Calijah Kancey NFL Draft Prospect Profile and Scouting Report
Defensive lineman Calijah Kancey Scouting Report for the 2023 NFL Draft
By markoldacres
Name: Calijah Kancey
School: Pittsburgh
Year: Jr
Position: Defensive lineman
Measurables: 6’1”, 281 lbs.
Combine: 40-yard dash- 4.67, presumably will complete other drills at pro day
Stats:
Courtesy of Sports-Reference.com
General Info:
Born in Miami, Florida, Kancey attended Miami Northwestern Senior High School, where he racked up more than 200 tackles across his final seasons, before committing to play his college ball for Pitt.
After redshirting his freshman season, Kancey played in 11 games in 2020, including four starts. He then took on a larger role in 2021 and 2022, becoming a starter and accumulating seven sacks in each season.
Following his junior year, Kancey was named a unanimous All-American and ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
Kancey will be 22 years old on draft day.
Positional Skills:
Strengths
An undersized, exciting defensive lineman from Pitt? That sounds familiar…
Kancey isn’t Aaron Donald, because no-one is, but it is fascinating to see such a similar profile of player come out of the same school.
The first thing that jumps out when watching Kancey is his juice. He showed the ability to quickly get into the backfield and backed up his tape with one of the fastest 40-yard dash times in history for a defensive tackle.
He lined up as a 3, 5 and 1-technique at different times for Pitt and was able to disrupt from all three spots.
Kancey showed pop in his hands which allowed him to knock opponents back on contact, as well as the hand skill to defeat opponents in both the run and pass game.
As a rusher, Kancey used his legitimate power and natural leverage (due to his shorter stature) to drive offensive linemen back, he also flashed a spin move and was a sufficient threat to draw double teams.
In the run game, he displayed awareness for where the ball is and the ability to time his block shed in order to make a tackle. He was able to shed blocks and use his athleticism to reach for more difficult tackles.
Kancey is also a high effort player, which will appeal to evaluators.
Weaknesses
Some of Kancey’s issues stem from his status as an ‘undersized’ defensive lineman. He may be a difficult projection for some in regard to how he should best be used.
He is not what you would call a ‘plugger’ versus the run. At times Kancey must show better gap integrity, and there are instances where double teams can take advantage of him in the run game.
Kancey can also be guilty of lacking patience in his approach to each rep and failing to approach it with the proper footing and technique. This can lead him to be washed out of plays.
Fit with the Packers:
Overall, Kancey is a constant nuisance and a disruptive presence in the run and pass game, and has the athleticism, skill, effort and potentially the versatility to be an impact player in the NFL.
His fit with the Packers is to be determined, as Brian Gutekunst would have to veer from his usual athletic thresholds to select Kancey.
Gutekunst has not drafted a defensive lineman under 287lbs in his five drafts as Green Bay’s GM, and although Kancey does not fall significantly below this threshold, it could make him less likely to become a Packer.
If Gutekunst did select Kancey, he would potentially pair nicely with Kenny Clark and Devonte Wyatt to form a tantalizing and dangerous defensive front.
Kancey is likely to be a first-round pick in this year’s draft, so we will see how highly Gutekunst values a player with his skillset, and how big of a need he sees the defensive line to be.
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Mark Oldacres is a sports writer from Birmingham, England and a Green Bay Packers fan. You can follow him on twitter at @MarkOldacres
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Comments (33)
BirdDogUni
March 14, 2023 at 04:22 pm
Not hearing much buzz about DL this draft at all... Edge isn't high end either. Thinking when all is said and done this draft may be disappointing overall?
We'll have a better idea after day one what GMs think of this class.
I wouldn't be disappointed if we used 10 of 13 picks on Offense this year...
; P
dblbogey
March 14, 2023 at 04:34 pm
It's a strong draft for RB, DB, TE. I'd expect we'll get at least one of each. Give us your #13 pick Jets, and we'll grab Skoronski to start things off.
