NFL Draft
4/2/25
3 min read
Jay Toia 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For UCLA Bruins DT
Height: 6020 (verified)
Weight: 342lbs (verified)
Year: Senior
Pro Comparison: Siaki Ika
Scouting Overview
UCLA Bruins defensive tackle Jay Toia is a dense nose guard who has a role waiting for him at the NFL level. He lacks the explosive reach and knockback power to serve as the deluxe version of this type of defender — that’s more so what should be expected from a Tyleik Williams.
If you’re looking for a low-to-the-ground, thick defender who is difficult to uproot and move, Toia can be your guy. He’s surprisingly nimble for his size but lacks the tackle radius and short-area explosive change of direction to finish plays with consistency in the backfield.
2025 NFL Combine Results
DNP
Positives
- Crazy low center of gravity makes him a player difficult to get underneath at the point
- Surprisingly nimble first step offers some quickness to win space early in reps intermittently
- Plays with a good motor and actually collected nearly 650 snaps in 2024
Negatives
- Does not have ideal length to punch, extend, and traditionally deconstruct at the point of attack
- Uncreative with his pass-rush profile and is generally just a pocket pusher
- Misses opportunities to put plays away due to short area change of direction and length limits
Background
Toia grew up in Tonga and played his high school football for Grace Brethren HS in CA. He’s got NFL and rugby bloodlines — he is brothers with Siaki Ika (LSU/Baylor/Cleveland Browns), and another of his brothers, Abitoni, plays rugby in New Zealand.
In addition to playing football as a two-way lineman, Toia threw shot put and discus for the track team in high school. A 4-star recruit (247 Sports), Toia originally committed to USC and was on campus for spring practices as a true freshman before transferring to UCLA.
Toia played in 50 games for the Bruins across his four seasons from 2021-2024. He started 36 of those contests, including 12 games in each of his last three seasons. Toia was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten in 2024 for his play.
Toia accepted an invitation to the 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl at the culmination of his college career.
Tale Of The Tape
Toia is a dancing bear of an interior defender who offers some pleasant upside in even front opportunities. He’s built like a brick house, and with such a squatty frame, he’s difficult to work underneath and uproot when looking to create vertical push against him or horizontal displacement at the point of attack.
He’s a full slab of work for any solo block on the interior, although he lacks the punch reach and extension ability to execute your typical lock/peek/shed techniques. Instead, he feels blocks and rips with his hands to shade against pressure and uncover. There’s enough side-to-side mobility playing in the heart of the front to indicate he can work outside the hashes when runs hit the perimeter.
Toia is a bowling ball in the middle, and when he’s charged up to play forward, he does a good job of creating negative space in the offensive backfield. His reach and length limit his ability to work off of this gained position, and instead, he’s more of a disruptor than a finisher.
This is a common theme in all phases of his game. He has a poor missed tackle rate because he doesn’t have the reach and tackle radius needed to finish these reps. Still, Toia will create some havoc against singles or when playing in a gap and forcing blockers to play tough on their edges against him.
The pass rush appeal is modest, but there’s enough here to justify early-down play without concern of not getting anything of value. However, he won't turn the corner on blockers as a rusher. His wins come with clubs and humps that capitalize on poor balance and overplay, at which point Toia can successfully force a passer off his platform.
Finishes, in these instances, as an isolated athlete in the backfield are limited, however.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Toia projects as a rotational defensive tackle and possible starting nose tackle in the right situation. He’s a close-quarters combat player who relies on raw strength, anchor ability, and hand leverage to pop free out of blocks and challenge the ball carrier.
He’ll need good linebackers fitting behind him and long linemates to help him mitigate his own lack of gravitational pull outside of his immediate frame.
Grade: 70.50/100.00, Fifth Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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