Name: Arnold Ebiketie

School: Penn State University

Year: rSr

Position: Edge

Measurables: 6’2 3/8”, 256 lbs.

Stats: 

General Info:

Arnold Ebiketie was born in Yaoundé, Cameroon and moved to the United States when he was 13 years old. He started playing football as a sophomore in high school at Albert Einstein High School in Kensington, Maryland. He was overlooked by many larger schools because he weighed merely 200 lbs. at the time, despite having 21.5 sacks as an edge defender in his senior season. Ebiketie committed to Temple University, where he played three seasons of football after redshirting his freshman year. He excelled in his junior season at temple, earning Second-Team All-ACC honors. After finally achieving statistical success and receiving national recognition, he decided to transfer to Penn State University for his senior season. The edge defender thrived in his lone season at Penn State, racking up 9.5 sacks (16^th in the nation) and 18 TFLs (9^th in the nation). This breakout senior season earned him First-Team All-Big Ten honors and set him up well for the 2022 NFL Draft.

Positional Skills:

Strengths

Arnold Ebiketie is a skilled edge defender with a great burst. Along with his explosive burst off the line of scrimmage, he possesses more strength in his hands than you would expect for a defender his size. Ebiketie is a technically sound player with great pursuit angles. His 9.5 sacks as a senior do not tell the entire story of his pass rushing ability, as he often finds a way to disrupt the passer even if he does not record a sack. He is disruptive in the run game as well, as evidenced by his 18 TFLs.

Weaknesses

While Ebiketie possesses great strength in his punch, he is often overpowered by larger (usually interior) offensive linemen if he does not win on his first punch. His size may be a problem for some, particularly his height. Offensive tackles were at times able to use his smaller length to their advantage by getting their hands on him first. While he has great burst off of the line of scrimmage, he also lacks the elusiveness to consistently win 1-on-1 battles against offensive linemen in good position.

Fit with the Packers:

An edge defender is considered by many to be one of the Packers’ biggest needs heading into the 2022 NFL Draft. Ebiketie is projected to be an early second-round pick with potential to sneak into the first round. This places him in “no man’s land” for the Green Bay Packers. The 28^th overall pick may be too early to select him, but he could very well be gone by their next selection at 53. Green Bay’s defense likes to use many different edge rushers. For example, Jonathan Garvin played roughly 37% of the Packers’ defensive snaps in 2021. Arnold Ebiketie would provide the Packers a third reliable edge defender to compliment Rashan Gary and Preston Smith and provide them long-term depth at the position. If the Packers believe in Ebiketie, they may select him at 28, or they could hope he falls to 53. The most likely scenario for Green Bay, if they want Ebiketie, is that they trade down from 28 or up from 53 to select him in no man’s land.