2021 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: DL Christian Barmore, Alabama

In limited college experience, Bama's Christian Barmore has shown that he can be a disruptive defensive lineman with some pass rush ability. Where is his best fit and what are his strengths?

DL CHRISTIAN BARMORE

Height: 6'5"
Weight: 315 lbs.
Class: Sophomore (red shirt)
School: Alabama 

---

A former four-star recruit who first attended Abraham Lincoln High School before transferring to Saints John Neumann and Maria Goretti High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Barmore was a four-star recruit who committed initially to Temple before deciding to take his talents to Tuscaloosa.

Barmore was the Defensive MVP of the 2021 National Championship game when the Crimson Tide defeated Ohio State 52-14; Barmore had five tackles, 2 for a loss, and a sack in that contest. He earned a spot on the First Team All-SEC team after an awe-inspiring 2020 season. Recorded 37 tackles, 9.5 for a loss, and eight sacks in 2020.

As a redshirt freshman in 2019, Barmore had 26 tackles, 6 for a loss, and two sacks. He was named to the SEC All-Freshman team after 2019. Barmore only has one real year of production but leveraged a great national championship game to jump into the draft conversation as one of the top interior defensive lineman.

Seized the day(s) in the college football playoff. According to Pro Football Focus, he had 12 pressures and 8 STOPS in those two contests. Consistency isn’t his strong suit; he got off to a slow start in 2020 before finishing very hot.

Some concerns may stem from him not accruing any pressures against Florida and Tennessee as a pass-rushing interior defensive lineman. Still, Barmore had a 19.5% pass rush win-rate which is one of the more impressive percentiles of all college football players, not just the defensive line.

Traits

A more twitchy type of defensive lineman who still possesses incredible raw power. He has exceptional pass rushing upside, and he can defend the run. He has excellent size/weight and a bit high cut in the waist, with long arms that he uses very well to stack and violently shed lineman.

For a man of his size, he has good explosive traits, lateral agility, and even some quality bend at the hips that maximize the array of pass-rushing moves Barmore possesses.

• Find all of Nick Falato's draft profile scouting reports in one centralized location.

Quick off the snap with power. He uses excellent lower leg drive to power through and bull-rush over guards. He keeps his chest clean with active hands and does a good job reducing the large surface area of his chest by getting to the half-man, using violent clubs to stun, and making it difficult for a lineman to locate & latch.

He holds up well in one vs. one situations in the run game. Center of gravity and pad level can rise a bit, but he gets his hands inside, fits them well, has very good grip strength to grab and violently toss to the side--uses hands very well.

He could be better against double teams-- he allows himself to lose leverage and positioning; he can tend to use lateral agility to get around instead of anchoring down in certain situations.

Has several ways to win to create interior pressure. Raw functional strength to bully and bull-rush is paired with impressive power & finesse pass rush moves. Puts moves together well and seems to have a good pass rush plan: if A doesn’t work, then he tries move B. Used good club/swim, double swipe/rip (while showing good flexion in his lower half for a man of his size), and he’s pretty sudden in his movements for a 310 pounder.

Overall, Barmore only has one year of legit production-- he was more of a third-down pass rusher as a redshirt freshman. However, he already possesses excellent play strength (lower & upper body), has pass rush moves/upside, and is very good at using his hands in multiple ways. 

He could be a bit better-handling combo blocks, so he may not have true nose appeal. He will succeed as an attacking 3-technique that can use his excellent up-field burst to disrupt the offense’s plans. 

---

What's next for the Giants this off-season? Sign up for our FREE newsletter for all the latest, and be sure to follow and like us on Facebook. Submit your questions for our mailbag. And don't forget to check out the daily LockedOn Giants podcast, also available for subscription wherever you find podcasts.