AuburnFamilyNews.com: Colby Wooden NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for Auburn DL

Friday, March 17, 2023

Colby Wooden NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for Auburn DL

HEIGHT: 6'4"

WEIGHT: 273

HAND: 10⅜"

ARM: 33¾"

WINGSPAN: TBD


40-YARD DASH: 4.79

3-CONE: TBD

SHUTTLE: 4.52

VERTICAL: TBD

BROAD: 9'7"


POSITIVES

– Good get-off when penetrating; accelerates off the ball well.

– Impressive block recognition to put himself in a good position to stay in his gap.

– Quick and agile to change the angle on offensive linemen and make them miss when slanting. He moves well for a defensive lineman.

– At the point of attack, he has decent upper-body strength to get extension and hold ground against base blocks from offensive tackles. If he gets more consistent with his hand placement, this will help him shed and get off blocks more frequently.

– Solid arm-over to escape blocks against the run.

– Can make tackles with offensive linemen hanging on him.

– Has a decent hand-swipe move as a pass-rusher.

– Could develop a push-pull move with his strength and limber hips to clear his lower half.

– Can be effective in line games, is athletic enough to take an efficient path to the quarterback as the looper and is physical as the pick player to tie up offensive linemen.


NEGATIVES

– When playing gap control, he stands out of his stance, stops his feet on contact and has wide hand placement. Also makes it difficult for him to fight back against pressure if slanting puts him out of position.

– Lack of knee bend/leverage becomes an issue against double-teams and combo blocks from a tackle and tight end; he also tries to take on both blockers instead of defeating the man he's lined up across from.

– Likes to take risks using the olé technique to get off blocks, causing him to leave his gap assignment and create a rushing lane. Needs to learn when to pick his spots and take calculated risks.

– Struggles to break down and avoid getting too far up the field when penetrating.

– Lack of leverage and leg drive hurt his ability to collapse the pocket with a bull rush, especially against guards.

– Doesn't have a good go-to pass-rush move that he can win with and seems to lack a plan when rushing.


NOTES

– DOB: December 21, 2000

– A 4-star recruit in the 2019 class, No. 345 overall, No. 22 WDE, per 247Sports' composite rankings

– No major injuries

– 36 career starts

– Career stats (four seasons): 153 total tackles (93 solo), 29.5 TFL, 14 sacks, 6 PD, 3 FF

– 2022 Honors: Third-Team All-SEC (Phil Steele), Auburn Defensive Lineman of the Year

– 2021 Honors: Honorable Mention All-SEC (PFF)


OVERALL

Colby Wooden has an interesting draft profile. He has a good combination of strength and athleticism that will show up on tape as a run defender but doesn't seem to translate to his pass rush.

When his hands are right, he's strong at the point of attack and can get extension against offensive linemen to help disengage from blocks and make tackles near the line of scrimmage. He's even better when slanting, where he can use his quickness and agility to make blockers miss.

However, Wooden's pass-rush skills leave something to be desired. While he's shown flashes of winning with a hand swipe or push-pull, neither of those moves is consistent enough for him to hang his hat on at the next level. Teams are either going to have to be patient and work with him in that regard or get him moving on line games to be able to impact the quarterback in the passing game.

Schematically, the Auburn product is a bit of a tweener where he's a little light to play as a 4i-technique in odd fronts and isn't a good enough pass-rusher to line up outside the tackle in even fronts. His best option is likely to play in the former scheme and bulk up.

Overall, Wooden is a solid, middle-round defensive lineman whose versatility could be intriguing to some teams. He could be a good player as the fourth or fifth guy on the depth chart who mixes into the rotation.


GRADE: 7.2 (High-level Backup/Potential Starter)

OVERALL RANK: 80

POSITION RANK: DL11

PRO COMPARISON: Tyrone Crawford


Written by B/R NFL Draft Scout Matt Holder



from Bleacher Report https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10054710-colby-wooden-nfl-draft-2023-scouting-report-for-auburn-dl

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