As the college football season barrels toward, FantasyPros will be taking a look at early NFL Draft scouting reports before the Combine in March. Here’s a look at Princely Umanmielen.
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2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Princely Umanmielen
Princely Umanmielen (DE – Florida)
6-foot-5 | 254 pounds
Background:
Four-star recruit out of Texas who rotated in sparingly in 2020 (three tackles, two sacks) before totaling 17-1.5-1.0 over 243 snaps the following year. Has been starting for the past two seasons, with 39-9.5-4.5 in just under 500 snaps last year; his 2023 campaign is on pace to be almost identical.
Positives:
Two seasons of starting experience for a major program. Very long for a stand-up edge. Plays with a consistently high motor. Awareness/recognition skills in the run game really stand out; excellent ability to anticipate run directions. Does a nice job of using his quickness to navigate through congestion, with square shoulders, effective knee bend, and a low pad level. Active with his hands to slip past opponents when working between the tackles.
Very good change of direction as he comes around the corner. Length gives him an impressive tackling radius. Gives excellent effort in pursuit and is very rangy. Dangerous edge rusher. Covers a lot of ground with his first step as a speed rusher, showing good ankle/knee/hip flexibility and balance to dip his shoulder around the edge; very difficult to block from a wide alignment. Has a violent spin move which he sets up and controls very well. Shows good leg drive and leverage to compete as a bull-rusher. Controlled form when dropping into zone.
Negatives:
Would like to see him take more snaps with his hand in the dirt. Generates a lot of pressure but didn’t finish too many rushes with sacks in school. Doesn’t have a very pronounced power element to his game, and anchor strength is closer to adequate. Can occasionally get washed down past the hole when flowing laterally on outside attempts. Relies fairly heavily on his speed rush/shoulder dip and could work in more bull-rushes, different moves, and counters (usually goes with a spin counter.) Awareness when working in zones is still a work in progress.
Summary:
A very long, explosive, flexible edge rusher who can fly past opposing tackles from a wide alignment and whose ability to read keys and disrupt plays in the run game is also some of the best in the class. Despite his size, would probably fit best in a one-gap scheme that lets their edge defenders pin their ears back and get after it, as he doesn’t have the most pronounced power element to his game, clearly preferring to weave through space.
Projection: Round 2
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