Brenton Cox Jr. NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for Florida EDGE

HEIGHT: 6'4"

WEIGHT: 250

HAND: 9 1/4"

ARM: 33 1/8"

WINGSPAN: 82 5/8"

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40-YARD DASH: 4.82

3-CONE: 7.57

SHUTTLE: 4.57

VERTICAL: 33"

BROAD: 9'7"

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POSITIVES

— Great size and frame, he carries little to no bad weight and has room for growth if he needs it.

— Solid get-off overall with a quick reaction to the snap and solid acceleration off the line of scrimmage.

— Physical and strong at the point of attack to set the edge against offensive tackles as a run defender. Also refuses to get blocked one-on-one by tight ends.

— Uses his hands well as a run defender with great placement to get under the blocker's pads, and he has the strength to help stand up the blocker and get a leverage advantage.

— He's strong and violent when shedding, he has little to no issues getting off blocks from tackles.

— Sets up his pass rush moves well by getting to square during the stem phase to get a two-way go.

— Good power rusher overall with an impressive one-arm stab move that can put offensive tackles on skates, as well as a solid bull rush.

— Has shown flashes of winning with a push-pull move.

— Solid arm-over move that uses his hands well to clear the offensive lineman's, and he can win to the inside or outside with it.

— Good pass-rush motor when not facing tempo.

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NEGATIVES

— Late to get his eye inside and see pullers coming when unblocked as the spill player against the run, making it difficult for him to get all the way underneath pullers and force the running back to bounce.

— Has a habit of working around blocks and opening up rushing lanes.

— Not very gap-disciplined overall, he'll leave his assignment early.

— Doesn't bring his feet with him when tackling, especially in space, leading to misses.

— His bull rush can be more effective if he just gets off the ball and goes. He'll occasionally do too much dancing to start the move.

— He's not a twitchy athlete overall, which inhibits his ability to win with finesse moves as a pass-rusher. This is most noticeable when he tries stick moves or is the looper in line games.

— Bend is sub-par, and he's a little stiff to turn tight corners around the edge.

— Dismissed from two programs.

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2022 STATISTICS

— 8 GM, 35 TOT, 8 TFL, 2 SK, 1 PBU

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NOTES

— DOB: January 30, 2000

— Georgia transfer

— A 5-Star recruit in the 2018 class, No. 23 overall, No. 2 SDE, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

— Injuries: 2021 (Foot surgery, missed beginning of fall camp)

— Arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession in 2019 at Georgia and was later dismissed from the team for reportedly being a locker room issue. He was dismissed from Florida this year for undisclosed reasons

— 34 career starts

— 2021 Honors: SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll

— 2020 Honors: SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll, Second-Team All-SEC (AP)

— 2019 Honors: SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll

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OVERALL

Brenton Cox Jr. is a physically imposing edge defender who can set the edge as a run defender and win with power as a pass rusher. His strength at the point of attack is impressive and helps him put offensive tackles on their heels. However, his athleticism is primarily linear as his lateral movement skills leave something to be desired.

Whether it's working stick moves or as the looper in line games, Cox has a hitch when trying to change direction and lacks the agility to be effective in those areas. His bend is also concerning as he's a little stiff and will struggle to turn tight corners after winning around the edge as a pass-rusher.

All of that being said, the biggest questions the Florida product will have to answer during the pre-draft process are what happened that led to his dismissal from two programs and how has he grown from that. Those are going to be major red flags that will impact his draft stock, especially as the most recent incident occurred this past season.

Schematically, Cox would probably be best as a hand-in-the-ground defensive end in even fronts, but he's fairly versatile and could play as a standup outside linebacker for an odd front team, too.

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GRADE: 6.7 (Potential Role Player/4th Round)

OVERALL RANK: 120

POSITION RANK: EDGE15

PRO COMPARISON: Frank Clark

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Written by B/R NFL Draft Scout Matt Holder