The decline in explosive offenses across the NFL lead several teams to build up their offensive lines and invest more in the run game during the 2024 offseason. The Kansas City Chiefs should counter this trend in the 2025 NFL draft by adding some more beef along the defensive line.
Alabama defensive tackle Tim Keenan III brings the versatility to play 2-tech, 2i, 1-tech, and 0-tech and would be an ideal fit in Steve Spagnuolo’s defense.
His thick 6 foot 2, 326-pound frame helps him play low to the ground. He sets a wide base to anchor at the point of attack. Keenan doesn’t hold his ground against double teams consistently, but he posted several examples of withstanding combo blocks over the past year.
Keenan contorts his upper body to absorb the offensive lineman’s blows without losing his positioning. He stacks and sheds one-on-one blocks against centers with ease. Keenan prefers to use long-arm moves and club-swims to discard run blocks.
Here’s 21 seconds of Tim Keenan being an absolute bulldog 😤 pic.twitter.com/krNRYAG02u
— Clint Lamb (@ClintRLamb) September 9, 2024
Keenan is a unique athlete for a nose tackle. He possesses surprising bend in his hips to slip past guards while rushing the quarterback. Keenan flashes impressive lateral burst to exchange gaps at the snap and gain an agility advantage against linemen. His limited pass rush plan includes club-swims, humps, and two-handed swipes. He deploys a powerful bull rush too.
The Crimson Tide plan to follow up their victory against Georgia as they go on the road this week to visit Vanderbilt. The Commodores upset Virginia Tech earlier this season and took Missouri to double overtime. Alabama versus Vanderbilt kicks off at 3:15 p.m. CST.