Darius Alexander, IDL, Toledo
Size:
Height: 6037
Weight: 305
Arm: 34”
Hand: 10”
Accomplishments:
First-Team All-MAC (2024) • Third-Team All-MAC (2023)
“Darius Alexander has the potential to alter game plans at the next level. He’s an elite run defender who’s just scraping the surface as a pass-rusher.”
Strengths:
Elite two-gapper
Immovable vs. double teams
Potential as a pass rusher
High-level athlete
Concerns:
Doesn’t convert run to pass well
Inconsistent motor
Lacking consistent tenacity in pass rush
Film Analysis:
Toledo’s Darius Alexander enters the 2025 NFL Draft as one of the premier mid-major interior defensive linemen in this class. The sixth-year senior saved his best for last, totaling 40 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, and 3.5 sacks during his final season with the Rockets. While Alexander joins a deep 2025 IDL class, he possesses some of the most notable qualities in the entire group.
First and foremost is Alexander’s run defense. Standing at a long 6-foot-4 and with the mass to complement, he is the ideal early-down 3-technique to anchor a team’s defensive line. His power—combined with his technique to anchor against double teams, two-gap, or penetrate—shows up frequently on film. Specifically, when looking at his work against double teams, whether he was asked to hold his ground or slingshot through and split them, he was an immovable force.
Where Alexander truly separates himself is as a two-gapper. He gets his feet in the ground quickly and uses his hands to drive through the chest of linemen off the snap. His leverage in the fit and ability to control opposing blockers is rare. The extension he creates makes it nearly impossible for interior linemen to get under him, which allows him to read the running back’s track and make a play on the ball.
As a pass rusher, however, Alexander leaves more to be desired. I can see what he’s capable of—similar to players like Jalen Carter, he’s at his best when given a two-way go and able to play across the face of opposing linemen. He’s strong as a quick, lateral mover, which allows him to cross-chop or, more commonly, use a swim move to defeat lunging linemen with low hands. But what I don’t see consistently from Alexander is a motor in the passing game. His profile—athletic ability and power—suggests he should be a more tenacious pass rusher and more disruptive on a regular basis.
This theme of taking plays off showed up too often for my liking, but what Alexander puts on tape speaks for itself. Despite my concerns about his play-to-play consistency, this is a player who will be the best version of himself in the NFL. With proper coaching to improve his ball-tracking instincts and to develop a more relentless pass-rush mentality, the rewards could be significant.
This is an early-round talent who has had a unique path to unlocking his potential. While he may be an older prospect, what Alexander has shown at the end of his career feels like the beginning of what could be a future star in this league—provided he lands in the right situation.
Prospect Projection: Day 2 — Adequate Starter
Exposures: Mississippi State (2024), Miami-OH (2024), Bowling Green (2024), Ohio (2024)
