Finding Broncos: Mohamoud Diabate | LB | Utah

Finding Broncos scouts the 2023 NFL Draft with an athletic coverage linebacker.

Measurables

• Height: 6-foot-3
• Weight: 229 lbs
• Arm Length: 32-1/8 inches
• Hand: 9-1/2 inches
• Wingspan: 80-1/2 inches

Stats

Pros:

• Straight line speed with range to move sideline to sideline.
• Solid burst to accelerate moving forwards.
• Long speed to run with tight ends and running backs in man coverage.
• Reads his keys well and flows to the ball easily.
• Brings some effectiveness as an edge rusher and A-gap blitzer.
• Solid tackler that is always around the ball in the running game.

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Cons:

• High-hipped and long legs lead to stiffness moving laterally and changing direction.
• Not overly powerful in the gaps and gets washed out of the hole.
• Needs to use his arms to disengage more.
• Gets lost in zone coverage due to hip fluidity and over-committing to assignments, vacating the space he is assigned to.
• Needs better awareness on misdirection plays not to overpursue and run himself out of the play.

Overview:

Mohamoud Diabate is an incredibly long and well-built linebacker with over 29 total starts in his career. Before being a 12-game starter for the Utah Utes in 2022, Diabate was a rotational linebacker for the Florida Gators, playing in 37 games with 19 total starts.

With incredible length in his lower half, Diabate has long strides that take several steps to get fully going. Once he hits top speed, he has incredible range to run sideline to sideline in pursuit in the running game and flip his hips and run in phase in man coverage. There are some fluidity issues as his high hips create stiffness in his lower half, moving away from the ball and laterally. Still, his ability to get going in a vertical direction saves him as he closes with tremendous speed.

Diabate added a lot of good muscle weight going from his junior to senior season following his transfer, specifically in the lower half, which added a lot of power to his play. He brings good force into contact but still needs to get stronger to play successfully as an A-gap defender at the next level. However, his frame is perfect for adding another 10 pounds of muscle, so long as it doesn't impact his athletic ability, which is already on the lower end of the spectrum.

Fit with the Broncos:

With the hiring of Vance Joseph as the new defensive coordinator, Diabate makes a lot of sense for the Broncos as he is a good fit for the scheme. Joseph runs a blitz heavy defense that locks down in man coverage, both of which are high up on the spectrum of what Diabate brings to the field.

#Utah LB Mohamoud Diabate was a standout and versatile performer at @ShrineBowl that can play multiple positions.

Diabate, who had 13.5 TFLs and 5.0 sacks this year, met w/ a TON of teams at Shrine. Standout meetings included #Falcons, #Broncos, #Bills, #Chargers, #Jets & #49ers

— Justin M (@JustinM_NFL) February 23, 2023

According to a report from the Draft Network, the Broncos have already met with Diabate in a pre-draft interview, so there is already interest brewing in Dove Valley. 

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