DeMarvin Leal Scouting Report: NFL Draft Player Profile

 

Defensive Lineman, Texas A&M Aggies, # 8

 

Measurements

6′ 4″ / 290 lbs

40 Time: Currently not known. Will be watching Combine.

 

DeMarvin Leal NFL Draft Player Profile

DeMarvin was named to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Tops in Texas First Team and an U.S. Army All-American after his senior year of high school. Considering he finished with 83 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 13 quarterback hits, six sacks, six pass breakups, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and one blocked punt… that’s not too surprising. It also shouldn’t be surprising that he was named a five-star recruit by Rivals and 247Sports.

As a freshman at Texas A&M Leal played in all 13 games, while starting seven. He would collect 38 tackles and two sacks during the season. Afterwards he would earn the team’s “Defensive Top Newcomer” and “Freshman Strength” awards. During the Covid shortened 2020 season, DeMarvin would play and start in all 10 of the Aggies’ games. This time Leal would finish with 37 tackles, 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one interception, and three pass breakups. DeMarvin would earn another team award after the season, this time gaining the Aggies’ Defensive MVP award. So far this season, with the Aggies off to a 5-2 start, Leal has collected 35 tackles, 5.5 sacks, and two pass breakups.

DeMarvin Leal’s Strengths

Athleticism

DeMarvin’s athleticism is impressive. He moves well and shows pretty solid change of direction. Don’t get me wrong, Leal isn’t Barry Sanders out there, but for a man his size it’s good. He easily pulls and runs stunts across the defensive line. DeMarvin shows great balance as well. Because of his balance, you don’t see him being chopped to the ground. Leal’s balance and athleticism are really on display when he pulls out the smoothest spin moves I’ve seen from a defensive end. Every time he’d bust the spin move out, I would go back and watch the play at least 10 times.

Versatile

Attempting to watch Leal could be difficult at times. That’s because he was consistently moving between all the positions along the defensive line. Not only can Leal play inside and outside, but he’s productive no matter where he lines up. I will say that I feel like DeMarvin is better and more productive on the outside though; especially when he rushes from the standing position. He’s still more than serviceable when lined up inside. Leal holds up well in run defense; not letting himself get pushed around even when double teamed.

Good Motor

Leal has decent speed for a big man, and because of this he’s able to stay in the play longer than most players his size. It’s good to see that he has a high motor to continue to chase down the ball carrier, even after the runner gets a little space. This also helps him be disruptive with chasing down the quarterback because he’s constantly applying pressure, he doesn’t allow the quarterback time to settle and throw.

Active Hands

DeMarvin is extremely active with his hands. Thanks to this, he gives offensive lineman fits while they’re trying to get a hold of him. I gave him credit for his balance preventing him from being chopped down, but his hands also play a big part in this. Because he’s so quick to get his hand on the offensive lineman before they get their hands on him, when they go low to chop he already has his hands in position to simply guide them to the ground. This allows him to stay on his feet and continue to the ball carrier. He also has active hands in the passing game. This has allowed him to become good at getting his hands on the ball (5 deflected passes and 1 interception over the last season and a half).

DeMarvin Leal’s Weaknesses

Over Pursuit

Leal, like any draft prospect, isn’t perfect. One of his biggest weaknesses is that he is prone to over pursue. This fault can really be exploited against the read option. Time and time again while breaking down film for the DeMarvin Leal scouting report, I would find him cheating down the line of scrimmage to tackle the running back on the read. The problem would be that the quarterback would read this, keep the ball, and burn the Aggie defense for a few yards.

Getting Off Blocks

Normally, DeMarvin does a good job of keeping the offensive lineman’s hands off of him. The issue is when the lineman is able to get a hold of him, he struggled to get away. This is why I believe that he’d be of more use coming off the edge rather than lining up in the middle. It seemed like Leal could also break free of the offensive lineman if he was able to get level with their shoulders. At this point he was able to use his athleticism to drop the lineman. But when face-to-face in a head-to-head battle, he really struggled.

Final Thoughts and Draft Stock for DeMarvin Leal

DeMarvin is a big fella that moves well, is extremely versatile, and more importantly is productive. The latter is even more impressive considering the number of double teams (and sometimes even triple teams) that he saw. All in all, there’s a lot for NFL scouts to like about Leal and not much that would give them much concern. When you watch him, it’s easy to see why he’s near the top of most big boards for the 2022 NFL Draft.

As for my own personal ranking? I’m not going to get too far ahead of myself. I still have A LOT of players to watch film on. Still, at this point in time I think it’s fair to say that Leal should find himself as one of the top defensive lineman in this draft, although he’s not knocking Kayvon Thibodeaux from the #1 spot. Right now, I see no reason why DeMarvin doesn’t hear his name called during the first night of the 2022 NFL Draft.

NFL Comparison: Cam Jordan of the New Orleans Saints coming out of college.

DeMarvin Leal Scouting Report by Brandon Claburn