2022 NFL draft scouting report: South Carolina EDGE Kingsley Enagbare

Eric Edholm

South Carolina EDGE Kingsley Enagbare

6-foot-4
258 pounds

Yahoo Sports' 2022 NFL draft grade

5.62 — possible third- or fourth-rounder; contributor potential

TL;DR scouting report

Long, hard-charging, talented pass rusher whose consistency and run defense are areas that require development

The skinny

A 4-star Rivals recruit as a linebacker in the Class of 2018, Enagbare choses the Gamecocks over Georgia and Georgia Tech. He saw time in 12 games on the defensive line as a freshman, totaling 20 tackles (three TFLs), one sack, two passes defended and a blocked kick. In 2019, Enagbare played in 12 games (one start), collecting 27 tackles (seven TFLs) and 3.5 sacks.

Enagbare started all eight games he played in 2020 (missing the final two with injury), totaling 30 tackles (seven TFLs), six sacks and three forced fumbles. In 2021, he returned to school and started the first 12 games and collected 42 tackles five TFLs), 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble, one recovery and two passes defended. Enagbare opted out of the bowl game and participated in the 2022 Senior Bowl.

South Carolina EDGE Kingsley Enagbare offers goood length and surprising effectiveness as a pass rusher. (Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
South Carolina EDGE Kingsley Enagbare offers goood length and surprising effectiveness as a pass rusher. (Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Upside

  • Elongated frame can cause problems for tackles

  • Thickly built — can withstand rigors of trench play

  • Good testing numbers in vertical jump, broad jump, 10-yard split

  • Better bend around the edge than you might assume for his length

  • Heavy hands that can shock defenders

  • Upper-body strength isn't elite, but he's made gains in this area

  • Pass-rush win rate (including pressures and hits) was surprisingly high

  • Active hands and disruptive — four forced fumbles past two seasons

  • Hits with purpose — drives through ball carriers and doesn't get cheated out of contact

  • Makes impact felt in games that goes beyond the box score

  • Sets a solid edge in the run game most of the time

  • Hard worker, high-motor player

  • Showed he could get home from the interior early in college career

Downside

  • Disappointing testing numbers in agility drills — stiffness changing directions

  • Tape doesn't display explosive qualities you'd assume with his jumping numbers

  • Feet, balance and take-on strength likely to be average by NFL standards

  • Impact in games runs hot and cold — a but too streaky in his performances

  • Didn't quite dominate some lower-competition matchups like you'd expect

  • Merely average sack production — so-so finisher at this stage

  • Well-schooled pass rusher but not enough deception, variance in his approach

  • Loses some gap integrity as a run defender

  • Potential health red flag with past hip injury

  • Never quite met sky-high expectations in college

Best-suited destination

Enagbare offers some versatility as an edge defender, but how much? We haven't really seen him rush from the interior the past two years, and his run-stopping ability isn't always consistent. That could mean Enagbare opens his career as a pass-rush specialist as he expands his game.

Did you know

Enagbare's nickname is "J.J." — but why? It has nothing to do with his name and everything to do with his mother and his favorite TV show as a kid.

"It was a childhood nickname that my mother gave me," Enagbare told the school's website. "There was a little show that I used to watch, 'Jay Jay the Jet Plane,' and I would act like him all the time."

Player comp

Romeo Okwara

Expected draft range

Rounds 2-3

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