Name: Hau’oli Kikaha
College: Washington
Class: Senior
Position: Edge Rusher
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 250
Background/Character | Leadership: 8 | Experience: 8 | Off-the-Field: 9 |
| Mental Capacity: 9 | Mental Toughness: 10 | Durability: 6 |
Kikaha has suffered two ACL tears early in his career, but he showed great resolve and character to comeback and excel late in his time at Washington. He has zero known arrests or issues as a teammate. He played alongside some trouble makers at Washington, but he does not seem to be of the same makeup as they are. Kakiha plays very hard and is a leader for his team on the field.
Final Grade: 8.33
Athleticism | Balance: 8 | C.O.D: 7 | Explosiveness: 7 |
| Flexibility: 7 | Coordination: 9 | Body Type: 8 |
In his breakout season as a pass rusher, Kikaha often won with his burst off the edge and quickness around the corner. He has nice explosiveness, but is not a standout athlete. Does not have a lot of natural bend, so if he loses on a speed move, he gets stuck. Lack of length and speed to power showed when he played longer offensive tackles.
Final Grade: 7.66
Overall | Football IQ: 9 | Tackling: 9 | Motor: 10 |
| Aggressiveness: 8 | Initial Quicks: 8 | Stamina: 9 |
The area where Kikaha excels the most in is his motor and activity. He works hard to finish plays, and he’s really good at tackling in space. He is a maxed out player in terms of his effort and ability to create for others with his nose for disruption. He’s a smart player that puts himself in a good position to clean up when possible.
Final Grade: 8.83
Run Defense | Range: 8 | Pursuit: 8 | Positioning: 7 |
| Read/React: 8 | Block Shedding: 7 | Hole Clogging: 7 |
With his size, Kikaha can be a nice asset in the run game. His activity and FBI will help him develop if he moves to outside linebacker or inside in a 3-4. Kikaha sees the field well and has decent strength at the point of contact, but there is plenty of room to improve. He is not overly experienced or bulked up to play the edge and set it correctly.
Final Grade: 7.5
Pass Defense | Vision: 8 | Rip/Swim Rush: 8 | Bull Rush: 7 |
| Counter Rush: 7 | Edge Quickness: 7 | Vs. Doubles: 6 |
If Kikaha doesn't win with quickness or speed, he really relies on pure activity to be a disruption, and that’s not translatable. Kikaha has a good swim move, but he desperately needs to add more variety to his arsenal. When he gets stoned at the point of attack or swallowed by length, he’s not able to create an impact.
Final Grade: 7.16
| Player Comparison: | Akeem Ayers |
| Projected Draft Position: | 2nd Round |
| Best Scheme Fit: | 3-4 Edge |
| Injury History: | Tore same ACL within 7 months of each other as freshman |
| Career Accolades: | First-Team All-American in 2014 |
| Career Stats: | 137 tackles, 31 sacks, 5 forced fumbles |
Final Analysis
Kikaha is one of the best stories of the 2015 NFL draft because of the adversity he overcame as a young player at Washington. He was extremely productive in his two seasons on the field, but mostly due to his activity and pure quickness off the edge.
Unfortunately, he is a slightly above average athlete and he will be unable to just rely on this aspect in the NFL. That’s not to say Kikaha cannot develop more moves to increase his ability to impact the game, rather that’s an area where he can stand improvement.
With his injury history and relative average athleticism, Kikaha projects as a complimentary rusher in nickel packages, with some upside to be more.
Final Grade: 7.65 - 3rd round value