College: Florida
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 280 pounds
Positives
Explosion Off the Snap: Due to both excellent anticipation and freakish lower body power, Easley fires off of the line of scrimmage like a projectile from a slingshot. Having just one of the traits enables a player to “win” off of the snap more often than not, but Easley possesses both traits and ends up in the backfield before plays even have the time to develop, which lead to plenty of tackles for loss and sacks either directly by him or by another Florida defender who took advantage of what Easley had done. Lineman are rarely given enough time to get into a proper set before Easley has his violent hands within their frames or is rushing through them. The force that he is able to generate allows him to plow through a single lineman or split a gap without being able to be stopped. Easley’s display of explosion makes him a perfect fit as a one-gap defensive tackle, specifically at three-tech. That being said, he is not limited, but considering his rare burst off of the snap, that would be his best fit position-wise.
Violent/Strong Hands: Easley is a tenacious player that wants to “break a man’s will”, as he once said in an interview, and take over the game. Once Easley is engaged, he continues to tear, punch, and rip at his opponents in order to bypass him and take down the opposing quarterback. Not only are his hands quick and relentless, they are overpowering. Easley has the raw man power to knock an offensive lineman off their sets with a single punch. His rips and tears at lineman's arms leave the lineman feeling as if their arm has been torn off by a grizzly bear. Just as Easley’s explosion enables him to thrive at three-tech, his hand usage and power would enable him to be a terrorizing five-tech, or any two-gapping position aside from zero-tech.
Negatives
Injury History: When healthy, Easley was always Florida’s most dominant and disruptive defender, but he had issues keeping himself healthy. In Florida’s second to last game of the 2011 season, a game against rival Florida State, Easley tore his ACL and ended up missing the final game of the year. The following season, Easley has lost a noticeable amount of his explosion and quickness. He was still disruptive, but not to the extent of his old self. He had missed two games that year due to minor injuries. In 2013, Easley tore his other ACL during practice in the week leading up to Florida’s game against Kentucky. The injury forced Easley to miss the remainder of the season. In a sense, Easley is in a similar situation that Marcus Lattimore was in last year. Easley's multiple major injuries, on opposite knees nonetheless, will be a major red flag for teams and may ultimately ruin his career.
NFL Comparison: Geno Atkins, Cincinnati Bengals
As stated before, Easley would be perfect as a three-tech, which is what Atkins plays. Atkins, like Easley, is a sudden athlete that works violently and relentlessly to beat opposing lineman. Atkins is arguably the best pass rushing three-tech in football and Easley can make a similar impact, if healthy.
Draft Outlook
Considering his health issues, Easley will fall much farther than he would have if he had been able to stay healthy. A healthy Dominique Easley would be getting top fifteen attention, but his ACL injuries likely drop him to the middle of the 2nd round, if not farther. He will probably end up on a team that has the “insurance” to be able to take the gamble on him, such as Seattle.
Best Fits
After losing Red Bryant and already having somewhat of a lack on the interior defensive line, Easley provides another explosive pass rusher to the Seattle Seahawks defense. Adding his presence to accompany their other rushers and outstanding defensive backs will be an opposing quarterback’s worst nightmare.
The St. Louis Rams defensive line already has two stars in Robert Quinn and Michael Brockers, but Easley adds a third disruptive presence that bolsters the overall strength of their defensive line. If Easley were to play for the Rams, they would have arguably the best defensive line in the NFL.