BirdDogUni
March 14, 2023 at 05:42 pm
Grabbing a Guard to start things off isn't my idea of fun... Besides, he's a bares fan, so no way in hell I'm drafting him... ; )
stockholder
March 14, 2023 at 04:54 pm
I fully expect a bad draft.
Gutey will make a chump out of you.
Don't take it personal.
He'll be Gone when Murphy retires now.
Untylu1968
March 14, 2023 at 06:53 pm
You may be the biggest crepe hanger on the planet!
Leatherhead
March 14, 2023 at 04:55 pm
I've played around a lot with the simulators doing the "offense only", and we could really load up the offense in this draft. My starting point is the 21 offensive players that we dress out.
Love, backup QB, Jones, Dillon, 3rd RB, Deguara, two more TEs, Watson, Doubs, Toure, WR, WR, Bakhtiari, Jenkins, Nijman, Runyan, Myers, Tom, 3 more offensive linemen.
That's a minimum of five guys we should be looking at it, and we should get them all on Day Two.
All along, it's been "fix the offense", because we were very average on offense last year and the teams that could score big points made the playoffs. But it's not an impossible fix. Some talented depth on the line, a legit WR, a legit TE
I wouldn't need 10. I'd be willing to use some to trade up to pick up the guys I'd really like to have.
Tillman, of course. I think he's gone by #70. Maybe Dontayvion Wicks later. I like Washington at TE but I can't believe he'll last past about #25 or so, so I'm look at the other guys. Still like Roschon Johnson a bunch. And a guy who could start at RT
stockholder
March 14, 2023 at 05:14 pm
If Rodgers goes.
Yes, I agree it will be offensive.
Heard a rumor they are talking to Amos.
jannesbjornson
March 14, 2023 at 06:32 pm
Still need Edge high and another mid rounds.
KnockTheSnotOutOfYou
March 14, 2023 at 05:16 pm
10 likely high but get your point BD. Think once we see what happens with the trade tomorrow is going to bring into focus our needs. If nothing else using high selections on offense seems very important to me barring of course who might be sitting there. Believe 2 WRs and 2 - 3 TEs are necessary along with an OT & maybe a Center on offense. Somewhere a backup QB is needed. That is 7 or 8 picks.
Leatherhead
March 14, 2023 at 06:23 pm
Gutekunst has used free agency to fill needs and drafted for the future. That's a consistent pattern. Dobber pointed that out to me and it looks like he's right on target, so I'd be wondering if we might get help at Safety, especially, before the draft. Or we might fill a DL slot.
KnockTheSnotOutOfYou
March 14, 2023 at 06:29 pm
With Safety being low on talent in the draft this year I could definitely see the Packers picking one up in FA, as well as drafting some good CB's. Then moving Rasul to Safety.
Thegreatreynoldo
March 15, 2023 at 06:41 am
There are 14 safeties in the top 100 free agents, a good selection. Adrian Amos is not listed in the top 100 free agents.
jannesbjornson
March 15, 2023 at 09:36 am
I liked Vonn Bell to come onboard, but he went fast. The bigger CBs in the '23 draft can convert to safety. I surely hope they do not spend a high pick on a safety.
jannesbjornson
March 14, 2023 at 06:33 pm
Re-sign Reed. [ Edit: he's back with Pete Carroll ].
Leatherhead
March 14, 2023 at 04:30 pm
I saw this guy on NFL Network. He's really quick, and he's built low to the ground, like Adebawore, who I really like. He should go by the end of the first round, or right away on Day 2. He's legit, IMO. Too legit, IMO, for what our needs are:
Clark, Wyatt, and Slaton are going to play the majority of our Dline snaps, and we're only going to play two DL on at least half the plays. So we're essentially looking for the 4th guy in the rotation, and he's not going to play much unless people are hurt or are playing poorly. Kancey would probably work his way up to the #2 spot at some point, and it would give us a pretty strong Dline, but...........
Unless there's a trade, we'd have one shot to take him, and that'd be at #15. In the grand scheme of things, I think that you could spend that pick on other players who'd have a bigger impact and play more snaps for us.
