Top Defensive Linemen in NFL Draft: Justin Madubuike

Texas A&M’s Justin Madubuike ranks No. 6 among this year’s defensive line prospects.

Texas A&M’s Justin Madubuike ranks No. 6 among this year’s defensive line prospects.

Justin Madubuike gets it.

Would he make a key stop on fourth-and-1 or a sack on third-and-5?

“Sacks are pretty fun,” he said at the Scouting Combine. “It looks good on TV. Your mama gets happy. So, I'll take that one.”

Madubuike made his mom happy 11 times over his final two seasons, with matching campaigns of 5.5 sacks as a sophomore in 2018 and junior in 2019. During those two years, he had 22 tackles for losses and four forced fumbles, as well. Last year, he applied pressure on 11 percent of his pass-rushing snaps. Other than Auburn’s Marlon Davidson and Baylor’s James Lynch, who both rushed mostly from the edge, that’s tied for No. 1 among our top 25 defensive tackle prospects.

“I’m very, very quick, very strong, very aggressive, very powerful,” he said. “I can push the pocket and make the quarterback uncomfortable. Obviously, I have so many things that I can work on to improve my game, but whichever team takes me, I'm just very thankful to be in this position. I'm going to work my butt off to be the very best I can be for my team.”

Madubuike credited his family for keeping his eyes on the NFL prize.

“Just staying close to my family,” he said, “staying close to the people who have been there through the good, the bad and the ugly through high school until now, who I'm very close with, keeping my hunger alive and making sure that I'm being the best person that I can be every day. Those are people that are definitely going to be influential from this day forward.”

What we like

Madubuike is quite the explosive package. At 6-foot-2 5/8 and 293 pounds, he ran his 40 in 4.83 seconds. He’s a bit undersized but can make up for it with quickness, length (33 1/2-inch arms), strength (31 reps on the bench) and jolting hands. With that, it’s little wonder why he spent so much time in the mug of the quarterback. “I’m quick, I’m powerful, I’m strong. I create pressure on the quarterback by the way I play. A great teammate, a great person. So, I believe I’m a guy that can definitely come into an NFL organization and make things happen quickly.”

What we don’t like

Leverage is a problem at times, though that’s true for many prospects. It’s just a bigger problem when you’re 293 pounds instead of 313. He was good but not great against the run. That probably will forever be the case at his size. Just as there are questions about whether a 330-pound man can be an impact player on third down, it’s a legitimate question whether Madubuike can be an impact player on first and second down. It was a bigger issue in 2018 but he’s got a penchant for grabbing the facemask.

Bill Huber’s Defensive Line Profiles

No. 1: Auburn’s Derrick Brown

No. 2: South Carolina’s Javon Kinlaw

No. 3: TCU’s Ross Blacklock

No. 4: Missouri’s Jordan Elliott

No. 5: Auburn’s Marlon Davidson

No. 6: Texas A&M’s Justin Madubuike

No. 7: Alabama’s Raekwon Davis

No. 8: Oklahoma’s Neville Gallimore

Nos. 9-20: Best of the Rest