NFL Draft
2/28/25
5 min read
CJ West 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Indiana Hoosiers IDL
Height: 6005 (verified)
Weight: 314lbs (verified)
Year: Redshirt Senior
Pro Comparison: Andrew Billings
Scouting Overview
Indiana Hoosiers defensive tackle CJ West is a compact, fluid interior defender who feels like a hot-motored depth player for the NFL level. West shines with his ability to attack interior blockers with speed-to-power conversions or half-man relationships.
He does not have the ideal length to stack and deconstruct blocks at the point of attack as a gap-control talent, limiting his ability to offer a wider menu of roles that could possibly create a greater demand for his services.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Twitchy burst, despite his weight, creates a pleasant ability to shoot gaps
- Bowling ball frame affords him a good center of gravity and leverage to play under the pads of linemen
- Showcases good punch power and conversion to roll back interior OL blockers
Negatives
- Lack of length creates block deconstruction and pass rush counter inefficiencies
- Does not profile as a persistent and desirable third-down pass-rush threat
- Struggles with anchoring vs. lateral pressure, which can wash him out of gaps
Background
West is from Chicago, IL, and played high school football for Nazareth Academy. There, West was a 3-star recruit (247 Sports) who ultimately enrolled at Kent State as a member of the 2020 recruiting class. West redshirted his true freshman season after playing in three games, retaining his fourth year of college eligibility.
He assumed a starting role with Kent State as a redshirt freshman. He posted 13 starts in 14 contests in 2021 and then started 10 games for the team in 2022 while missing two contests with injury. West played all 12 games for Kent State in 2023 and was named Third Team All-MAC for his play. After 35 starts and 39 games, West entered the transfer portal as a 3-star transfer (247 Sports).
He finished his career with a successful campaign for the Hoosiers and accepted an invitation to the 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl.
Tale Of The Tape
This is a tough, gritty defender who should be a welcomed addition to just about any defensive front. He’s a role and skill-specific player, however, who may struggle in schemes that rely on their defenders to stack the point of attack and occupy offensive linemen. The appeal here is surprising quickness and a smaller strike zone that will force offensive linemen to play with accurate hands and a vigilant anchor.
West has done well for himself throughout the pre-draft process to shake the stigmas attached to coming up through the MAC as an undersized talent — playing well in the Big Ten in 2024 and then offering disruptive play at the East-West Shrine Game.
He’s not an ideal pass rusher due to his lack of length and how that handcuffs his ability to play off of bodies when they’re latched onto his chest. If he can successfully attack the hands and gain wrist control or force a missed punch at first contact, West has shown the ability to play into the frame of blockers and create push in the middle.
Thanks to his low center of gravity, West can take corners on the edge of blockers sufficiently and can be a phone booth winner thanks to the slipperiness he can provide against an errant hand strike.
He is a player who will have a hard time against technically refined blockers who have the feet to get out of the blocks quickly. He will test plodders, but sharp-footed linemen with good hands should bat at a high average against him to offset his penetration, and he’s limited in how he can pivot his plan from that point.
In the run game, West illustrates the lateral mobility you desire to play along the point of attack on stretch plays. He’s got a hot motor and does well to stay hot in pursuit of the football. But despite his low cut frame and center of gravity, he doesn’t anchor how you’d expect against down blocks and combinations, which leaves him prone on inside run looks to getting washed out of the point of attack at times.
He doesn’t have many tools in his bag to pull the e-brake on these reps, either. As a result, he is unorthodox on the early downs and not an attractive fit as a base defense player for gap control schemes.
Whether it's as an early-down penetration run defender or a subpackage developmental pass rusher, West has a few ways to find a role.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
West projects as a rotational contributor to an NFL defensive front. He’s a developmental 1T who would be at his best playing in even fronts in the A-gap. There, he can try to use his reduced pad level and initial quickness to play into hip-to-hip relationships, push through creases, and create disruption.
Grade: 70.00/100.00, Fifth Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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