KnockTheSnotOutOfYou
March 14, 2023 at 05:21 pm
Totally agree LH!
Though not sure physically Kancey is the guy we need for that 4th lineman. Also believe he plays a lot like Wyatt without the size. Are you going to play Wyatt or Kancey? Personally would prefer to pass. Give me Adebawore, or Keion White who are similarly sized who can play multiple positions. #13 & #15 hopefully are for the top WR & TE's in draft, or a top Edge rusher.
Leatherhead
March 14, 2023 at 06:26 pm
I think we'll get a DL. Maybe in The Trade. Or we'll sign a vet FA like we did with Reed last year.
We also had a guy last year named Slayton, not Slaton, who had some good moments and could make the 53 as the 5th DL.
jannesbjornson
March 14, 2023 at 06:50 pm
Needs to be in a 4-2/4-3 set up. Under tackle, fast like Donald, or Johnny Randall. The Pitt defense was solid.
The question is would Barry know how to use him? I am skeptical.
stockholder
March 14, 2023 at 04:59 pm
He's a Gutey guy.
First rd reach.
He's not Donald!
Pass- I'll take the guy dropping.
In Fact- give me Dexter.
MooPack
March 14, 2023 at 05:31 pm
Don't know if he is a Gutey guy. Not big enough. I'd agree on DL, give me Gervon Dexter.
jannesbjornson
March 14, 2023 at 06:53 pm
Sticking with Benton. Better pass rusher.
KnockTheSnotOutOfYou
March 14, 2023 at 05:27 pm
The next player I'd like to see featured is Kayshon Boutte the WR from LSU. He is 6' and 205 lbs with 4.48 speed but is only 20 years old. Very good player following in footsteps of Jefferson & Chase? Wondering if he is being overlooked & could be a surprise player in rounds 2-4?
BirdDogUni
March 14, 2023 at 05:49 pm
Oh, he's a second round pick all day, IMO... I don't think there's much chance he makes it to our 3rd round pick, but if he did, I'd love if Gutey drafted him...
(Hoping Darnell Washington is our 1st second round pick... (See what I did there?) ; )
KnockTheSnotOutOfYou
March 14, 2023 at 06:16 pm
I did and like it!!!
Washington & Kuntz are a few of the players I have no idea where they might be drafted. There is a LOT to like about each.
I would love getting my hands on Boutte and putting him in a green & gold jersey somewhere along the way in the upcoming draft. He has a future!
Leatherhead
March 14, 2023 at 06:40 pm
BDU..... love the exuberance, but we don't have extra first round picks, yet. We may never. I'm starting to seriously wonder if part of this 'trade' is going to involve the Jets assuming some of the Packers debt on that contract.
If they can give us some breathing room on the cap, that would be worth as much as a draft pick.
Darnell Washington. He caught my eye right off the bat, many weeks ago, and a lot of other people, too. Then he blew up the combine. I don't know how long he's going to last.
This is another guy, which if we really want, we'd almost have to take him at #15. Maybe we can trade down a little and get him. I'm looking more at some of "other" TEs who haven't gotten the publicity of the Top 4.
KnockTheSnotOutOfYou
March 14, 2023 at 07:05 pm
I know Washington had the great 1-handed catch but you can tell he is a little stiff as a receiver (great in red zone) and will never be a move TE who is going deep down the middle. I believe Zack Kuntz can become that guy though. The real question is do the Packers need a move TE more than an in-line TE? Otherwise, do they need an in-line TE more than a move TE? That is the million dollar question, If you draft Washington you are still going to need a move TE. You would have to draft Washington at #15 unless a trade back but just how many spots can you move back and still get him? Then you would still need to draft someone like Kincaid, Musgrave, Kuntz, LaPorta, or Tucker Kraft as a move TE.
