Clemson product, Ruke Orhorhoro was the Falcons' second-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft, which left many Falcons fans scratching their heads as to why the Falcons traded up for him over, say, Johnny Newton, who went to the Washington Commanders a pick later.
Well, Falcons fans, here’s why Ruke fits the Falcons' defense and may or may not be worth the trade-up:
Positives
Athletic Makeup
The Clemson product is 6’4 294lbs with 34-inch arms, runs a 4.89 and rocked out 29 bench press reps. When watching Ruke his lean frame draws you in as he carries his nearly 300 pounds incredibly easily. He has some length with him too giving him the ability to play with some leverage. The main athletic draw is Ruke’s twitch. He has an incredible first step and explodes off the ball causing chaos for opposing offensive lineman.
#9 Ruke Orhorhoro (2/10)
— MRCROCKPOT (@mrcrockpot) November 26, 2022
Pros: Good size at 6’4″, 295 pounds, excellent strength, leverage acquisition and length, has twitch, this allows him to play all across the dline
Cons: Would benefit from improving his lower body strength, struggles to anchor at the point of attack pic.twitter.com/424IbSGtV2
Negatives
Hands
Ruke’s an incredibly raw player it seems with some bad habits on film, very fixable habits, but bad nonetheless. He struggles with consistent hands during his play, which leads to him getting reached and turned out of the play. His issues with his shooting off the hands then lead to him being turned and giving up his back and shoulders.
Gap responsibility
There are some genuine moments during Ruke’s tape where you question which gap is he really supposed to be in. Is that due in part to the scheme? I’m sure it is some. But there are also moments where he seems to over-commit and get lost in a wrong gap as you see him attempt to over-correct and get back to where he is supposed to be.
Scheme fit
Something cool about Ruke is with his athletic makeup he gives you an insane variety of things that he can do up front. He can play a penetrating nose tackle, he seems like he could hold his own as a 3T or a 4T in the mint and tite fronts we’d expect to see this season with Raheem Morris coming from the Rams.
Conclusion
Ruke Orhorhoro was a reach, but he also has untapped potential that Raheem Morris and company would benefit from if they can get him going. The issues are there, but they’re fixable if you’re willing to be patient with him and develop him. If you want/expect Ruke to play extensively from the start of the season, I’d be cautious.
