NFL Draft
2/5/25
6 min read
JT Tuimoloau 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Ohio State Buckeyes EDGE
Height: 6050 (unofficial)
Weight: 269lbs (unofficial)
Year: Senior
Pro Comparison: TBD
Scouting Overview
Ohio State Buckeyes edge defender JT Tuimoloau projects as an even front base end in the NFL. Tuimoloau has been a long-productive player on the Ohio State defensive front, and his play diagnosis ability, hand power, and functional strength all project favorably to play as an even front end.
Tuimoloau has enough versatility as a pass rusher to keep opposing tackles off balance, but he lacks the explosive athletic profile of a rusher who can take over games and change protection schemes throughout a contest. His floor should be considered an early-down rotational talent, but he could easily collect an NFL starting role.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Boasts a good array of pass rush counters to deconstruct pass sets at first contact
- Possesses the desired size and functional strength to play as a hand-in dirt end at the NFL level
- Profiles as a successful run defender thanks to punch power and ability to stack blocks at the POA
Negatives
- Lacks first-step pop and explosiveness to dictate angles through the first three steps of his rush
- At times, can get outreached and play into the chest of opposing tackles
- Has some trouble unlocking hips reflexively, which can prohibit reactive agility
Background
Tuimoloau is from Sammamish, WA, and played high school football for Eastside Catholic. There, he was a standout two-sport athlete who played football and basketball — he was one of the prized recruits out of the recruiting class of 2021 on the gridiron.
247 Sports rated Tuimoloau as a 5-star recruit and the No. 1 recruit in the country. The 2020 Polynesian High School Player of the Year, Tuimoloau, rolled in major accolades before ultimately committing to Ohio State in July of 2021. In addition to his slew of football offers, Tuimoloau also received a basketball scholarship offer from the University of Oregon.
Tuimoloau played sparingly for the Buckeyes as a true freshman in 2021 but quickly collected a starting role with the team as a true sophomore in 2022. In each season since, he’s collected First Team All-Big Ten honors as a starter. He enjoyed his best season in 2024 when he was a force throughout the College Football Playoff on Ohio State’s pathway to a National Championship.
Tale Of The Tape
Tuimoloau is a dense pass rusher with a sturdy collection of counters at his disposal. He’s built to play in close quarters at the NFL level and offers the kind of strength and force to believe he’s a viable early contributor against the run, too.
As a pass rusher, Tuimoloau is generally a build-up rusher who does not have the zero to sixty necessary to truly strike fear in opposing tackles with his speed. Instead, he’s a swooping rusher who patiently waits for a tackle to declare himself with his feet or his hands.
Tuimoloau will look to capitalize on errors or mistimings throughout the rep's early approach. He illustrates the required pop through his hands to roll tackles back and soften edges but is equally capable of striking any number of pass-rush counters at first contact. He’s won with a cross chop, a rip-and-dip, a two-handed swipe, an inside spin, a long arm, speed to power, and more.
There are times when his deliberate approach will hang him out to dry, however. Athletic and patient tackles can ride him through the arm, and Tuimoloau will be boxed in and limited with his subsequent counter opportunities on the rep — often forced to convert late and play through the tackle.
Unless he can fully bully the tackle, these reps can yield low fruit. Tuimoloau’s lack of true explosiveness hurts him in this regard and caps the sustainability of his year-over-year sack and pressure production.
Against the run, Tuimoloau offers the required physicality to be an asset. He is capable of generating knockback against tackles as a tight-alignment end, and if he catches solo blocks by skill players, he’ll easily discard them from the equation. Tuimoloau offers good play and block diagnosis abilities and will put himself in a position to make anticipatory plays to limit gains by opposing offenses.
His block-deconstruction skills should be considered sufficient, and Tuimoloau is capable of utilizing his hands to pass off a block. His hand placement can be better at times, which would yield an even more dominant player against the run. This would allow him to control blocks more consistently and faster.
He can be tested with speed and quick decisions on the edge. Tuimoloau’s tightness through the hips can manifest when he’s trying to flash and react on the edge to widen vs. outside runs. He can get caught by crack blocks while being late to flip and open to the edge, and he doesn’t have great speed in reps when he’s unblocked by design.
Additionally, he’s challenged against double teams and combination blocks that test his dynamic athleticism and center of gravity in a less linear plane and in a more three-dimensional space.
In all, Tuimoloau is a likable player who should have plenty to offer an NFL franchise as a potential starter. He’s unlikely to serve as anyone’s hallmark pass rusher, but he’s smart, physical, and technical enough to earn and play on obvious passing situations as he assimilates to the NFL game.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Tuimoloau projects as an even front end. He will be best rushing with his hand in the dirt. He would likely be best weaponized in a defensive scheme that attacks protections to help mitigate some of his athletic limitations and instead rely on his power and football IQ to run picks and stunts to bolster his successful rush percentage.
His role could range from rotational talent to a scheme-specific starter, depending on the defensive ideology.
Grade: 77.00/100.00, Second Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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