Khristian Boyd, IDL Northern Iowa: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Boyd was a three-star recruit from Blue Springs High School in Blue Springs, Mo. in the class of 2018

Northern Iowa defensive lineman Khristian Boyd wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine despite a strong showing at the Shrine Bowl. Boyd goes through bouts of inconsistent play, but his play strength and raw power are easily worth a mid-Day 3 selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.

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Khristian Boyd, IDL Northern Iowa: 2024 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Sixth-year redshirt senior defensive tackle from Kansas City, Mo.

Background: Boyd was a three-star recruit from Blue Springs High School in Blue Springs, Mo. in the class of 2018. He was the No. 2,233 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 1,676 for On3.com. Boyd was an unranked two-star recruit for Rivals. He amassed 54 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery as a high school senior and was a team captain. Boyd was an All-District, All-Conference, and All-State selection. He led Blue Springs to back-to-back state championship runner-up finishes. Boyd also lettered in basketball and track in high school.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed Youngstown State and North Dakota State games in 2021, missed 2022 South Dakota State game

Awards: 2022 Second Team All-MVFC, 2023 First Team All-MVFC, 2023 FCS Third Team All-American (Associated Press)

Pros: Thick throughout frame, burst off the line, impressive initial quickness at his size, fires out of his stance with a low pad level, wins the leverage advantage, relentless leg drive, strong hand placement and leg drive walk guards back into the pocket, raging bull-like power, excellent upper body power, knockback power in his upper body, channels power well through his hands, hand placement sets up his counters and rush plan, rapid and violent hands, two-handed swipe, two-armed bull rush, bull rush into a swim, push-pull move, very polished swim move, pull-swim combo, rip move, delivers big hits on the QB, takes on double teams with a sturdy base, occasionally drives linemen into the backfield to disrupt run plays, some examples of splitting double teams, motor runs hot, effort in pursuit, tracks the ball carrier even on outside runs

Cons: Committed five penalties in 2023, inconsistent competition level, arm length and wingspan, agilities and explosive testing, doesn’t use hands to keep his frame clean consistently, caught trying to ram linemen with his shoulder instead of playing square or in true half-man, centers can easily track him as he pushes vertically, guided around the pocket, lacks bend to tighten rush angles, needs to deploy diverse move set more often and with better timing, too many stalemated pass rush reps against quality competition, core strength falters leading to behind dumped, twisted out of running lanes by interior linemen, turned or taken to the ground often vs. Iowa State (2023), base needs to be wider when facing climbing linemen, inconsistent ability to anchor vs. double teams

Overview: Boyd thrived in his final season at Northern Iowa against both lower-level FCS schools with limited NFL prospects and quality FCS programs. His 31 5/8" arms and 77 1/8" wingspan are both far below ideal thresholds, and his agility and explosive testing from his pro day were uninspiring. Fortunately, Boyd’s power profile is one of the best among all defensive linemen in the 2024 class. He posted 38 bench press reps of 225 lbs., and that strength translates to the field. Boyd channels excellent play strength through his thick and powerful frame. Despite his size and build, the Missouri native displays nice burst off the line and impressive initial quickness, especially for a prospect who takes a significant number of snaps as a 0-tech and 1-tech. Boyd also took snaps at 2-tech and 3-tech in 2023. He fires out of his stance with a low pad level to immediately win the leverage advantage. Boyd has strong and relentless leg drive, but it’s his upper body that does most of the damage as a pass rusher. His hand placement, power, and upper body activity help cover for his short arms and allow him to walk guards back into the pocket. The sixth-year lineman displays some knockback power that he channels through his hands. His hand placement sets up his counters and rush plan, which include violent two-handed swipes, two-armed bull rushes, bull rushes that transition into swims, push-pulls, pull-swim combinations, rips, and a very polished swim move. Boyd arrives with violence when he reaches the quarterback, delivering jarring hits. He really is a raging bull on the interior, but this backfires sometimes. Boyd gets caught trying to ram linemen with the point of his shoulder instead of deploying true pass rush moves. His hands fail to keep his frame clean, which results in him being stalemated. Boyd lacks the bend to flatten his rush angles, so interior linemen drive him up and around the pocket when he pushes vertically. Despite possessing some diverse pass rush moves, Boyd often defaults to pure power or fails to time his rush properly. There’s also room for him to continue adding moves so he becomes less reliant on brute strength. In run defense, the FCS All-American takes on double teams with a sturdy base, but he needs to widen his stance when taking on double teams because that’s not something he does at a high level consistently. Boyd occasionally resets the line of scrimmage by driving linemen into the backfield. Unfortunately, his core strength often leads to him struggling in this area of the game. Offensive linemen pry him upward before dumping him onto the ground. They also have success twisting Boyd out of his gap to create large running lanes. The former three-star recruit shows excellent effort in pursuit and always has his motor running hot.

Overall, Boyd is an explosive presence on the interior with excellent power, but he battles some physical limitations that could set a ceiling on both his draft profile and usage in the NFL. Boyd offers intriguing pass rush upside, but his play against the run versus Northern Iowa’s top opponents in 2023 was inconsistent.

Role & Scheme Fit: Nose tackle in an even front

Round Projection: Mid Fifth to Early Sixth

Size: 6025, 325 lbs. (Pro Day)

Submitted: 04-12-24