CJ West NFL Draft 2025: Scouting Report for Indiana DL

HEIGHT: 6'1"

WEIGHT: 316

HAND: 9¾”

ARM: 31½”

WINGSPAN: 78⅛”

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40-YARD DASH: 4.95

VERTICAL: 33"

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POSITIVES

— Good athlete for his size, earned a 9.15 RAS at the NFL Scouting Combine.

— Solid get-off, quick to react to the snap and has solid acceleration off the line.

— Strong and physical at the point of attack to stun offensive linemen.

— Also has decent quickness to change the angle on offensive linemen when slanting to help get penetration.

— Agile and runs his feet after contact well to avoid getting reached.

— Effective as the looper on stunts against the run or pass with his movement skills.

— Decent at working the hands after contact when rushing the passer.

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NEGATIVES

— Short arms limit his extension and impact his ability to stack and shed blocks as a run defender. Also allow offensive linemen to make the first significant contact as a pass-rusher.

— Needs to play with more knee bend. Struggled to sink his hips and fight back against pressure versus double-teams and will often get kicked inside.

— Subpar gap integrity. Has a habit of leaving his gap to escape blocks, often taking himself out of the play and creating rushing lanes.

— Struggles to break down in the backfield, leading to missed tackles against shifty running backs and athletic quarterbacks.

— Doesn't have a go-to pass-rush move, and bull rush is below-average.

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NOTES

— 3-star recruit in the 2020 class, per 247Sports

— Injuries: 2022 (Undisclosed, missed 2 games)

— Played at Kent State from 2020 to 2023 before transferring to Indiana this past sesaon

— 2024 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten

— 2023 Third-Team All-MAC

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OVERALL

CJ West's combination of strength and movement skills could give him a bright future in the NFL. He can win at the point of attack as a run defender, be effective on stunts in both phases of the game and use his quickness and agility to get penetration when slanting.

Right now, West's run defense is ahead of his pass-rush skills. He's hard to move with one-on-one base blocks and has good feet to avoid getting reached or scooped out of his gap. However, he's a waist-bender and not a knee-bender, which makes it difficult for him to anchor against double-teams.

As a pass-rusher, the former Hoosier is most effective on line games and has flashed the ability to work the hands after contact. But he doesn't have a go-to move, partially due to his short arms that allow offensive linemen to make the first significant contact. Also, his bull rush isn't consistently effective.

Overall, West has has intriguing traits to develop and would be a good fit as a 2i-technique to shade nose tackle in even fronts. He should become at least a good rotational interior defensive lineman and has the potential to be a solid starter in the NFL.

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GRADE: 6.2 (Developmental Prospect — 5th Round)

OVERALL RANK: 199

POSITION RANK: DL19

PRO COMPARISON: Roy Lopez

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Matt Holder