Green Bay Packers: 3 Mid-to-Late Round D-Line Prospects

Davon Hamilton – Ohio State

One thing you need to know about Davon Hamilton is that he did 33 bench press reps at the NFL Combine, the most of any defensive tackle, and tied for fourth overall. Brian Gutekunst has shown an affinity for drafting players that have performed well at the combine and are great pure athletes. That would point to Hamilton definitely being on the Green Bay Packers’ draft radar.

Hamilton sometimes lacks technical skill but makes up for it with pure strength and power. His 6’4″ 327-pound frame is one of the heftiest in this class of defensive linemen and it helps him hold his ground at the line of scrimmage. His big body also makes him near impossible to block with a fullback or tight end and allows him to play nose tackle or defensive end in the Green Bay Packers’ 3-4 scheme.

What he sometimes lacks is explosion off the ball on the snap. When you weight 327 pounds it’s tough to accelerate quickly and get your body moving forward. I don’t see it as much of a lack of effort as just a side effect of his size. He was especially tentative off the line against Clemson, but I attribute this more to their system which has consistent Run-Pass Options that maybe he was trying to read before attacking.

Even when he is late out of his stance, his power saves him. That 33-rep bench press allows him to extend his arms, even when the offensive lineman is fully engaged with him chest to chest. He does sometimes struggle to shed that block, even when he has successfully separated from the lineman’s body. This is another place where he has a deficiency in technique, but I believe this is something that can be taught and coached.

Once in a while, he does show some signs of explosion, agility, and speed. I saw him shoot a gap to make a play in the backfield a few times, and that shows some promise if he can work on staying low at the point of attack. He also doesn’t give up on plays often and will make an effort at a pursuit angle on outside runs.

Finally, my favorite trait of his is the ability he possesses to swim over a gap on zone runs. I assume this is usually designed into the defense, but he does it extremely well. There are times when it is zone blocking to the right and he will go against the grain and jump out of his original gap and get into the backfield. He uses an expert swim move to accomplish this, which I didn’t really see in the pass rush. His pass-rushing ability is subpar, but he might be able to develop something with that swim move.