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Adisa Isaac 2024 NFL Draft: Combine Results, Scouting Report For Penn State Edge

Originally posted on The 33rd Team | By Greg Cosell | Last updated 4/5/24

The 2024 NFL Draft is getting close, making it an excellent time to highlight some of the class' best players with scouting reports. Each report will include strengths, weaknesses and background information.

Here's our report on Adisa Isaac.

Adisa Isaac's 2024 NFL Combine Results

Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 247
40-yard dash: 4.74
10-yard split: 1.64
Vertical jump: 34.5"
Broad jump: 10'3"

Adisa Isaac 2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Strengths

Good size and length, allowing him to use his hands and arm extension after initial contact to help disengage.
Good physicality and strength showed when attacking blockers and dictating engagement at the point of contact.
Fundamentally sound in his positioning and technique as a run defender – a good feel for blocking schemes.
Impactful on blitzes and stunts, with good lateral quickness to change direction and accelerate to beat blocks.
Quick recognition and reaction ability – plays with good vision and adjusts well to blocking schemes post-snap.
Most productive when attacking blockers as the aggressor, allowing him to generate push and work off blocks.
Uses hands well to work through blocks and keep hands off him – good long arm stab, rip, swim and swipe.
Long strider who covers ground quickly when in pursuit of the ball (good closing speed) and pressuring the QB.
Solid counter-rush ability to attack blocker's positioning and generate secondary pressure.

Weaknesses

He lacks elite get-off and pure speed edge rush ability—he is slow out of stance and off ball at times.
Tight hips and questionable balance when attempting to corner off the edge or change direction.
Upright at point of contact at times, limiting push/penetration due to poor leverage and pad level.
Struggled with misdirection and zone reads due to average lateral explosiveness to close down running lanes.
Uncomfortable playing in space when asked to drop out into coverage and needing to react laterally in space.

NFL Transition

Isaac has refined technique. His play allows him to line up from different alignments and from two-point and three-point stances. He has scheme versatility due to his length and how he uses his hands to beat blocks (long arm stab, rip, swim and swipe rush techniques), defending the run and rushing the passer.

He’s most effective when dictating engagement and attacking blockers with good aggression. At times, he plays upright and high at the point of contact, limiting his power and ability to disengage from blocks. He struggled with misdirection schemes by getting caught in between his reads. I saw this several times vs. Michigan in 2023. He either lost contain or worked too far up the field and opened a big lane inside of him.

Isaac isn’t as dynamic an edge pass rusher as his counterpart, Chop Robinson. He has average get-off and quick-twitch athleticism.

Overall, Isaac is a solid prospect with his ability to defend the run and rush the passer. Still, he lacks elite explosiveness, which correlates to him being a solid Day 2 Pick. He will have a chance to contribute in his first year, likely part of a rotation. He has the potential to become a quality starter with improved speed, quickness and further refinement of his technique.

Other Notes

Isaac came out of Brooklyn, NY as a four-star recruit and was the nation’s 66th-ranked recruit. He had 25 Sacks as a senior in High School. Isaac played in 40 Games at Penn State, finishing with 92 total tackles, 31.5 TFLs, 14.5 Sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He earned third-team All-Big Ten in 2022 and second-team All-Big Ten in 2023.

In 2023, Isaac was one of the most consistent pass rushers at generating pressure. He ranked sixth with a 17.3 percent pressure rate, creating 32 pressures on his 185 pass rushes.

In addition to his ability to pressure the QB, Isaac is good at defending the run. He’s an instinctive player with good technique to be disruptive in the run game. He finished 2023 with 16.5 TFL, ranking 18th in the nation.

This article first appeared on The 33rd Team and was syndicated with permission.

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