Overview

Position: DL

College: Alabama

Class: Senior

Age: 23

 

Measurables

Height: 6’1”

Weight: 327 lbs.

Arm length: 30 1/2″

Hand size: 8 5/8”

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 5.31 sec.

10-yard split: 1.83 sec.

Vertical jump: 30.0”

Broad jump: 100.0”

Bench press: 21 reps

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

 

Strengths

Very stout build. Low center of gravity with ideal mass. Stout and physical at the point of attack. Digs in to hold his ground versus double teams. Able to get low and push back blockers. Excellent overall balance to keep his feet. Impressive functional quickness and athleticism. Great instincts. Holds his ground while keeping an eye in the backfield and reacting. Quick reaction time. Tremendous ability to stack and shed in either direction. Uses his hands to attach at the shoulders and stays square to easily disengage. Very accurate hand placement. Quick hands to shed working into the backfield. Good lateral quickness to disengage in the hole. Plays hard and almost always eventually frees himself from blocks. Secure tackler on the interior. Impressive ability to change direction tackling in the backfield. Aggressive getting in on tackles and cleaning things up inside. Gives effort to regain positioning if moved some off the ball. Will slide into a gap and take multiple blockers. Quick and low off the ball in short-yardage situations. Aggressive hitting into opponents when slanting. Very strong with a wide base keeping outside contain and tackling on runs to the outside. Will occupy multiple blockers working down the line of scrimmage towards the edge. Able to drop an anchor for a tackle when slanting. Excellent play recognition on outside runs. Hits hard in space when he gets to the ball-carrier. Gives effort to track the action when away from the ball. Mostly used as a nose tackle but saw snaps as a three-technique. Able to push the pocket with leverage as a power rusher. Shows some ankle bend attacking into the rush with more room to build up momentum. Has flashed burst off the ball as a rusher. Shows some stop-and-start ability as a rusher when looping. Powerful attacking blockers from the side on stunts. Good smoothness on simple stunts. Controlled getting to the quarterback. Forceful when he gets a shot at the quarterback. Excellent awareness on screen passes. Team captain and high-character player.

 

Weaknesses

Below-average length. Limited twitch and moves as a rusher. Has trouble splitting blockers with quickness as a rusher. Lacks range as a tackler in perimeter pursuit. Blockers can use slanting momentum against him and move him further off the spot.

 

NFL comparison

Jamaree Caldwell

 

Conclusion

Overall, Keenan is a very stout nose tackle who knows how to play with leverage and effectively uses his hands inside. He best fits in a two-gapping role and should provide immediate value in anchoring an NFL run defense.

 

Big Board ranking: #87 | Positional ranking: #8