Finding Broncos: Scouting Iowa IDL Daviyon Nixon
Welcome to Finding Broncos, our annual prospect-by-prospect series deep-diving on the coming NFL draft class. The scouting continues with Iowa interior defensive lineman Daviyon Nixon, a talented prospect but does he fit the Denver Broncos?
Measurables
- Height: 6 foot 3
- Weight: 305 pounds
Stats
Sports-Reference.com
Pros
- Good versatility to play in multiple fronts and multiple techniques.
- Has good power and understanding of leverage to have an effective bull rush.
- Good athleticism for his size and solid lateral agility to attack the outsides of blockers, or shift down the line for outsize zone runs.
- His short-area burst and agility can be a nightmare for interior offensive linemen, especially bigger and slower ones.
- Dominated in 2020 as a run defender and pass rusher on the inside.
- Took giant steps forward in multiple areas from 2019 to 2020.
- Has the upper body strength to bench blockers off his frame if they get attached earlier on in the rep.
- Has a good amount of pass rush moves he can go to.
- Really comes off with an explosion and power off the snap.
- Keeps his upper body and lower body in sync throughout his pass rush
- Has a solid change of direction to go from attack to pursuit.
Cons
- Shouldn’t be used in a two-gapping defense, but a one-gap that will let him penetrate.
- Strength isn’t there to hold two gaps but is there to try and drive through a blocker.
- Lack of strength also shows up when handling double teams.
- Can get caught up in his attempt to penetrate and lose sight of the ball.
- Has good and pretty consistent effort, but every now and then you see him kick it up a notch and you want that from him full time.
- Sometimes his reads on plays lead him wrong, so needs to put in the time in the film room to better his football IQ.
- There may be a good amount of moves, but he needs to be more consistent with them and improve the overall technique of them.
- His overall length isn’t terrible, but not great either. Some longer interior blockers can get to his chest before he can get to theirs and makes him put in extra work.
Overview
Nixon is getting labeled as a one-year wonder because his 2019 season was underwhelming. That said, he still flashed a lot in 2019 and managed to take a big step forward with his play in 2020. His overall technique improved and it really made him more dangerous of a player.
The explosive get-off that he has was more consistent and fluid in 2020 along with bringing more force and power into initial contact. There are some who have concerns about his versatility on the interior, but I see a player who can play in an odd or even front as a 2i-technique all the way to a 5-technique, with some reps as a 0/1-technique depending on the situation in the game.
The only thing scheme-wise you want to avoid with Nixon is anything two-gapping because he just doesn’t have the physical strength to hold it down for that kind of defense. Let him shoot a single gap and make plays for your front is the best way to get him to succeed.
Fit with Broncos
The Denver Broncos made a good move to keep the services of Shelby Harris because this interior defensive line class isn’t all that great. They can still use a piece to help their depth, and this class offers up options like Nixon. He needs some development, which is perfect for the Broncos.
Harris’ deal is essentially a two year with a maybe on year three and Dre’Mont Jones will be a free agent in two years. That would work out well with the timing for developing Nixon to hopefully be ready to replace one of the two (likely Harris) at that time. The scheme fit is fine, for me, though others view him as strictly a penetrating 3-technique in an even man front.
Grade: Round 2
Where he goes: Round 2
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