That is using a lot of draft capital above. Otherwise, you settle and draft a Michael Mayer who does a little bit of everything well (just not exceptional) using one pick. Mayer can stay on the field for all three plays. Otherwise, I keep wondering about Zack Kuntz. When used downfield, he shows the ball-tracking skills and hand-eye coordination to make the adjustment on underthrown balls and back-shoulder throws. He is big and can certainly run and catch but his blocking as of now isn't fantastic. Could he become a good blocking TE at his size? With time and making it a priority I can see Kuntz becoming a good blocking TE at his size. I believe long-term he has more upside than Washington in that he can run & will improve his blocking, but I don't see Washington ever being able to be that smooth running move TE. With Big Dog likely not coming back Washington would be the better pick right now.
Leatherhead
March 14, 2023 at 09:58 pm
My #1 question on the TE is "Will he get his man blocked?"
With Big Dog, that's a yes, and it essentially gave us 6 offensive linemen, and that makes a difference. But he gave us little in the pass game.
I think it's also a yes for Washington, but it could be a yes for other guys, too. I like Cameron Latu and some of the other guys, too.
Right now, given that I wouldn't draft a skill position player in the first round, and that it's unlikely Washington is going to available beyond that very far, it's kind of becoming moot with me. In simulations, I'd trade down and take Washington early in the 2nd, but I just don't think he'll last that long and we're going to have to settle for some other guy who can get his man blocked and catch a pass or two every game.
KnockTheSnotOutOfYou
March 14, 2023 at 11:20 pm
I would agree with Washington it seems unlikely he makes it into round 2. Which makes me wonder if Mayer makes sense to Gutey. A jack of all trades who can both block & still move. Not an exciting pick but may make sense. I would see Mayer as a later round pick in round 1. Maybe around 25, so would Gutey trade down?
I think none of this matters as I believe Kincaid is ultimately Guteys #1 choice and an inline blocking TE later. Maybe a Payne Durham.
MooPack
March 14, 2023 at 07:01 pm
Jarran Reed going to Seattle. Prediction that the Packers are going to have a good amount of compensatory picks in 2024. They are going to need a DL, but inner DL/DT not good in this years draft. I don't think they'd take one before round 3, probably 4 or later. Maybe better year for DE/Edge. 5 tech / 4i tech guys. I like Zach Harrison quite a bit.
greengold
March 14, 2023 at 10:08 pm
Insert Anchorman nodding gif.
All. Day. Kancey.
PackEyedOptimist
March 15, 2023 at 05:48 am
I'd enjoy watching an aggressive defense, with Wyatt and Kancey penetrating, CBs pressing, etc., like the "Legion of Boom," but I don't see that happening with Barry, and we'd need other personnel to make that work.
The better value will probably be an edge; I have grown fond of Notre Dame's Isaiah Foskey (who is the poster-boy for "catlike") and Auburn's Derick Hall (whose intensity reminds me of Jaire).
I'm still hoping Quentin Johnston drops to 15 or we find a partner to trade down with.
I'm also growing more attached to the idea of picking up QB Tanner McKee in the second round if he's there. I really think he'd be a perfect fit as a backup to Love who has the potential to develop into a good starter. I also like that McKee has a Rodgers-like drive to avoid interceptions.
golfpacker1
March 15, 2023 at 09:45 am
Reminds me of Mike Daniels from Iowa. For DT early choices Mazi Smith or Keeanu Benton. Mid round Colby Wooden or Zach Pickens. Late options Cory Durden and sleeper DT run stopper Broderick Martin-Western Kentucky. NO NO NO to trading up. Trade Back for extra picks. We gain an extra 2nd rounder for free and still get our TE or S at the end of 1st or early 2nd round.
golfpacker1
March 15, 2023 at 11:32 am
Pass on QB before 5th round. We need too much to waste that high of a pick on someone who 100% will be sitting for how many years. I don't know for sure but I would expect most teams want draft picks from the first 3 roundsto be playing. QB is not a luxury we can afford especially after passing on the Broncos trade last year and blowing up the salary cap. Later round QB I do like Clayton tune -Houston and sleeper Tyson Bagent-Shepard was very impressive at the combine and was record setting in college.