Nadame Tucker is a 6 ‘2, 247-pound edge rusher from Western Michigan University, who spent three years at the University of Houston before transferring to play for the Broncos. He went to high school at Teaneck High School in New York, New York and flourished before enrolling at Houston in 2022. Tucker has been considered healthy for his entire career, without missing any games in his four-year career and has won numerous awards during his time such as MAC Defensive Player of the Year, Senior Bowl Standout, First Team All-MAC, and MAC Championship Game Defensive MVP.
Athletically, Tucker is undersized but that does not limit his ability to be effective, as he has shown elite speed and get-off speed from the line of scrimmage. It is what he is best at, using his elite speed to his advantage and even jumping snaps perfectly to make the offensive lineman uncomfortable as he tries to bend underneath them or arc around the lineman. His pass rush ability is a big reason for his success, even with minimal finesse and power moves, as he relies on speed, hand usage aggressively, and high motor bull rush to have good success against the pass, which results in the quarterback feeling the pressure and he has to release the ball before he wants to, extending the play, or Tucker sacking the quarterback, which he has 14.5 of those. In the running game, Tucker is a liability, and even his team knows that as he is on the bench when the offense is in the red zone. Tucker struggles to use finesse to get back to stuffing the gap and impact the run, which will create gaps and holes for the running back to go through, as you may have seen in the North Texas overtime loss with both the quarterback Drew Mestemaker and running back Makenzie McGill II exposing that weakness. Lastly, Tucker’s mental ability is up to speed and is classified as above average as an edge rusher, being able to notice the read option and his assignment being stuck on the quarterback, and executing that to perfection. He does not let the quarterback rip off big chunks and get ahead of the downs to distance, a big strength to NFL teams and his ability to process the game at a fast clip.
Overall, Tucker is a good prospect who can work out in the NFL, with his age being a worry and an advantage to teams. With already being elite in the pass rush, and working on adding finesse moves to his game and strength, he can be a good prospect that teams can see value in if he can impact the running ability on defense in any way.
Scheme Fit and Team Fit:
The scheme that fits Tucker best is the 4-3 defense because it doesn’t create a big gap inside, and he can use his speed and power in passing situations. It will also work well because of his mental processing and his assignment to the quarterback on read-option plays, rather than a linebacker being assigned to the quarterback, which would be picked up by an inside offensive lineman. The teams I think would call for Tucker and would fit his play style well are the New Orleans Saints, Cincinnati Bengals, and Minnesota Vikings.
The Saints use the 4-3 front defense and have looked at Tucker since the draft, with connections to him at the NFL combine and rumors around the league that they are targeting him. Other than that, though, they are entering a new era with new coordinator Brandon Staley, who helped develop guys such as Leonard Floyd, Samson Ebukam, and Khalil Mack. It is a perfect fit for someone who can maximize potential and use Tucker to his ability. For the Vikings, it is a good fit with Brian Flores there as coordinator, and they can also use the pass-rush ability Tucker possesses, despite having a good pass rush last year, because they are a good developmental defensive team that can develop talent to the maximum. Lastly, for the Bengals, they do not have much success on defense, especially last year, but with second year coordinator and former Notre Dame defensive coordinator, Al Golden, they could take a chance on Tucker because of his high motor, high speed, and elite pass rush ability, in addition to his ability to process what is happening despite taking two rushers last year and losing star Trey Hendrickson.
NFL Player Comp: Jonah Elliss
Jonah Elliss is my comparison for Tucker because the way Jonah plays is identical to Tucker’s: he uses his speed off the line and motor to “arc” the offensive lineman. They both don’t have great moves, as they rely on speed and a quick first step to make up for a lack of finesse.
Projection: League Average Starter
For Tucker, the only thing in his way is his ability with running and finesse moves, as everything else is good or elite, including pass rush, which is a big green flag for teams. Given his elite speed, pass rush, and mental ability with option and RPOs, he will develop enough to become a starter in the NFL and someone who can provide much-needed energy, so I labeled him a league-average starter.
Grade and Round Projection: 4.85 / Round 4
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