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Owen Pappoe: 6’0”, 225 pounds.
Right up there with Brandon Smith and Nakobe Dean for the title as top linebacker in the 2019 recruiting class, Owen Pappoe immediately got onto the field and was an impact player for Auburn.
He racked up 165 combined tackles, 12 of those for loss, six sacks, an interception and four PBUs through his first 29 games, before getting injured early in 2021. This past season, he collected 91 tackles, three for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles, one pass intercepted and three more broken up.
Owen Pappoe scout report: Strengths
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+ Owen Pappoe was probably the fastest linebacker in all of college football last season (backed up with an LB-best 4.39 at the combine)., That speed shows up with the way he beats blockers to the spots or at times almost runs around them before the ball-carrier has actually crossed the line of scrimmage.
+ Works in pretty controlled fashion and sink in his lower body as he’s preparing for contact. He isn’t afraid to launch his body into bigger bodies and funnel the ball towards his teammates.
+ Stays pretty disciplined on the backside on zone run concepts and keeps his shoulders square to the line of scrimmage.
+ Displays impressive lateral mobility to track the ball-carrier bouncing out wide and met him off-tackle, without committing his body and overrunning that point.
+ Keeps his arms extended as he’s tangled up with blockers out in space.
+ You see him run down wide receivers working across the field and perimeter-oriented runs.
+ Showed major improvement as a tackler this past season (with a miss rate of just 6.9%), squaring and loading up his hips, to drive through contact.
+ Had an absolutely bone-crushing hit on a scrambling Sean Clifford for Penn State this past season, which knocked the ball out simultaneously.
+ Has the range horizontally to crowd passing windows against in-breaking route on the field side as a hook defender.
+ Comfortably sticks with tight-ends on hook and out routes, as they don’t make him commit his hips with the initial stem.
+ Displays the speed and physicality to match up with those bigger bodies running down the seams.
+ Not somebody who you’ll take advantage of in man-coverage on the back running some kind of swing/flat route, trying to hold him in the middle of the field with some route combination.
+ His speed to pick up slide routes across his alignment is a major benefit, to not give easy completions plus YAC.
+ Auburn felt comfortable walking him out wide in empty sets and having him one-on-one with Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs, Texas A&M’s Devon Achane and others.
+ Was responsible for a passer rating of just 77.2, with zero touchdowns allowed.
+ Will run down scrambling quarterbacks in a hurry and they better slide or go out of bounds if they don’t want to get levelled.
+ Has seen very little usage as a blitzer, but with the way he covers ground and his fondness for contact, he could be an asset.
Owen Pappoe scout report: Weaknesses
– Moves around like a DB. Unfortunately, also plays more so with the strength of one at times when it comes to condensed spaces.
– Relies on his speed too heavily at times, when he should be looking to approach blockers and track the ball that way, rather than try to run around traffic.
– Whether it’s in the screen or RPO game or some kind of alerts, Pappoe could be a tick earlier to redirect and affect multiple phases of the play.
– Because of his lack of pure weight, there are plenty of drag tackles on film, where bigger runners churn out several yards through them.
– There’s a lack of awareness later on in pass plays for targets settling around him, where he could make an impact by floating underneath those.
Owen Pappoe scout report: Grade
Appropriately nicknamed “The Freak,” Owen Pappoe brings elite speed to the second of a defense and he doesn’t shy away from launching himself full-force into contact.
At his current weight, he lacks the sturdiness to consistently deal with blockers between the tackles. His speed should make give him value in certain packages and combining that with his mindset, he should be a monster on special teams right away.
I’m curious to see if his future coaches can tap into the potential he could have as a pressure player in passing situations, because he can be an asset in man-coverage versus backs and tight-ends. However, his instincts as a zone defender are certainly lacking.
Grade: Fourth round.
You might like other 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Reports: Noah Sewell, LB, Oregon, Drew Sanders, LB, Arkansas, Daiyan Henley, LB, Washington State, Henry To'o To'o, LB, Alabama, DeMarvion Overshown, LB, Texas, Ivan Pace Jr., LB, Cincinnati, Dorian Williams, LB, Tulane, Jeremy Banks, LB, Tennessee.
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