You can never have too many dynamic pass rushers in today’s NFL, especially versatile ones who can get after opposing quarterbacks, set the edge against the run, and drop back into coverage.
Boise State’s Curtis Weaver checks all of those boxes.
One of the most productive and complete edge defenders in the 2020 NFL draft class, Weaver recently spoke exclusively with Draft Wire about his experience at the NFL Scouting Combine, how his time at Boise State prepared him for what’s next, and what kind of player he’ll be at the next level.
JM: You’re the Mountain West’s all-time sack leader with 34 career sacks. How do you look back on that?
CW: I’m blessed. That’s really all I can think of at this moment. I always thought about that through it all. I was blessed with the talent to make that happen.
JM: What was your experience like at the NFL Scouting Combine?
CW: It was a great experience. It was a blessing and I’m very thankful for it. Everybody knows that it’s just a very small percentage of college football players that actually get to go to the combine. At the end of the day, you don’t think about that in the moment. I was just thankful for it. I enjoyed spending time around the other players. There’s so many great players going through this process. I was there to compete at the end of the day. We all had such a great time. Nobody was disrespectful, nobody was big-timing people. It was a great experience.
JM: What do you think is the overall impression that you left out there?
CW: I think I impressed everybody out there. I know that teams thought I was a little chubby back in high school. That was a big thing for me. I focused on fixing my body. I don’t have a six-pack, but I definitely trimmed down some of the fat (laughs). That’s what NFL teams wanted to see from me. They thought I was looking good. I showed them that I can move laterally. That was big for me. I move well for my size. I moved laterally with the linebackers. I was moving just as good as those guys. That’s what I wanted to show them out there.
JM: Did you have many formal or informal interviews at the combine?
CW: Yeah, I had about 20 formal meetings. If it wasn’t 20, it was at least 17.
JM: Do you recall any of the teams that you met with formally?
CW: I met with so many teams. I met with the Cowboys and the Giants on the first day. A lot of teams showed some interest in me. I know a couple of guys that had like 28 formal interviews. I didn’t even get the chance to do any formals on the last day. We were just so busy. I was upstairs the whole time.
JM: Do you have any private visits or workouts coming up, or is everything scheduled to go down after the pro day?
CW: Everything is supposed to go down after the pro day. That’s the plan right now.
JM: Who are you scheduled to visit or workout for?
CW: I have the Bears, Cardinals, Browns, Falcons, Steelers and Cowboys. We’re definitely gonna be busy over these next couple of weeks. My agent has the full list. I’m just the guy that gets on the plane and goes where I’m told to go (laughs).
JM: What was the strangest question you were asked at the combine?
CW: I didn’t get any weird questions. I spoke to a few guys who definitely had some awkward moments (laughs). Everything was pretty straight forward for me. There may have been a few tricky questions that were difficult to answer, but I didn’t have anything that I would classify as weird or strange. Everything was pretty mellow. I wasn’t upset with anything. It was just straight forward. If they wanted to question me on something from my past, we discussed it openly. Everything was great.
JM: How would you describe your pass rush arsenal?
CW: I have one of the best arsenals of pass rush moves in this class. What limits me a little bit right now is that I don’t have a good bull rush. There’s a lot of guys with the bull rush. I’m working on that as we speak. I would love to add that into my arsenal. That would really increase my potential. It would make my opponent really have to respect everything else that I do. I’m a big speed guy. I’m not really a finesse guy. I can reach places that others can’t. I can turn and contort my body in ways that a lot of pass rushers can’t. Having double-jointed elbows helps (laughs). That’s a big thing for me.
I’m always looking to expand my pass rush arsenal. I’m working with DeMarcus Lawrence out in Dallas right now. He went to Boise State as well. He’s really gonna start helping me before my Pro Day. We’re gonna get some work in and learn some new moves. I’m gonna perfect those. I’m excited about it. He’s one of the best pass rushers in the NFL right now. You always wanna pick the brain of a successful pass rusher.
JM: What’s one move that you would love to learn from DeMarcus Lawrence?
CW: I would probably say the cross-chop, the euro-step cross-chop. That’s a big move in the NFL right now. The guys that have it in their arsenal have downright perfected it. It’s one of those moves you have to learn. DeMarcus Lawrence already has it.
JM: What would you say is your go-to move?
CW: The speed is always my go-to. What I do there is a secret (laughs). I can’t tell you that. Speed is definitely the go-to at the end of the day.
JM: How do you switch it up and keep the tackle guessing?
CW: The bull rush helped me sometimes, even though I’m still developing that, as I said earlier. My stance and positioning can definitely be used to trick an offensive tackle. I dropped a lot in coverage during the season. Looking like I was gonna blitz when I’m actually dropping back definitely keeps them on their toes. It definitely made them question the look they were getting. That was big. I definitely use every move in my arsenal at some point throughout a game. You have to switch it up. There’s so much you can do with your speed and get-off. It’s all about playing off of that and mixing it up.
JM: Who are some of the best offensive tackles you’ve ever gone up against?
CW: I’m not very good with names. T.J. Storm from Colorado State, I believe he just committed to TCU as a grad-transfer, but don’t quote me on that. I think I read that somewhere. He showed me a lot of different patterns throughout a game. He wasn’t a one-dimensional guy. He mixed it up a lot.
JM: What’s your favorite way to demoralize your opponent?
CW: I talk a lot during a game. That’s just how I am. I’m a big trash talker. My competitiveness is always running hot. I love trash talking. I just try to consistently win my match-up. That really demoralizes people. Losing that one-on-one battle repeatedly is demoralizing. You get tired of losing. That goes for everybody. Nobody likes to lose, especially a one-on-one battle. Winning that rep consistently is how I demoralize you. Winning a key rep in the fourth quarter can be huge. At the end of the day, the first three quarters don’t matter if you’re in a close game in the fourth quarter. It’s all about what happens from there on out at that point. That’s the position you wanna be in.
JM: How did practicing and preparing alongside Ezra Cleveland make you a better player? I imagine you guys had some great battles in practice.
CW: Yeah, we definitely grew up together. We all grew up at Boise State. We were just kids when we got there. We paid our dues against the older guys. We learned from them. We were those young guys who didn’t know what we were doing. We weren’t those All-Americans that came in with a polished skill-set. We had to work hard. We had to learn from the older guys. When it was our time to lead, we lead by example. We wanted to show that fire. Ezra and I were always competitive in the weight room. We went hard during fall camp when we had those reps against one another. We always talked outside of football and we’ll continue to do so. We’re friends. That’s a big thing. A lot of guys are just friends in football. Ezra and I are friends outside of football.
We spent four years together. We knew what we were getting into. That helped us a lot. We changed it up. We tried to make the program a better place for the future generations. We tried new things in practice. We learned from one another. That’s the most important thing.
JM: When a team uses a draft pick on Curtis Weaver, what kind of guy are they getting?
CW: They’re getting a competitor, first and foremost. I play with a lot of passion. I’m a very passionate person in general. At the same time, I’m never gonna be a distraction. I won’t be a distraction. I’m gonna do everything for the team. At the end of the day, we all wanna win the Super Bowl.
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