2020 NFL Draft profile: Oklahoma DT Neville Gallimore

Oklahoma’s Neville Gallimore may hail from our friendly neighbor to the north, but the Canada native’s style of play is anything but between the lines.

Edge rushers may get the majority of the hype in today’s NFL landscape, but generating pressure from the interior has proved to be as important. And one thing we continue to see is more athleticism from these defensive tackles.

That is precisely why Oklahoma standout defensive tackle Neville Gallimore shouldn’t have to wait long to hear his name called on draft day come April. The Ottawa, Canada native has exactly the type of quick-twitch skills and motor that should make him an excellent player at the NFL level.

In this week’s edition of draft diagnosis, I’ll be breaking down the former Sooner and show why his play makes him worthy of a potential first round selection.

Neville Gallimore, DT, Oklahoma

Tale of the tape:

Ht: 6020
Wt: 304
Hand: 10
Arm: 32 7/8

Background

Gallimore made his way to the States as a coveted four-star recruit out of the Canada Prep Football Academy, located outside of Niagra Falls in Ontario. He was the first Canadian to be selected for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and ultimately committed to Oklahoma amid numerous other offers, including Florida State and Ohio State.

Gallimore redshirted his first year on campus in Norman but it wasn’t long before he was making an on-field impact. He played in all 13 games for the Sooners during his redshirt freshman season, finishing with 40 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss and one sack. He ended his four-year Oklahoma career with 17.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, and 147 total tackles.

While his numbers remained consistent, Gallimore perhaps had the biggest bump in his draft stock this past season after flourishing in the defensive scheme of new Sooners defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. His play led to an invitation to the Senior Bowl, where many scouts have continued to tout his ability as a potential first-round pick.

Strengths

Perhaps the first thing that stands out about Gallimore on tape is how ridiculously well he moves for a 300-pound human being. In fact, Gallimore was timed at 4.72 seconds in the 40-yard dash coming out of high school and there’s plenty of reason to believe he still possesses that type of speed now.

It’s plays like the one above where Gallimore’s combination of effort and speed surely has scouts salivating and trying to figure out what it will take for their team to get him into their building.

One of my favorite things about Gallimore’s game is his creativity as a pass-rusher, which can be difficult to find from interior pass rushers. His hands and footwork sync up really nicely and he always explodes off the snap, all while displaying good pad level. It’s common to see him win with his lightning-quick hands or sheer power. Every so often, he’ll even throw one of these into the mix.

Spin moves like that from a 300-pound man are referred to in the scouting community as “just ain’t right.”

One of the toughest parts of transitioning to the NFL game for a lot of defensive linemen is figuring out how to win when you don’t win off the snap. It’s an area where Gallimore excels, as he’s constantly looking for ways to get to the quarterback and willing to go sideline-to-sideline or rumble forty yards down the field to do it if he has to.

As they say, “you can’t teach speed,” and it’s even more difficult to find the type of speed and change-of-direction ability that Gallimore has in spades.

Weaknesses

As well-rounded of a player as Gallimore is, there are still some minor areas of concern with his game. His arm length measured better than expected at the Senior Bowl (which is obviously a good sign), but he’s not necessarily a player who will win with length inside with any sort of regularity. He’s relies far more on his speed/quickness guy and can struggle if opposing offensive linemen land the first punch. He displays an ability to stack-and-shed, but I don’t necessarily think he’s going to be relied upon all that much to fill lanes as a run defender at the next level.

Gallimore’s worst tape of 2019 was without a doubt in the CFP semifinal versus LSU, in which the Tigers did an excellent job double-teaming him and moving him out of gaps in their 63-28 rout of the Sooners. In that game, Gallimore was washed out of running lanes and struggled to make an impact.

The intensity he plays with seemed to wear on his endurance towards the end of that game as well, but to his credit, he never stopped even when the score was well out of hand. Late in the game, Oklahoma even trusted him enough in space to drop him back as a spy.

Evaluation

The more you watch Gallimore on tape, the more you can’t help but love him as a prospect. He’s the one of my favorite players in the entire class, the type who your eye is always drawn to even when he isn’t involved in the play directly.

In the right scheme, he can be an immediately impactful and disruptive pass rusher lining up at the 1-technique. It may take a bit of adjustment and development of his skills to become an every-down run defender, but Gallimore certainly has the tools to become one of the best interior defensive linemen from the 2020 class.

Look for him to be a top performer in the 40-yard dash and Vertical Jump at the Combine in February, which should vault his draft stock even higher. Teams like the Cowboys, Seahawks, Vikings, and Patriots are all potential fits for the former Sooner standout.

Draft Diagnosis: Late first to early second round