Jer'Zhan Newton scouting report: Exploring the Illinois interior defensive lineman's strengths and weaknesses

Just outside the top-1000 overall recruits of 2020, Jer’Zhan Newton enrolled in 2020 and saw some action as a backup year one, but entered the starting lineup as a sophomore.

Last season, Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton racked up 61 tackles, 14 of those for loss, 5.5 sacks, three passes batted down and two fumbles recovered, which earned him first-team All-Big Ten and second-team All-American accolades.

This past season, Jer’Zhan Newton improved to first-team All-American and was named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year, despite to his numbers slightly dropping off (52 tackles, 8.5 for loss, sacks, two PBUs, a fumble forced and recovered each).

Profile: 6-foot-2, 295 pounds; RS JR.

Breaking down Jer'Zhan Newton's scouting report

Jer'Zhan Newton: NFL Combine

Run defense:

• Improved massively from his freshman season (611 snaps) to year two, going from a 57.7 PFF grade to 91.0, which ranked behind only Jalen Carter and Calijah Kancey in 2022 and made him the most valuable Power Five interior defensive lineman according to PFF’s “wins above average” metric
• This guy’s a bowling ball of butcher knives, who constantly seems to be disrupting plays as a presence in the offensive backfield
• Super effective at slicing through lanes in the zone run game to shut down the front-side
• You see like one stupid back-door play on a guard that has the running back cut all the way back every week it seems like
• When he can’t get to the play-side shoulder of linemen chasing the ball from behind, Newton makes sure to apply force under their arm pit and ride them down the line, whilst staying ready for the ball-carrier on potential cut-backs
• Has some snaps where he recognizes he’s being pinned down and the guy across from him pulls out to the corner, yet Newton is able to go over the top in order to funnel the ball-carrier back inside
• Has the power and knack for pulling blockers off himself and show up in the gap when the ball arrives there
• Finished just one run stop short of the top mark (30) among Power Five interior D-linemen in 2022 and then four short of it (25) this past season

Pass-rush:

• If he can just get up the field as a three-technique, his ability to burst through the gap and angle towards the quarterback in designated passing situations made him nearly impossible for college guards to handle – had two big sacks against Wisconsin that way in 2023 (one taken off by penalty)
• Packs a quick two-handed downward-swipe directly into the rip-through in order to get past the hip of the blocker, often paired with a little stutter to beat guards cleanly off the line
• Showcases a fluid club-swim combo to step past the hip of guards and corner his rush towards the passer, even as he has to drive through contact with blockers being able to recover
• Recognizes when guards overset on him and has the lateral quicks to cross-face them in a hurry
• Is constantly looking for secondary wins and how to impact pass plays, by batting down passes or cutting off angles for the quarterback
• Pulls linemen aside like they’re nothing a few times per game as he recognizes the offense is running play-action or someone’s just leaning into him
• The ability to stick his foot in the ground curve around as the looper on games up front is pretty scary for a guy of approximately 300 pounds
• Flashes some eye-opening chase speed when he pursues quarterback out to the sideline
• His 102 total QB pressures over the past two seasons are ten more than any other interior D-linemen across that stretch

Weaknesses:

• On the shorter end of NFL interior defensive linemen, with his 76-inch wingspan putting Jer'Zhan Newton in the sixth percentile, giving him less room for error
• Would benefit from striking with his hands to take control of the line of scrimmage early on against down-blocks before really tracking the backfield action
• At times appears to be oblivious to angular blockers and allow himself to get washed down the line
• Has room to become more precise and effective with chopping/swatting down the near-hand of pass-protectors, as well as being more pro-active with his counters

Jer'Zhan Newton's 2024 NFL Draft prospect

If Penn State left tackle Olu Fashanu is the most overthought prospect in this draft, Jer'Zhan Newton is kind of the forgotten man, yet I have both as my top names for their respective positions at a time where it seems other guys have surpassed those two on consensus rankings.

Calijah Kancey was a top-20 pick for the Buccaneers last year and while Jer'Zhan Newton isn’t quite explosive off the ball, I think he’s a better all-around player. Now, he does also come in with some length concerns and if he’s asked to stack-and-shed blockers more regularly for his future team, he’ll need to become better with reacting to pressure points and setting the tone on contact with his hands.

However, I would love how he projects into a traditional three-technique role for an even front team, I think he gives you alignment versatility – particularly in defined dropback situations – and what separates from a lot of these disruption-style players we see at the position is that if Jer'Zhan Newton connects with his hand combats, he links those with his hips in order to actually step through and create a path towards the ball for himself. To me, Johnny is a top-15 player in this draft.

Grade: Top 15