Scouting Profile: Nic Scourton - EDGE - Texas A&M
Sales Pitch: Dense powerful defender with a dynamite spin move. Saw a decline in production in 2024 after a fantastic 2023, but possesses the physical traits to be a quality NFL EDGE.
*Gold Numbers Indicate NCAA T-25 for 2024*
Scouting Report
Nic Scourton is a former 4-Star recruit from the state of Texas. He spent his first two years at Purdue, where in 2023 he was a 2nd Team All-Big 10 honoree, before transferring to Texas A&M in 2024. Scourton logged 36 pressures and 4 sacks for the Aggies en route to 1st Team All-SEC honors in his lone season with them.
Scourton is a dense EDGE with elite weight for the position. He brings tremendous power off the edge when asked to attack in the run game. With his size and burst he is extremely disruptive, both at the point of attack and crashing down from the backside. Scourton plays with good pursuit effort to collapse down cut back lanes when working along the line of scrimmage. He also has the anchor strength to hold his ground versus base blocks and kick-outs at the point of attack. Scourton’s best pass rush reps come when working as a standup edge at the Wide-9. The extra space allows him to get all of his weight behind him and convert his speed to power at a devastating level. He is able to work through the chest or half field shoulder of offensive tackles. He displays a nice set of moves headlined by the spin move as counters to work back inside when lineman anticipate his bull rush. While not the bendiest rusher Scourton is able to stay on his rush lane and finish on quarterbacks due to impressive core strength. In 2023 with Purdue, where he was predominately a stand up OLB, he showed he is a functional zone dropper as well.
There was a tremendous amount of hype for Scourton coming off his 2023 season with Purdue but he failed to match the same production with the Aggies. A move to a more traditional four down front exposed flaws in his game. Despite his size he struggled to defend the run when reduced down over the tackle. He is late of out 3-point stances and his overall tape looked sluggish compared to the previous season. Scourton’s pass production took a hit when asked to rush from a more traditional 5T, over the tackle’s head or outside shoulder. He lacks the athletic ability to cleanly win the edge and his rush moves are still not at a level to compensate for this fact. His thicker frame struggles to bend the corner when he doesn’t have the natural angle provided by a Wide-9 alignment. He also was unable to generate as much power when rushing from more condensed alignments in 2024.
Scourton profiles a 3-4 stand-up OLB who primarily lines up at the Wide-9. Despite his size and strength it became clear in 2024 he doesn’t have the versatility to reduce down inside. While the hype from his 2023 season has worn off, Scourton still projects as a Top-50 pick with a good shot to go in Round 1 due to his size, strength and production at only 20 years old.