The Arizona Cardinals were able to select Utah defensive lineman Leki Fotu in the fourth round of the NFL draft last week. At 6-foot-5 and 330 pounds, he has the traditional build of a two-down run-stuffing nose tackle.
General manager Steve Keim believes he could be even more than that.
“I think there’s a little more versatility there,” he said on SiriusXM NFL Radio with hosts Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan. “I thought I saw a little Vita Vea in him when I was looking at him.”
Vea was a first-round pick out of Washington in 2018, going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He is a nose tackle but has had some pass-rushing productivity. In two seasons, he has had 5.5 sacks and 16 QB hits.
Keim believes Fotu is more than just a run stopper.
“I think that the one thing that takes this guy out of the conventional thinking of your traditional nose is he’s got the quickness to get on the edges,” he said. “He’s got some range to laterally close and chase the ball, so I think this guy’s got a little more to him and I think there is a little more upside to develop.”
Fotu himself said before the draft he believes he has more skill than just plugging gaps and engaging blocker. He believes he will be the most disruptive defensive lineman of the draft.
He will likely be used in the same role he had at Utah, playing gap football and keeping linebackers clean so they can make plays, at least initially.
And if that all he ends up in the NFL, it is worth a fourth-round pick. But if he can be more, he might end up being one of the big steals in the draft.
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Ep.265
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Ep. 264
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