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Ifeanyi Maijeh NFL Draft Profile
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Ifeanyi Maijeh Scouting ReportIfeanyi Maijeh has been praised for his athletic ability since high school, and with one glance at his tape, it’s easy to see why. The Temple transfer displays quick footwork at the line of scrimmage, giving him exceptional explosion. He also has fantastic lateral agility, allowing him to cut inside and shoot through gaps or move seamlessly across the line of scrimmage. Ifeanyi ability to penetrate with athletic ability, he can get skinny to slide through double-teams. There were multiple examples of him worming his way between blockers to get into the backfield in the games studied. Ifeanyi can disrupt with athleticism, he also exhibits great play strength. He routinely forces his will on offensive linemen. I witnessed multiple occasions Ifeanyi where he walked his man back into the quarterback. Ifeanyi can convert speed to power, bull rush, and has several pass-rush moves in his toolbox. Furthermore, he combines these attributes with a tremendous motor and impressive length to be a disruptive force from the interior defensive line. |
Areas for ImprovementMaijeh feels very much like a work in progress. His athletic ability is there, and he has pass-rush weapons at his disposal. The Rutgers DT now needs to put it all together consistently. When his initial pass-rush move doesn’t win, can he work some counters into his game? Can he disengage from blocks with handwork a little quicker? Can he read the game a little faster? These are all things that I’d like to see him demonstrate this fall. Maijeh has yet to miss time with an injury. However, he played hurt last season, and it evidently impacted his game. During training camp at Rutgers, it has been reported that he’s struggling with a “lower body” injury. It may be a non-issue, but it’s something to keep an eye on through the season.
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Ifeanyi Maijeh Career at Temple/RutgersListed at 220 pounds by NCSA as a high school senior, Maijeh had been an athletic defensive end and tight end for Poly Prep. To succeed at the college level, he would need some serious seasoning to meet the physical rigors posed by the increased standard. The Temple DT secured his first career sack in the season opener against Bucknell. It was the first start of his career and the first of 12 in his redshirt-sophomore season. He was named the Chuck Bednarik National Defensive Player of the Week two weeks later, following a dominant performance at Maryland. His performances in 2019 earned him both national and in-house recognition ahead of the 2020 college football season. Maijeh was named to “watch lists” for the major defensive college football awards, including the Bednarik. Moreover, Temple honored him with a single-digit jersey for the season, exemplifying his toughness. Having graduated, Maijeh took the opportunity to transfer from the Owls at the end of the season. The Brooklyn native wasn’t in the transfer portal long. With connections to Rutgers, including defensive line coach Jim Panagos and star linebacker Olakunle Fatukasi (Maijeh’s cousin), a reunion with the team that had courted him in 2016 was quickly secured. |
Ifeanyi Maijeh NFL Draft Player ProfileTraits are valued very highly by NFL teams. Ifeanyi Maijeh is an excellent athlete who maximizes his tools with an advanced understanding of leverage. The former Temple standout consistently wins in pad level at the point of engagement. As a result, his natural power and speed are enhanced. Maijeh primarily wins with either a speed-to-power or bull rush move. He has a high motor and excellent leg drive to finish pass rushes through blockers. What’s more, the Brooklyn native has the upper body strength to bench press, push-pull and fight hands at times. In 2020, the new Rutgers Scarlet Knight flashed a variety of different hand moves to capitalize on his outstanding movement skills. In fact, the undersized defender is at his best when varying his approach and employing hand moves. Maijeh boasts impressive change of direction ability, burst and lateral agility which give him scary potential as a speed rusher. He has the movement skills to be a dangerous looper on stunts. Against the run, the athletic interior rusher consistently shows off his heavy hands and leverage-enhanced anchor. Further, Maijeh regularly windows, stacks, sheds and replaces linemen regularly. He has the length, awareness, athletic ability and vision to make tackles through engagement and can even impact his teammates’ gaps while being blocked. As a tackler, Maijeh has a wide range of impact thanks to his length and movement skills. |
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