Princely Umanmielen Has Inconsistent Motor

Florida Gators defensive end Princely Umanmielen looked solid on his 2022 game film.

Notice, I didn’t say he looked good or great.

He was solid as a rotational defensive lineman. Despite the 4.5 sacks in 2022, I felt he looked better against the run than the pass due to his limitations, which I will get into.

Where does he fit in at the next level?

That’s a question I’ll be answering as we dive deep into what the game film revealed.

Pass rushing

As shown in this picture, Umanmielen has long arms and good reach. He flip-flopped from one side of the line of scrimmage to the other testing both sides sometimes standing up, but mostly playing with his hand down in the dirt.

The biggest plus he has going for him as a pass rusher is a quick first step. Overall, Umanmielen is more quick than fast and that first step is special. It allows him to get a jump outside on offensive tackles as he works toward the back door of the pocket. The problem is all he has is a dominant first step and then he has rather average one-gear speed from there, so he bogs down on the perimeter of the pocket.

There are some other major hindrances as well:

-stiffness

-lack of pass rush moves

-sputtering motor

A few times it showed on film when Umanmielen could not make quick adjustments to the quarterback in the pocket. He also is a vanilla pass rusher. Once in a blue moon, he will do a ‘spin back move,’ to the inside and start to win, but by that time the pass is usually thrown. The big negative is the 13 times in my notes when he never got started. This is strange because, at other times, he will chase quarterbacks.

There’s a lot I can work with, not giving 110% on every play is not one of those things. I am looking for prospects who want to win and prove it on game film by not having an off switch.

Run defense

Like I was saying at the top of this report, I was frankly more impressed with Umanmielen as a run defender. Although he is inconsistent in disengaging from blockers, he occasionally shows a move where he can swim past offensive linemen and get himself into position to make strong wrapping tackles.

The positive, neutral, and negative remarks in my notes were the same amount.

There are times when he powers off a block with good strength and also makes the stop.

It’s in him when he decides to do it. There were another nine times Umanmielen never got started.

He’ll make an NFL 53-man roster

As long as he keeps showing that quick first step in today’s pass-happy NFL and he contributes in the rotation defending against the run, he will last as long as his rookie contract does.

He will have to develop beyond that to have a chance at a longer career in the league.

Can a team win with Umanmielen?

No.

#33 Princely Umanmielen 6-foot-5, 255 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Fall 2023 Grade: Fourth-Round (I wouldn’t select him)

Projected by 11.7% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of December 6, 2023 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

Game film reviewed (2022): Tennessee, Kentucky, Utah, Georgia, and South Carolina (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

2022 stats: 39 tackles (16 solo), 4.5 sacks, 27 pressures and 2 forced fumbles

2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Athletic developmental defensive lineman with equally distributed mass and strength. Likes to run. An unimaginative gap shooter who can occasionally create pressure. Uses hands and is active. Capable, but inconsistent getting substantial movement at the point of attack. Handled against Darnell Wright (RT Tennessee) and Broderick Jones (LT Georgia), which were two first-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft. Decent, but inconsistent run defense. Didn’t put it all together.

What to watch for during the 2023 college football season

1. Total number of sacks and pressures?

2. Showing any pass rush moves?

3. Giving up on pass and run plays?

4. Consistently disengaging vs. run blocks?

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, contributes at Yardbarker, and has written for Sports Illustrated Lions, Jets, and 49ers, as well as a featured guest on ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.