2022 Chiefs Draft Prospect: Arnold Ebiketie

First Step Explosiveness

There are certainly variabilities when it comes to his first step explosiveness. Ebiketie is more consistent with firing off of the snap when being used as a stand-up pass rusher. When he has his hand or both hands in the dirt, he is a bit late in getting out of the blocks. The quickness is still highly impressive, nevertheless. Ebiketie can cover ample amounts of ground at a rapid rate with short area burst. Do not discount his long speed and ability to run down opponents from behind either. Elsewhere, Ebiketie is incredibly explosive for his size. It is just that his first step is not elite or extremely consistent.

Lateral Mobility

Once again, it is the lateral quickness where Ebiketie stands out. He is simply relentless when traveling laterally across the line of scrimmage. The same thing could be said when he is having to use his motor and chase in space or on backside pursuit. On top of that, Ebiketie is seemingly smooth when having to rush the passer on stunts or twists upfront. He also appears to be rather confident and comfortable when having to cross an opponent’s face and crash towards the interior of the offensive line.

Football IQ

There are some improvements that Ebiketie displayed throughout this most recent season. Specifically, when it came to recognizing play direction and reading blocks, he felt more secure. Ebiketie was sparingly asked to drop into coverage and sit up on the edge. With that, he showed quicker reactions and was able to maintain adequate body positioning and landmarks. Ebiketie can stand to add more patience from time to time, as he will often lose body control and make rushed decisions. That showed up more often in one-on-one battles.

Versatility

Ebiketie has lined up both in a two-point stance and in a three-point stance. As mentioned earlier, he is obviously more explosive when getting out of a two-point stance. Ebiketie seems to come out of his stance too high when starting with a three-point stance. On the other hand, he has occasionally reduced down inside on the defensive line as well. The comfort that he has with stunts and twists allows him more options to play with as a pass rusher, to boot.

Hand Counters

Ebiketie is largely used to utilizing dip, rip and swipe moves. The speed, bend and burst is where he truly wins one-on-one situations. Yet, those inside hand moves allow him to throw opponents to the side instantly. Ebiketie is not very refined with continually getting his arms extended, overall. There are also questions surrounding his use of power. Being able to convert that more efficiently is a work in progress for Ebiketie as he makes the transition to the NFL level.

Run Defending

Mainly, his reactions and reads have been much more enhanced. There are questions about how firmly he can set the edge, however. Block deconstruction is largely uninspiring from this player too. For example, Ebiketie is late to fire his hands at the point of attack. Moreover, he gets driven back and turned far too easily when blockers are looking to attack him in space.

CHIEFS FIT

Arnold Ebiketie is a pass rusher who we selected in this week’s 2022 FPC Chiefs Mock Draft: 3.0. To read the full mock draft, click here. There is likely no denying that he is still raw as a pass rusher. But, his top traits are something that the Kansas City Chiefs have been dearly missing defensively for quite some time. His speed is extremely tantalizing. Add in the flexibility, bend and length at defensive end, and Ebiketie could infuse dominance into the Kansas City defense. He may only be designated as a pass rush specialist early on throughout his NFL career. Nonetheless, Ebiketie proved he could produce more heavily in that regard at Penn State last season.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs draft prospect profiles throughout this spring. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.