Hakeem Adeniji NFL Draft 2020: Scouting Report for Cincinnati Bengals' Pick

Matt Miller

Apr 25, 2020

STRENGTHS

—48 consecutive starts and has been a bona fide stud along the Kansas offensive line since arriving on campus as a freshman.

TOP NEWS

—Hand placement, both together and independently, is strong and allows him to gain proper leverage and torque from his upper body.

—Fires off the ball with purpose in the run game and looks to initiate contact.

—Competitive toughness is solid and on display particularly on down blocks. He's looking to knock dudes out with nasty finishes that establish him as the game's alpha.

WEAKNESSES

—Segmented pass protector who looks like he's routinely overthinking the process. The best protectors look natural, and he looks like he's going through the motions.

—Robotic in his pass sets, and it shows when he has to set off-script. Doesn't show the varied set, length to his spot or drive out of his stance to maintain half-man relationship. This forces him to open his hips far too early.

—Underwhelming athlete in lateral movements as a pass-protector. If he doesn't engage in “typical" sets, he struggles to be creative to still win reps.

—Inside post leg is slow and expands his base too much when he has to redirect versus interior counters. This overextended movement creates some balance issues upon contact in pass protection.

OVERALL

Hakeem Adeniji has nearly 50 starts in college football and is ready for life in the NFL. Adeniji looks like a well-polished product who has all of the fundamental ability expected when transitioning to the pros. He's been taught to adequately pass set, land his strikes with good placement and finish with attitude. Unfortunately, that well-trained skill set can actually inhibit Adeniji from being able to play off-script when things break down; and they do in the NFL. If Adeniji becomes a more natural player, he could be a routine starter sooner rather than later.

GRADE: 62

PRO COMPARISON: Jake Matthews/Shon Coleman