2022 Chiefs Draft Prospect: Kingsley Enagbare

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NAME: Kingsley Enagbare

POSITION: Defensive End

SCHOOL: South Carolina

HEIGHT: 6’4”

WEIGHT: 258 pounds

CAREER BACKGROUND

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Kingsley Enagbare attended Hapeville Charter Academy. As a senior in high school, he was named Class AA Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-state. Enagbare also helped the high school to a 14-1 record that season, as well as a Georgia Class AA state championship. 247Sports rated him as a three-star recruit. Enagbare was also ranked as the 10th best strongside defensive end in the nation and as the 29th best player to come out of the state of Georgia. He graduated high school early, upon enrolling at South Carolina in January 2018.

Backup Role

As a freshman in 2018, Enagbare appeared in 12 games as a reserve defensive lineman. He tallied 20 tackles, three tackles for loss, three quarterback hurries, two pass breakups and one sack. His sophomore season of 2019 was very similar. Enagbare appeared in all 12 games, mostly in a rotational role, but did make one start. Overall, he totaled 27 tackles (16 solo), seven tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and three quarterback hurries.

Two-Year Starter

Despite a shortened season in 2020, Enagbare was able to become a full-time starter, as he did so in eight games. He was also coming off of a crucial hip surgery that the defender underwent in the 2019-20 offseason. To boot, Enagbare missed the final two games of the 2020 season, due to injury. He would still go on to register 30 tackles and two quarterback hurries. Enagbare led the team in categories like tackles for loss (seven), sacks (six) and forced fumbles (three). Lastly, he was named first-team All-SEC for 2020.

In 2021, Enagbare again appeared in all 12 games, once again as a starter. He would go on to total 44 tackles, 10 quarterback hurries, seven tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

SCOUTING REPORT

Instead of listing positives and negatives for traits, this year we will be listing the best trait of each prospect and work our way down to the biggest area of improvement/absent trait(s), from top to bottom.

Length

Enagbare is blessed with tremendous length. He is able to reach the chest of the opposing blocker at a rapid pace. For example, Enagbare is urgent to get his arms out in front of him and uses a firm hold to wall off the opponent. He is able to get immense separation in those moments. That is important, given his inconsistency in items like block deconstruction and timing with his punishment. When fully extended, he is effective in wearing down the blocker within a trench battle. Enagbare will be able to long arm and create more space for himself more often than others at his position.

Versatility

Enagbare has experience lining up across the defensive line. He can lineup in wide alignments, at the 3-tech and even standing up over the center’s nose. Overall, he has rushed the passer from both a two-point stance and a three-point stance. There is enough quickness in his get off for Enagbare to effectively rush the passer from all three spots. Moreover, the South Carolina product has the ability to fit in many defensive schemes at the NFL level. Do not be surprised if some teams that run a 4-3 front believe he would be just as effective as teams that run a 3-4 front would think as well. Simply put, Enagbare is scheme diverse. His prototypical size is also perfect for the NFL level.

First Step Explosiveness

The way in which Enagbare fires off the snap is very sufficient for his size. You look at his dense lower half and wide frame, and it is impressive how much ground he can cover in a short span. The explosiveness that Enagbare possesses is also quite significant. So much so, that he is rather successful in making opposing blockers lose their balance early on during reps. Enagbare displays smooth footwork when releasing off the blocks at the same time, so to speak. It is important that he rarely shows any wasted movements, because of his mass.

Hand Counters

There are a couple of pass rush moves that Enagbare is most comfortable with currently. First off, his chop and club move is extremely swift at the point of attack. His ability to slip around blockers with that is probably his most successful move right now. Elsewhere, Enagbare has a pretty subtle, yet quick swim move. There is also a great amount of consistency that he has when trying to convert speed to power. If there is any area of improvement in this part of his game, it would be surrounding the hand placement, hand timing and adding more moves to the repertoire of Enagbare.

Flexibility

There are plenty of times where Enagbare surprise opposing blockers in this area. His ability to compact and get low, while still pushing back blockers, allows him to sustain solid balance in short areas. Enagbare can also flatten at the top of his pass rush arc. As a result, he can often wait out the opponent in a trench battle and pick his spot to add his short area burst. The team that drafts him should not necessarily expect him to bend the corner every single time. However, Enagbare can do that better than most would expect for his size. He is essentially adequate enough to use that to his advantage as a pass rusher.

Football IQ

Enagbare can be a bit late to read the offensive formation and recognize play direction. When you see his eyes go down, you immediately begin to see false steps. The foot and eye discipline will need to be improved upon entering the NFL. Meanwhile, Enagbare will need to provide a more well-rounded form of body positioning. He can get sucked inside on pass plays too often. On top of that, Enagbare will need to work to set a firmer edge against the run. He is built to solely thrive off of power, effort and his motor right now.

Lateral Mobility

There are moments where Enagbare is able to reset and regain his footing inside of trench battles. On the other hand, the defender is sneaky good when traveling laterally. There are not necessarily any issues when it comes to footwork. However, Enagbare does not have the quickness or immediate reaction skills to make stops consistently in the open field. That could possibly limit his schematic diversity a bit. But overall, he still moves impressively for his size. Enagbare can help provide enough results in tight areas to make the team feel comfortable.

Run Defending

The issues in this area are currently two-fold for Enagbare. There are both technical issues and awareness issues to keep in mind. From a technical perspective, Enagbare can play a bit too high here and there. You also see issues within his hand technique in terms of placement and timing. On the flip side, Enagbare can be delayed to reading the opposing blocker. Peeking into the backfield too often and getting out of his gaps are just more of the fixes that will be needed. For example, that goes back to cleaning up his eye and feet discipline.

CHIEFS FIT

There seems to be a bit of a shift in the Kansas City Chiefs defensive philosophy. Getting more athletic and explosive, to mix that in with physicality in other areas appears to be a greater focal point. Kingsley Enagbare is not going to consistently win with a refined repertoire. However, he has enough fire in his get off and confidence in his hand counters to win as a pass rusher in a variety of ways. Seeing more routine results will still be a work in progress early on during his NFL career. But at the same time, Enagbare can still lean on his length and physicality to frustrate opposing blockers. His size is also something that Steve Spagnuolo would cling to.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs draft prospect profiles throughout this spring. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.