2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Darius Alexander (DL – Toledo)

FantasyPros will be taking a look at early NFL Draft scouting reports before the Combine in March. Here’s a look at Toledo defensive lineman Darius Alexander. And check out our entire 2025 NFL Draft Guide.

2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Darius Alexander

Darius Alexander (DL – Toledo)

6-foot-4 | 310 Pounds

Background

Darius Alexander was an under-the-radar recruit who had just two scholarship offers. He redshirted in 2019, then rotated in a little bit the following season (9-1.0-0.0), before appearing in all 13 games in 2022 (21-7.0-1.5) and all 14 games in 2023 (36-6.0-4.0), playing 333 and 331 snaps, respectively.

Alexander became a full-time starter in 2023, with 36-6.0-4.0, then enjoyed a strong 2024 season of 40-8.0-3.5, also returning an interception for a touchdown.

Positives

A productive two-year starter and four-year contributor. A tall, thickly-built defensive lineman with 34″ arms, Alexander will meet any team’s size requirements. Typically played the three-technique in Toledo’s defense, which featured a lot of two-gap principles. However, they moved him around a little bit, sometimes having him play on the end when the team went to an odd front.

Alexander’s consistency in the run game is impressive. Shows good knee bend to compete in the leverage battle as a run defender, with impressive lower-body strength to hold the point of attack. Plays with patience and discipline when two-gapping; does a nice job of sticking to his responsibilities and keeping his shoulders square to the line when scraping.

Has nice short-area quickness to cut off rushing lanes when the team plays more aggressively. Shows a very explosive first step on passing downs to get penetration and create pressure on the quarterback. His bull rush is very powerful. Can convert speed to power on the edge and jolt opposing blockers on contact, with a nice leg drive to generate movement.

Surprisingly fluid and rangy in pursuit, with a strong motor. Hip/ankle flexibility is impressive for someone with his size. Uses a relatively powerful rip move as well.

Negatives

Overaged after spending six years in college. Will be making a fairly significant leap up in competition. Pad level rises through the snap and he is a little bit taller than usual for an interior lineman, negating some of his power.

Alexander doesn’t have the most consistent leg drive to reset the line of scrimmage in the run game. Occasionally gets lured inside when he tries to anticipate plays, allowing opponents to seal him by blocking his outside shoulder. Pursuit angles can be slightly too aggressive at times, impacting the reliability of his tackling, which has been iffy over the past couple of years.

Summary

A very impressive player with an excellent combination of size, strength, explosiveness, discipline and range, Alexander can hold the point of attack as a two-gap defender on early downs and use his explosiveness to create pressure in the passing game. His tools should allow him to play either the one-, three- or five-technique positions.

Alexander’s versatility and consistency should have him off the board by the second day. He may sneak into the second round, but considering his age and the small school he comes from, the third might be more realistic.

Projection: Round 2/Round 3

Check out all of our 2025 NFL Draft Scouting Reports