Owen Pappoe NFL Draft Scouting Report, Prediction, analysis
The 2019 recruiting cycle will always live in Auburn infamy as the class brought in that five-star freshman quarterback Bo Nix, who stole the headlines as the gem coach Gus Malzhan’s commitment. Alongside him was another five-star, though not as well known to the average Auburn football fan at the time, linebacker Owen Pappoe from Lawrenceville, GA.
He played in all 13 games as a freshman, recording 34 tackles, but his best year came in 2020 (62 tackles, 16 assists, one interception, 16 total QB pressures, 10 QB hurries, 3 QB hits, and 3 sacks during the season). Despite his career being riddled with injuries, there has never been a question of if he would start whenever he was healthy. From day one he showed signs of greatness and has been the quarterback of Auburn’s defense since he first earned playing time. No doubt he will be looked back on as a fan-favorite, also being a proud Auburn Tiger and doing everything he could to help the team win, no matter what was at stake. If he continued to play well for another year at Auburn, he could perhaps be a first-rounder in the 2024 NFL draft, but he has already accepted his Senior Bowl invite, so let’s dig in.
OWEN PAPPOE SCOUTING REPORT
Height: 6-1
Weight: 225
Position: Linebacker
What he does well
Every scout who’s looked at him has immediately noticed his intelligence and ability to read the opposing offensive line to block the run. He possesses freaky athleticism and is a hard hitter with natural instincts during the game, and he uses his quickness to get to the quarterback. He uses his hands well to keep blockers from preventing him from breaking toward the opposing runner. His leadership skills are also a strength and his character makes him a “locker room” guy that every team, especially ones going through a rebuild, would want in their culture.
What he needs to work on
Perhaps the biggest problem, if he has ANY, is his size. Position scouts have listed him as undersized for the role of a traditional linebacker, but Kyler Murray is shorter than me and he still made it, so I wouldn’t see that as a reason to not draft him. When he doesn’t use his hands fast enough, he does have a hard time escaping blockers, and while he may not miss many tackles he still has a few where the opponent was able to escape from him, so his hard-hitting ability needs to be harder, which is absolutely coachable in the pros.
Current projection
ROUND 3, DALLAS COWBOYS – The Patriots and the Seahawks are also in play for his services, considering how both like to find hidden developmental gems and the Auburn to New England pipeline, but I think Dallas makes too much sense. Dan Quinn might not stay as their defensive coordinator, but assuming he does, he would make an excellent player to replace upcoming free-agent Leighton Vander Esch and take some pressure off of Micah Parsons to make every tackle against the run. Whoever drafts him will certainly be happy with everything he brings to the table.
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