As one of the major acquisitions in the transfer portal last year, Ole Miss edge rusher Princely Umanmielen had high expectations coming into the 2024 college football season.
After tallying 10.5 sacks and earning a first-team All-SEC nomination, it’s safe to say he lived up to the hype. Now, he has solidified himself as an early-round prospect for the 2025 NFL Draft, as he figures to be one of the top edge rushers.
Princely Umanmielen’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’4″
- Weight: 255 pounds
- Position: Edge Rusher
- School: Ole Miss
- Current Year: Senior
Umanmielen was a four-star recruit coming out of Manor High School in Manor, Texas, which is a suburb just outside of Austin. With 90 tackles, 10.0 sacks, and 27 tackles for a loss as a senior, he committed to Florida and enrolled there upon his graduation from high school. His older brother, Prince, is a defensive lineman for East Central University, and his younger brother, Princewill, played last year as a defensive lineman for Nebraska before transferring to Ole Miss.
As a true freshman, Umanmielen played in six games for the Gators, tallying two sacks in that span. He made his collegiate debut against Missouri on Oct. 31 of 2020, generating one quarterback hurry in that game. He played 69 defensive snaps in total and took seven snaps on special teams.
The 2021 season saw Umanmielen step into a bigger role for Florida, increasing his defensive snap count from 69 to 243. He generated 14 pressures with 17 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. He ended up playing in all 13 of the Gators’ games that year, and he notched his first collegiate career start in the Gasparilla Bowl against UCF.
With incumbent starter Jeremiah Moon departing for the NFL, Umanmielen stepped into a starting edge rusher role for Florida in 2022 as a junior. He ended the year with 39 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 9.5 tackles for a loss, and two forced fumbles. PFF credits him with 27 quarterback pressures and gave him an 82.1 defensive grade for the season.
Having generated buzz with his junior year performance, Umanmielen entered his senior year with legitimate NFL prospects as an early-round pick. He earned AP second-team All-SEC honors with his 2023 performance, in which he had 39 tackles, 7.0 sacks, 11.5 tackles for a loss, and 45 quarterback pressures. Due to the additional COVID eligibility that came from his 2020 season, Umanmielen returned to school for the 2024 season but opted to enter the transfer portal.
Ole Miss, who proved incredibly active in the transfer portal last year, landed Umanmielen as one of their big additions of the offseason. His decision to skip the 2024 NFL Draft proved to be a beneficial one, as he tallied a career-high 10.5 sacks, 14.0 tackles for a loss, and 56 quarterback pressures with a 91.3 PFF grade. He earned first-team All-SEC nominations for his 2024 campaign.
Scouting Report
Strengths
- Lengthy edge rusher whose large wingspan makes it easier for him to lock offensive tackles out from the inside of his chest.
- Capable of rushing with his hand in the dirt and in a stand-up outside linebacker role.
- Explosive off the line of scrimmage with a quick twitch in his first step.
- Athletic edge rusher with the speed needed to beat offensive tackles to the outside.
- Flexibility allows him to turn the corner at the top of his arc and take precise outside angles as a speed rusher.
- Offers ideal closing speed as a defender in space and has the athleticism to chase down ball carriers in backside pursuit.
- Agility allows him to cut inside on stunts and execute efficient rushes across an offensive tackle’s chest.
- Slippery rusher on inside moves, and the aforementioned flexibility and agility give him a deeper arsenal than less athletically gifted defenders off the edge.
- Has done a good job of adding muscle to his frame and improving his play strength progressively over the course of his collegiate career.
- Has ideal spatial awareness setting the edge against the run. Knowledge of when and how to stack and shed blocks is strong, and he does a good job of freeing up his hands in time to disengage and make the tackle.
- Showcases ideal hand activity with a high motor and a willingness to string together moves to generate backfield penetration.
Weaknesses
- Though stronger than he used to be, he still doesn’t pack a tremendous punch at the point of attack.
- Grip strength setting the edge is rather average, and he can improve his strike placement to avoid exposing his chest and getting neutralized by power.
- Ability to convert speed to power won’t necessarily wow you on tape.
- Shows a willingness to shed blocks, but he doesn’t always have an in-depth plan for which moves to use against certain pass sets and against certain offensive tackles.
- Needs to be more consistent with how he chooses countermoves once his initial technique doesn’t work.
- Has the flexibility to physically play with good bend and pad level, but he still pops upright coming off the line of scrimmage too often.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
If you’re in need of some speed off the edge in the 2025 NFL Draft, Umanmielen is a great prospect to consider.
His collegiate production speaks for itself, but it’s really his physical attributes and high motor that make Umanmielen an intriguing prospect. He’s explosive off the snap and has the speed to give opposing offensive tackles fits off the edge. His combination of speed and length gives him significant physical upside to work with at the next level.
Umanmielen could struggle early in his NFL career against the run due to play strength and leverage concerns, but the spatial awareness is there for him to eventually become a solid contributor in those situations. His best role early on would likely be as a pass-rushing specialist, and he has the potential to develop into a quality three-down starter in either a base 3-4 or 4-3 defensive scheme.
As it stands, Umanmielen projects best as an early second-round prospect for the 2025 NFL Draft. That said, it’s entirely possible he will find his way into the back half of Round 1 due to his athleticism and long-term potential.
