The Illinois star defensive lineman has the makeup to be one of the best in the league.
Over the next couple of weeks, leading up to the 2024 NFL Draft we will take a look at close to 30 prospects to know.
Within that, we will use the excellent work of Dane Brugler, who has just released his “The Beast” 2024 NFL Draft Guide. I highly recommend taking a peek and signing up for The Athletic if only to get Dane’s guide.
It is always an exhaustive work, and he should be commended.
With that said, we will go in order of Dane’s Big Board and use his final analysis as the wrap up of each prospect.
Next up is Dane’s 28th overall prospect, Johnny Newton.
Dane’s Take:
A three-year starter at Illinois, Newton played all over the defensive line but primarily over the B-gap in defensive coordinator Aaron Henry’s hybrid fronts. He put together an impressive resume with back-to-back All-America seasons in 2022 and 2023, combining for 103 pressures (the most by any FBS interior defensive lineman in that span).
Newton is a menace from the interior and did so with not a lot of help around him. In fact, only his running mate on the defensive line Keith Randolph Jr. being the only other draftable defensive player on the roster.
So, Newton being a dominant player with not much next to him is even more eye-opening.
With his twitchy get-off and sense of urgency, Newton creates immediate vertical push and wins early, versus both pass and run, often forcing quarterbacks to speed up their internal clock. Although he can be engulfed at times, especially in the run game , his use of leverage and violent shed tactics help him remain a factor, including various snatch/pull techniques to use the weight of blockers against them (NFL scout: “You have to ignore the measurables and focus on the football player, because he’s a good one.”).
Newton having shorter arms is not a huge deal for me with how he plays, which is fast and violent.
He uses a plethora of moves to create chances to make splash plays.
Overall, Newton’s undersized, compact frame will be a turn-off for some teams, but he is tough to block one-on-one, because of his gap quickness, natural power and nose for the ball. He projects as a dependable starting three-technique in the NFL.
Newton had three sacks, 5.5 sacks and then 7.5 sacks each of the last three years and is one of the most productive and dominant interior players we have seen and would be a great fit for the Arizona Cardinals.
Next up… Jordan Morgan.
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