams snaps for Vanderbilt, split across the kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, and field goal block units. He shows high effort in pursuit and is at his best against the run as an instinctive downhill gap shooter. However, his run fits are hit-or-miss. Orji has some upside making blockers miss with quick footwork. His arm length and lack of power make it difficult for him to stack and shed blocks, especially when linemen climb to the second level. Climbing tight ends also give him trouble. Orji dips and bends on stunts and blitzes, displaying impressive athleticism for his build. He gains excellent depth in coverage and displays a high level of awareness in zone. Orji reads the quarterback’s eyes in coverage. His contributions in zone coverage are the best part of his prospect profile. The Texas native has below-average arm length to pair with uninspiring speed and burst. He lacks sideline-to-sideline range and struggles with missed tackles because of his limited tackle radius. Orji appears to suffer from some lower body tightness and lacks the athletic profile for man coverage duties. There are times when he loses track of the football on play action or RPOs.

Overall, Orji is tremendous in zone coverage and displays surprising athleticism near the line of scrimmage, but he struggles to stop the run at a high level and isn’t ideal for man coverage duties. Orji’s special teams background gives him a good chance to land on a practice squad.

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

Round Projection: Early Seventh to UDFA

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 02-26-23