2021 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Edge Malcolm Koonce, Buffalo

Buffalo edge rusher Malcolm Koonce could be one of those smaller school program gems that not many people know about now but will soon find out about.

EDGE MALCOLM KOONCE 

Height: 6'3"
Weight: 248 lbs.
Class: Senior 
School: Buffalo

He led the MAC in sacks in 2020 with eight and has 17 career sacks to his name. Showed an exceptional ability to stop plays behind the line of scrimmage and had 22.5 tackles for a loss, most of them coming in 2019 and the six games of 2020.

He earned first-team All-MAC in 2019 and 2020. Former two-star recruit out of White Plains, New York, out of Archbishop Stepinac. He had 109 total tackles, 22.5 tackles for a loss, and 17 total sacks, along with three passes defended at Buffalo.

Traits

Good length and frame that isn’t quite maxed out. He has good athletic ability and possesses good burst & explosiveness, as well as solid bend, speed, and change of direction skills.

He’s not overly bendy or flexible, so cornering at the top of the arc is average when tackles execute their sets well. However, he does have enough speed to dip around sloppier punches. He also had the highest pass-rushing win rate per PFF in 2019, for what that’s worth.

He can develop more of a pass-rushing repertoire that can enhance his current skill set. He uses a good long arm technique combined with a bull-rush and uses stutter steps to hold tackles in place while using his quickness to avoid their blocking efforts.

This worked in the MAC, but he’ll struggle to find success with this in the NFL. Could develop more counter moves as a pass rusher and is somewhat raw in that area.

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Hands aren’t passive, and he has used them to help disengage while establishing the chest of sub-par tackles. He combines his hands and long arms to control the point of attack, and it will be interesting to see if this is successful against better competition at the Senior Bowl. He became one of the major parts of Buffalo’s defense in 2020 and was good against the run.

Used his length to set the edge and doesn’t get bullied around versus the run. He is solid with his discipline and plays with a high motor and excellent competitive toughness. He will need to add play strength for these positive run defending reps to translate to the NFL, but his hand usage and length will assist him if he utilizes them correctly.

If he displays enough athletic ability to play in space against better competition, he could be an interesting piece to bring in since he’s shown a solid ability to defend the run and rush the passer.

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