Colby Wooden, EDGE/IDL Auburn: Offseason 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Wooden was a four-star recruit from Archer High School in Lawrenceville, Ga. in the class of 2019

Auburn’s Colby Wooden transitioned from playing 5-tech and 4-tech in 2020 to working as a 3-tech and 2-tech in 2021. The move paid off as Wooden continued applying pressure from the interior while freeing up Auburn’s true edge rushers. Let’s take a look at Wooden’s 2023 NFL Draft prospect profile.

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Colby Wooden, EDGE/IDL Auburn: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Redshirt junior defensive end from Lawrenceville, Ga.

Background: Wooden was a four-star recruit from Archer High School in Lawrenceville, Ga. in the class of 2019. He was the No. 345 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 375 for On3.com. Wooden was an unranked four-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 79 grade out of 100. In high school, he helped Archer reach the state Class 7A semifinals and earned First-Team All-State, All-County, and All-Region honors. MaxPreps credits Wooden with 54 tackles, eight sacks, and 15 tackles for loss in his senior season. Wooden has a younger brother named Caleb, and his birthday is Dec. 21.

2021 Production: 13 games, 61 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 41 pressures, 4.5 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 2 passes defensed

2020 Production: 11 games, 41 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 24 pressures, 3.5 sacks, 1 pass defensed

2019 Production: 3 games, 6 tackles, 0.5 tackle for loss, 1 pressure (Redshirt Year)

Injuries & Off-Field: N/A

Awards: 2020 SEC All-Freshman Team

Pros: Scheme and positional versatility, plays everywhere from 5-tech to 0-tech at Auburn, zero penalties committed in college, has worked on eliminating missed tackles, special teams experience on punt return and field goal block units, gets his arms up and tries to bat down passes, reads the quarterback’s eyes to look for PBUs, uses a grip and rip to throw himself past interior linemen, terrific at filtering through the wash down the line to the football, stout anchor in run defense, bulldozer when he maintains leverage, heavy hands, pushes the pocket by driving the lineman backward, swim move to get past forward leaning linemen in the running game, some success shooting gaps against the run, creates separation to redirect and find the ball, generates good backward movement when lined up over the center, multiple instances of successfully handling double teams against the run and pass, will make hustle plays in pursuit

Cons: Limited linear speed in pursuit, possible concern about tweener build, runs out of gas on extended plays, some instances of losing his balance and ending up on the ground, lacks a twitchy reaction time, pad level sometimes rises too high, lacks the burst and pass rush plan to consistently generate pressure on the interior, falls back to looking for batted passes once his initial rush dies instead of deploying secondary moves, might have arm length concerns, doesn’t carry much momentum in stunts, more of a pocket pusher than pocket collapser, not a very bendy or agile athlete, awareness as an interior rusher must improve since he got knocked down several times by surprise double teams, inconsistent get-off

Overview: Wooden is unofficially listed at 6'5", 284 lbs. He generated pressure on roughly 11.6% of his pass rush attempts in 2021. Wooden spent most of 2020 lined up outside of or over the tackle, but Auburn kicked him into the B-gap this past year. The redshirt junior has added nearly 45 lbs. since 2018. It’s worth wondering if he can drop weight to increase his explosiveness and play 4-3 defensive end. However, with his current athletic profile, Wooden projects best as a 3-4 defensive end who moves around the line. The Georgia native isn’t very agile, explosive, or bendy, but he makes up for his physical limitations with versatility and force. Wooden has beaten guard-center double teams on his way to the football in the past. He frequently displaces interior offensive linemen when he maintains proper leverage. Wooden already has one or two pass rush moves in his bag, but he needs to work on building a pass rush plan. His moves are often isolated, and he can become stuck on blocks once his initial rush wears off. As a run defender, Wooden has a stout but not elite anchor. His best plays against the run come when he shoots gaps or deploys a swim move to basically olé the offensive lineman looking to make contact with him.

Overall, Wooden is an athletically limited tweener who is still developing an arsenal of pass rushing moves. He’s shown flashes of dispatching double teams, shooting gaps, and creating opportunities for fellow Tiger pass rushers Derick Hall and Eku Leota. An NFL team will need a specific plan for Wooden and his playing weight, but he has the potential to be a high-floor defender in the league.

Role & Scheme Fit: Defensive end who frequently moves around in a 3-4 scheme

Round Projection: Early Fifth to Late Fifth

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 08-21-22