2015 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Hau'oli Kikaha, DE/OLB, Washington

He led the nation with 19 sacks on the year. That's insane. That's Hau'oli Kikaha, the outside linebacker from the University of Washington. He was a force of nature and it showed up in every game. He does it with speed, power, and hustle, and his story is a great one, as he came back from a really bad knee injury. Let's find out more about him.

Pros

- Polished pass rush technique with bevy of moves out of the box

- Devastating spin move

- Speed off the edge is above average for a 3-4 LB

- Change of direction ability is very strong

- Sets the edge well in run defense

- Aggressive player with fantastic motor; connects a lot on backside pursuit

- Instinctual

Cons

- Bend is average

- Two ACL injuries so MAJOR injury risk

- Not scheme versatile

- Struggled backpedaling in coverage at the senior bowl

- Sometimes struggles to get off blocks

Does He Fit With The Giants?

No. I don't think that he'd be successful in Steve Spagnuolo's scheme. He's an edge rusher only, but he struggles getting off blocks and he's not big enough for the Giants to put him with his hands in the dirt. He doesn't have elite length. As a linebacker in the Giants scheme, he'd have some coverage responsibilities and I'm not sure he can do that. Also, he has two ACL injuries. If I were the Giants, I'd be a little gun shy.

Prospect Video

Big Board Rankings

Big Blue View - 63

Mocking The Draft - 55

CBS Sports - 70

Draft Tek - 41

Final Thoughts

I think Kikaha has a very narrow skillset that could make him a superstar in some schemes. As a true LEO, he could certainly be a devastating player. The Giants certainly use a lot of the under front but I don't see much production from Damontre Moore (who was mostly used as that stand up rusher). I don't see a huge leap in talent from Kikaha and Moore however, so perhaps another team could use his talents better. His stock seems low and a ton of that is due to his injury history. That will scare away a lot of teams as it should and that's sad because he looks the part of a great, great player.