New York Giants Draft Prospect: DL Calijah Kancey

Nick Falato takes a look at some interior defensive line depth for the Giants.

Calijah Kancey, DL

Height: 6-foot
Weight: 280 lbs.
Class: RS-Junior
School: Pittsburgh
Age: 21 (born 3/1/2001

A former three-star recruit out of Northwestern High School in Miami, Florida, where he was the 113th Floridian recruit and the 63rd-ranked defensive tackle during the 2019 recruiting cycle. The powerhouse high school program was also attended by Amari Cooper, Teddy Bridgewater, Lavnote David, Artie Burns, Tutu Atwell, Sean Spence, and Deandre Baker. Kancey earned First-team All-Florida Class 6A defensive lineman in high school as an undersized defender.

Notables

An undersized, dynamic, highly productive defensive lineman who ironically attended the same college as Aaron Donald. Kancey was a Unanimous All-American - the first since Aaron Donald in 2013. He was the only player in the country selected as a finalist for the Outland Trophy (nation’s best interior lineman) and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (national defensive player of the year).

Kancey recorded 31 tackles, 21 STOPs, 14.5 for a loss, 7.5 sacks, and 47 pressures in 2022. He finished his college career with 91 tackles, 65 STOPs, 34.5 for a loss, 16 sacks, and 111 pressures in three seasons. He was also named ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2022. Kancey’s size is an issue, but he’d make an excellent one-gap penetrating defensive linemen who can wreak havoc in one-on-one situations.

Strengths

• Excellent athlete with elite suddenness and lateral agility on the LOS
• Elite initial quickness to challenge IOL on the LOS
• Great control/balance and movement skills in a phone booth
• Closing speed is palpable - excellent at creating interior pressure
• Gets low, can dip and bend around contact
• Hands and feet work in unison to create advantageous angles/situations
• Excellent burst and first step to penetrate
• Exploits offensive linemen who are out of position with hands
• Showed ability to string moves together - countered well
• Understands how to get to the half-man
• Better run defender than he’ll get credit for - plays with excellent leverage, strong hands to shed
• Dangerous looper on twists
• Very good overall play strength for his size
• Elite motor and competitive toughness
• Would be discussed more if he was bigger

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Weaknesses

• Size and length are his biggest weakness
• Anchoring down against double-teams
• Virginia: Q1, 2:00, 2nd & 9
• Tennessee: Q1, 1:06, 1st & Goal; TD
• Rhode Island: Q1, 5:19 1st & 10; 63 yd TD run
• Best fit in a one-gap penetrating system that can leverage his upfield burst
• Won’t fit in every defensive system

Summary

An undersized defensive lineman who possesses excellent burst off the line of scrimmage and can make offensive lineman whiff in a phone booth; his combination of balance, strength, flexibility, and hand fighting allows him to quickly shed/get to the half-man to create pressure into the pocket. He’d be an excellent fit in a one-gap penetrating team as a three-technique, albeit most of his snaps came at nose or one-shade in 2022.

Comparisons to Aaron Donald are easy, but there is only one Aaron Donald. Still, Kancey is a very physical presence with excellent athletic gifts - he’s a very difficult assignment in one-on-one situations for pass-blocking IOL. 

He also does a solid job defending the run despite his size. His size may take him off some team’s boards, but he could enter the first round. He’s a fun, productive player who would be drafted much higher if he was slightly bigger.

GRADE: 6.35 

Nick Falato

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