Junior Tafuna NFL Draft 2025: Scouting Report for Utah DL

HEIGHT: 6'3½"

WEIGHT: 308

HAND: 10½”

ARM: 32½”

WINGSPAN: 78¾”

40-YARD DASH: 5.03

3-CONE: 7.51

SHUTTLE: 4.62

VERTICAL: 28.5"

BROAD: 8'3"

POSITIVES

— Solid burst and initial quickness of the line of scrimmage.

— Has some pop in his hands/upper-body strength to win at the point of attack when he picks his hands straight up from the ground.

— Decent hip fluidity to clear his lower half and get around the edges of interior offensive linemen.

— Impressive agility and quickness to be an effective looper on line games.

— Gets his hands up to bat passes at the line of scrimmage when he doesn't hit home as a pass-rusher.

— Hustle/high-effort player.

NEGATIVES

— Often plays with his hands too low, allowing offensive linemen to get to his chest in both phases of the game.

— Doesn't show any pass-rush moves that he can win with in the NFL, and his late hands make his bull rush ineffective.

— Struggles to sink his hips and fight back against pressure as a run defender, causing him to get pushed out of his gap when taking on down and combo blocks.

— Often gets stuck on blocks, has trouble stacking and shedding, and doesn't have a move to escape.

NOTES

— Born Feb. 27, 2001

— 3-star recruit in the 2019 class, per 247Sports

— Injuries: 2024 (Undisclosed, missed 2 games)

— 2021 Pac 12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year, Second-Team All-Pac 12

— 2022 Second-Team All-Pac 12

— 2023 Second-Team All-Pac 12

— 2024 Honorable Mention All-Big 12

OVERALL

Junior Tafuna has the potential to be a solid backup interior defender in the NFL. He has a good blend of strength and athleticism to contribute in both phases of the game. However, he lacks the high-end talent to project as a starter, as he has significant flaws as both a pass-rusher and run defender.

Overall, Tafuna is a draftable player who can fit as either a 3-technique in even fronts or a 4i-technique in odd fronts as a rotational player. With that said, he is an older prospect at 24 years old, which could make him undraftable for some teams.

GRADE: 5.5 (Backup/Draftable — 6th-7th Round)

OVERALL RANK: 302

POSITION RANK: DL31

PRO COMPARISON: Kentavius Street

Written by B/R NFL Scout Matt Holder