Dadi Nicolas And The N.F.L. Draft

Dadi Nicolas came down to the Senior Bowl this January and turned some heads.  He carried that strong performance into an excellent combine.  His 41" vertical was a combine best.  He showed great burst and speed, but only weighs 235 LB.  At 6'3" his frame is wiry, but he has a knack of getting to the quarterback.  He played mostly DE at Virginia Tech, but I'm not sure that is his eventual position in the N.F.L.

Dadi Nicolas 41" vertical pic.twitter.com/bfffqMIi7e

— Chris Nicolaou (@CnicNFL) February 28, 2016

I had the opportunity to spend some time with Nicolas during Senior Bowl week and I had one major take away:  The guy is seriously focused on getting better and earning a roster spot.  There has been some chatter of Nicolas playing at linebacker in a 3-4 defense.  I think that would open Nicolas up use his natural speed and ability to make plays.  Nicolas sometimes struggles getting off blocks, and this would help that issue.  It would be interesting to see Nicolas blitzing off the outside edge without having a hand on the ground.  He split time in Mobile between the DE group and the LB group.  Keep in mind Nicolas only started playing football as a senior in high school, so there is room to grow. One website, cbssports.com has Nicolas pegged somewhere between 6th-7th round.  I have a hard time seeing him last past the 5th at the worst.  The guy has all the physical tools to be a playmaker.

A scout tells me he believes Dadi Nicolas (Va. Tech) is best pure pass rusher in draft. The #49ers met with him last night, Nicolas said.

— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) February 26, 2016