Keeanu Benton 2023 NFL Draft profile: Scout report for the Wisconsin IDL

Keeanu Benton, Wisconsin: 6’4”, 315 pounds; SR.

A three-star recruit in 2019, Keeanu Benton started half the games of his true freshman season and became a fixture in the lineup ever since.

He was a second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2021, thanks to 24 tackles, five for loss, 2.5 sacks, two passes batted down and fumbles recovered each. Last year, he inexplicably dropped to third-team, despite reaching career-highs in tackles (36), TFLs (10) and sacks (4.5), along with two more passes defensed.

Keeanu Benton scout report: Strengths

Wisconsin Badgers nose tackle Keeanu Benton #95 pressures Rutgers Scarlet Knights quarterback Noah Vedral #0 who throws a pass for an interception returned for a touchdown

+ Largely lined up as a shade nose-tackle for the Badgers in 2021, while splitting more evenly with the B-gap this past season as a rock in the middle of their run defense (which allowed just 65.4 and 99.2 yards on the ground these last two years, respectively).

+ His wrestling background is on display against the run, winning with quickness, leverage and violent hands.

+ Does a great job of locking out and shedding blockers to wrap up the ball-carrier going as he’s trying to get through the hole.

+ In short-yardage situations, you see him fire off the ball and work upwards through his man (as if he was the one blocking at times) to squeeze down any potential lanes on the interior.

+ On combo-blocks, he can turn his body and reduce surface area, plus he can drop his weight and sort of re-anchor against angular blocks.

+ Consistently able to either gain leverage on the play-side gap when linemen try to pin him away from the play direction or at least dig his shoulder into their chest to ride them that way and plug the gap the blocker is trying to keep free.

+ When offenses pull the guard to Benton’s side across and the center doesn’t establish that play-side foot quickly enough, he will arm-over that guy and scrape down the line to get involved on the action.

+ On the backside of zone runs, Benton does a great job of flowing laterally while maintaining leverage on his gap and being able to place himself in it to stuff the ball-carrier on cutbacks.

+ For as much as he’s asked to own space in the run game, his 12 tackles for loss in 2022 are pretty impressive.

+ Has the power to ride linemen into the depth of the pocket, if no extra blockers slide towards him – which he had to deal with constantly this past year.

+ Packs a forceful rip-through to ride blockers backwards and collapse the pocket (where he torques his upper body more than sufficiently), and violently pulls that arm through to clear the hips or blockers.

+ When given the freedom to rush either gap, his ability to cross-face guards with the arm-over makes him tough to deal with.

+ Is able to create angles towards the edges of blockers with a strong initial club and puts them off balance when digging underneath their arm-pit.

+ Certainly worked on his pass-rushing skills in 2022, trying to broaden his arsenal of moves, earning him a 13.4% win rate in that regard.

+ Can bang into offensive linemen and give his teammates room on stunts and twists. He can also run at an angle an slant across the face of his blockers pretty well for a big body and is capable of getting home on wider loops.

+ Regularly puts his hands up as the quarterback initiates his release and affects those passing lanes over the middle more than his passes defensed would indicate.

+ When the ball is thrown out to the flats or over his head, you see this guy chase his ass off regularly.

+ Surprised people during Senior Bowl week with his disruptiveness when allowed to attack up the field more regularly. He showed his power to pull linemen off himself as well as crash across their faces with a tight arm-over to clear their reach when they overset him in pass-pro.

Keeanu Benton scout report: Weaknesses

Keeanu Benton #95 of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrates after recording a sack against Tanner Morgan #2 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers

– For his playing-style, Keeanu Benton’s height can be a bit challenging once somebody can get his pad-level to rise.

– Going back to the tape, there was little wiggle or finesse to this guy when rushing the passer.

– And while I appreciate the want to become a more diverse rusher, it felt like he was experimenting quite a bit this past season.

– I’d say generally there’s room for improvement with his hand-placement and how he keeps his frame clean, while you don’t seem just toss blockers to the side necessarily.

Keeanu Benton scout report: Grade

Keeanu Benton of Wisconsin participates in the 40-yard dash during the NFL Combine

I wasn’t as shocked about what I saw from Keeanu Benton down in Mobile, but I did go “I didn’t know he could do that” or “He didn’t that quick on tape." It’s a reoccurring theme where the interior D-linemen are allowed to showcase their skills in a different role and this guy was basically unblockable from day two onwards.

I do believe he still has work to do in being able to pro-actively defeat the hands of offensive linemen and pull off a wider variety of rush moves, but the natural power and flexibility are there to continue to evolve.

I believe when you draft this kid, you get a hard-working D-lineman with the versatility to play anywhere from one- to 4i-technique, take care of his run fits and has plenty of upside to still become a more productive pass-rusher. Keeanu Benton may just never be a well-known name by casual fans. Yet I’d have no problem with him going top-50.

Grade: Second round

You might like other 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Reports: Tyree Wilson (EDGE), Texas Tech; Will Anderson Jr. (EDGE), Alabama; Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR), Ohio; Zay Flowers (WR), Boston; Jordan Addison (WR), USC; Jordan Addison (WR), USC; Quentin Johnston (WR), TCU; Zach Charbonnet (RB), UCLA; Bijan Robinson (RB), Texas.

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