NFL Draft: Could Adetomiwa Adebawore Be This Year’s Travon Walker?

Every year at the NFL Combine, a handful of players exceed expectations and cause talent evaluators to go back to the tape. This year, Adetomiwa Adebawore is the prime example.

Adebawore showcased elite athleticism the few times he played in space for Northwestern. A large chunk of his tape came from the interior, serving as a guy that takes the pressure off his fellow pass rushers.

He was asked to eat up double teams and didn’t have the opportunity to add more pass-rushing moves to his bag. Even with this being the case, Adebawore still recorded 11 sacks over his final two seasons — giving a glimpse of what he *could* be.

NFL Draft: Could Adetomiwa Adebawore Be This Year’s Travon Walker?

Still, as NFL Combine Week approached, the Northwestern star graded out as a day-two player, with most tabbing him just outside the top 50. Well, that all started to change when Adebawore took the field at Lucas Oil Stadium.

He ran sub-4.5 in the 40-yard dash at 282 pounds, including exceptional marks in the vertical jump (37.5”) and bench press (27). When on-field drills began, Adebawore simply looked different from everyone else on the field.

The former Wildcat flexed his immense strength and deceptive change of direction ability. He was the talk of the crowd and had everyone looking like they saw a ghost. I heard someone say a few times, “Is this real life? Are we being Punk’d?”

Not only did Adebawore win over the evaluators watching him work out, but he also won over the media members during his interview segment. Adebawore has brothers and credits them with pushing him to be the best he can be. Without them, he wouldn’t be here.

So, how does Adetomiwa Adebawore compare to last year’s NFL Combine star, Travon Walker? Closer than you’d think.

Adebawore, like Walker, never got the chance to fully utilize his strengths in college. Instead, both guys did their job and still put up respectable numbers. They each win with strength but show the potential to be elite, all-around pass rushers in the league.

Walker’s rookie season was a mixed bag — to say the least. While he stands taller than Adebawore, Walker lacks the natural leverage that the Northwestern lineman plays with.

Another difference, Walker is primarily used off the edge and even in coverage, while I expect Adebawore to be more of a defensive line specialist. Although the workouts mirror each other, the play styles make for different projections to the NFL.

He must add some more tricks to his bag, and he doesn’t have the Georgia backing that Walker had in 2022, but I’d be stunned if Adebawore makes it past No. 20 overall. You do not see a player of his size move that way often, and the last time we did, that person went No. 1 overall.

Adebawore is No. 19 on my big board. In an NFL Draft class full of exciting defensive linemen — perhaps nobody is more exciting than Adebawore. He is a day-one pick, stamp it.