NFL Draft Profile: Trace Ford, EDGE, Oklahoma State Cowboys
#94
Pos: EDGE
Ht: 6026
Wt: 248
DOB: 1/24/2001
Hometown: Edmont, OK
High School: Santa Fe
Eligibility: 2023
Trace Ford
Oklahoma State Cowboys
One-Liner:
Athletic rusher from a two-point stance who can threaten the outside shoulder. Still developing his craft as a rusher.
Evaluation:
Aligning mainly in a two-point stance from wide alignments, Ford displays very good burst to threaten the shoulder of slow-footed tackles consistently. On outside tracks, he has a knack to soften rush angles with jabs. He uses his inside hand to beat the punch of tackles with vertical pads. In the run game, he can stack using a powerful strike at the point of attack, resetting the line of scrimmage upon impact. Ford extends and sheds efficiently after winning gaps. His straight athleticism and very good flexibility is apparent when he is asked to carry backs in coverage. Plays hard, looking to blow up plays from the backside and running ball carriers down. Tackles are able to redirect him when he is attempting to dip and rip around the outside. Ford does not read blockers consistently, often throwing pre-determined rush moves. He is yet to develop a counter if his primary move gets shut down. Despite his burst, he fails to convert speed to power, not maximizing the knockback he could create upon impact. Later in plays, Ford lets linemen into his frame too easily. After his bull rush stalls, he does not have a secondary leg drive to break the stalemate. Can fall off of bigger ball carriers. His aggressiveness causes him to get confused by misdirection. Athletic rusher from a two-point stance who can threaten the outside shoulder of tackles. Ford plays hard and flashes good hand usage and block shedding as a run defender. He does not read tackles and needs to improve his pass rush technique with counters as well as maximizing speed to power conversions. Ford projects as a developmental 3-4 outside linebacker in the NFL who has the athletic profile required to be an average starter as he continues to work on his craft. He should at least be a rotational rusher.
Grade:
UDFA
Background:
Trace Ford, even though he missed 2021 due to injury, is poised to be ready for a breakout year in 2022. In his last season in 2020, he was Honorable Mention all Big 12. In 2020 he was excellent on the field, but also in the classroom where he was First Team Academic Big 12. As a freshman, he was awarded the teams Outstanding NewComer award and was the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year. Born to Shannon and Desirae Ford, he is currently pursuing a Management degree from the Universtiy.
