By: Michael Higgins

School: Northwestern (Senior)

Position: EDGE

HT: 6’2

WT: 280 lbs

Sideline Prospect Ranking: #91

Adetomiwa Adebawore was a lightly recruited 3-star prospect out of Kansas City, Missouri. Despite not being heavily recruited, Adebawore earned plenty of honors and awards throughout his high school career. He was a menace for North Kansas City High School, earning All-Suburban White League Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-District, and Class 5 First Team All-State. With all those honors, his most impressive is still his Academic All-State nomination. Adebawore chose Northwestern over offers from Air Force, Army, and Washington State. He was periodically sprinkled in on the defense in his true freshman season with Northwestern before he took on a more dominant role on the edge for the Wildcats. It wasn’t until his junior season in 2021 that Adetomiwa really came into his own. Being named an All-Big 10 Honorable Mention and leading Northwestern in sacks with 4.5, he had officially arrived. He did nothing but build off of his junior season with a monster senior campaign in 2022. He was named All-Big 10 3rd Team and saw his draft stock rise. Adebawore is a superb athlete, both on the field in terms of testing scores, he passes with flying colors. Adebawore finished 1st overall amongst edge rushers in terms of combined athletic testing at the NFL Combine.

He is a big body, and a dominating presence, but he carries his weight well and is light on his feet. He executes both stunts and twists well along the defensive line with quick twitch movement ability and a fast first step. Adebawore has one of the most interesting blends of strength and movement skills. He is quick enough to play on the edge and strong enough to win on the interior. His strength was utilized by sending him to the interior of the line via stunts or lining him up at 3-technique. Adebawore has no problem with using strength to win and overpower linemen. When defending the run, he does well to control gaps and is not over-eager to get into the backfield. He controls the gaps and does not give runners a free lane to break into the open field. He is not a one-dimensional lineman. He can control gaps using his strength and size but can also set the edge with speed and excellent pursuit as a 5-tech with his hand in the dirt.

While Adebawore does have decent bend for his size, he still has less than ideal-flexibility. He has a tendency to stiffen up in certain reps, sometimes more than others. Adebawore also needs to improve upon his tackling in the mud of the trenches. He is a big body that can bring ball carriers down, but he tends to allow runners to slip from his grasp. He seems to fizzle out as the play progresses, letting the offense get away with more as they extend the play.

Adetomiwa Adebawore is a strong player who carries his large frame well. He has a high motor that is visible on every snap. He has his limitations both on the edge and in the interior, just as he has his strengths. He will be a versatile player along the line that can play wherever he is needed but may want to settle down at a certain alignment eventually.

Scheme Fit: Odd Front

Ideal Role: Defensive End

Best Team Fits: LVR, LAC, SEA

Player Comparison: Montez Sweat

Player Grade: 73.5