Draft sleeper: DE Tanoh Kpassagnon drawing Carlos Dunlap comparisons

After a pedestrian start, Villanova DE Tanoh Kpassagnon tallied 17.5 sacks and 31 tackles for loss over his final two seasons in college. The Wildcats’ standout is turning heads at the NFL combine with his unusual size and athleticism. Kpassagnon measured 6-foot-6½, 289 pounds, and some are comparing him to Cincinnati Bengals DE Carlos Dunlap.

“A few people have made that comparison. He’s a great player, so that’s pretty cool,” said Kpassagnon during media interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Kpassagnon’s uniquity doesn’t end with his size, however. He’s an accounting and finance double major who’d already landed an internship with PricewaterhouseCoopers. His education and the opportunities it may present has led some to question his love of football.

Mayock: Kpassagnon could rise into second round of NFL Draft

“I’ve gotten that a lot. ... I tell them, yeah, I love the game. This (playing football) is probably the first thing I did for myself,” he said. “Grades and everything else was instilled in me by my mom. And that was something I was doing to make my mom happy. But football is something I’m doing for me. I mean, to make her happy too. But it’s really for me.”

Walter Football lists Kpassagnon as its 11th-ranked defensive end. Big Blue View’s Chris Pflum mocked him to the New York Giants in the third round last month. Here’s what he said at the time:

Kpassagnon, quite simply, LOOKS like a New York Giant. He has a massive 6-7, 280-pound frame featuring long 35-inch arms and 10 7/8-inch hands. On top of that, he has a track star’s burst off the line of scrimmage and power when he makes contact with blockers. Kpassagnon is far from a perfect prospect, and while he looks similar to Jason Pierre-Paul, he doesn’t have the natural feel for the game that JPP had, even as a rookie. Likewise, he doesn’t have the same fluid bend that JPP or Ziggy Ansah showed to take full advantage of their size and burst off the line.