2022 Chiefs Draft Prospect: Josh Paschal

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NAME: Josh Paschal

POSITION: Defensive End

SCHOOL: Kentucky

HEIGHT: 6’2”

WEIGHT: 268 pounds

CAREER BACKGROUND

A native of Prince George’s County, Maryland, Josh Paschal attended Our Lady of Good Counsel High School. During his senior season of high school football, he recorded 64 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. He received many offers to play college football. This included opportunities to go to Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio State or Oklahoma. However, Paschal opted to go play at Kentucky for the Wildcats.

Courageous Battles

As a true freshman in 2017, Paschal played in all 13 games and made one start. He totaled 17 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, three quarterback hurries and a blocked kick. 2018 saw Paschal take on a new challenge before the regular season even began. In July of 2018, he was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, a type of skin cancer, on his foot. He underwent three surgeries and took a medical redshirt while undergoing treatment. Afterwards, Paschal made a rousing return and competed in the final three games of the season.

Superb Return And Finish

In 2019, Paschal was able to return to playing in a full season, as he started in all 13 games. It was also the first of three consecutive campaigns in which he was a Kentucky team captain. He is actually the only three-time full-season captain in school history. Overall, Paschal finished with 34 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one pass breakup and one blocked kick. He was also one of six honorable mentions for CoSIDA’s 2019 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award.

In 2020, Paschal played in all 11 games and made 10 starts. He tallied 32 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one quarterback hurry and one interception. 2021 was a bit of a breakout season for Paschal, in terms of production. He played in 12 games and had 53 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss (team-high), eight quarterback hurries (team-high), 5.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one blocked kick. Lastly, Paschal earned first-team All-SEC honors for his final season in 2021.

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.

Football IQ

Paschal recognizes play direction and play flow extremely early during reps. This allows him to make quick reads against mesh points or play action fakes. In addition, Paschal is also rather stout when it comes to reading opposing blockers. He does not let them get their arms extended too often. Elsewhere, he can confuse opposing offensive linemen with his ability to wait out the first move or bite, before resetting or redirecting his path towards the ball. Paschal can certainly hold his own when it comes to controlling gaps and altering his attacks upfront. Due to this, he can handle and take on multiple roles within a defense’s defensive line.

Run Defending

Not only did this become a top trait for Paschal, but he became more confident and secure as a run defender as his Kentucky career grew on. He systematically makes quick work of opposing blockers when looking to stop the run. Starting with the point of attack, Paschal does well to exude his extreme hand power early and it can lead to extra separation at the line of scrimmage. He simply stonewalls offensive linemen and knocks them off balance fairly easily. The effort and motor is definitely there for this player. But in the meantime, Paschal displayed adequate angles and body positioning to chase down or corral runs, especially when travelling vertically into the backfield. His power and instincts make him entirely difficult to get around on the edge.

First Step Explosiveness

This is definitely not an area of Paschal’s game that comes with as much consistency as one would like. However, the amount of twitch and juice that he can generate for a player with his density makes him challenging for opponents to battle against. He seemed to get his speed going when he was able to time up the snap and react before the offensive linemen. On the other hand, Paschal uses long, powerful strides and covers ground at an alarming rate. The first step out of the blocks may not always be the most lethal. Yet, do not discount both the long speed and possible second gear of Paschal when he is in attack mode after the ball.

Versatility

Paschal can move all across the defensive line. Despite playing defensive end most of the time, he showed comfortability when playing the 5-tech and wide-9 alike. On top of that, Paschal can also reduce down inside at defensive tackle. He was able to provide pressure on occasional stunts or twists, while in those moments. Paschal also appeared to possess more natural speed from the defensive tackle spot. That is especially true, when you consider a bit of a difference in his get off at the snap. Finally, this defender has experience in reducing down inside in both three-man defensive fronts and four-man defensive fronts.

Length

The length that Paschal possesses is not necessarily elite, in terms of raw numbers. Though, it is how he can utilize it in a variety of ways that make him a pest for offenses to have to control. Paschal’s aforementioned ability to separate away from blockers can be done in a couple of different ways. He can long-arm opponents and then swipe them to the side. Or, Paschal will look to rip his hands down and breakup the blocker’s grip, in order to disengage from blocks. His mix of patience and violence at the point of attack cannot be understated, given the variety in which he can win reps. Paschal also noticeably worked to get his arms in throwing lanes when a pass would come close to him.

Hand Counters

There is not a wide array of pass rush hand counter moves to this player’s game. He is more comfortable with a few basic moves. This includes using rip, dip or chop moves. Occasionally, Paschal will use a slingshot move, where he will pull the blocker towards his chest, before pushing forward and using patience to get around them. While he does not have a lot of polish or depth within his repertoire, Paschal can overwhelm opponents with power alone. He also knows how to infuse a more violent attack, if need be.

Flexibility

There are questions from time to time surrounding his pad level, balance and leverage. When he is unable to get off the ball hard, Paschal usually gets to playing too high. He is not in no man’s land. But, Paschal is forced to react and make a decision much earlier in those cases. He can sometimes get his weight out on the top of his toes as well. As a result, false steps or too much tilt can collapse Paschal into the dirt. There are still some impressive movement skills that shined from this area for the defender, however. He can slice through close quarters on stunts and twists. Plus, Paschal will often look to compact his body when setting the edge.

Lateral Mobility

The lateral quickness and change of direction skills are not a forte of Paschal’s game. He certainly attempts to give full effort when working across the line of scrimmage or when chasing in backside pursuit. And in some moments, that allows him to still have an impact on the play. Paschal just does not look as comfortable in space, nevertheless. If he is allowed to work in short areas and as a contain player when at defensive end, he should be just fine.

CHIEFS FIT

The production of this player is not always going to be guaranteed. However, the continued improvement and growth of Josh Paschal could stick out to the Kansas City Chiefs. They have been slightly more drawn to defensive linemen who can move around the line of scrimmage, as of late. And despite the signs of becoming more athletic as a whole, Paschal boasts tools and traits that Kansas City has generally gravitated towards under Andy Reid. The Kentucky product obviously has the density, power, length and explosiveness that the Chiefs have looked for from their defensive linemen. Possibly, Paschal could infuse more stability in Kansas City’s run defense, as he continues to develop further as a violent pass rusher.

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.