Chauncey Golston is an edge rusher who is not necessarily going to stuff the stat sheet, but he knows exactly what he has to do on the field and executes. Currently projected as a day three draft selection, Golston has performed above that level on his film and is a very underrated prospect. There are a lot of inconsistencies on tape but when he is at his best, he’s made offensive lineman look silly.
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Player Bio
Name: Chauncey Golston
Jersey: #57
Position: EDGE
School: Iowa
Class: Redshirt Senior
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 275 lbs
Pass-Rush Ability (7.25/10)
Golston is really inconsistent here. He netted 12 sacks over a five-year playing career at Iowa. He’s shown some good flashes, but most of the time doesn’t come up with much. He does incorporate a nice swim move and club move at times. When those two moves hit, they are deadly, but when they don’t, he will not be impactful on the play. He does know how to get into throwing lanes and disrupt the pass using his size and IQ. Overall, needs to clean up some things in this area, but does have nice potential.
Run Defense (8.75/10)
Golston is a much better run defender than he is pass-rusher. He knows how to use his size to set the age very well. He’s been able to snuff out multiple reverses/trick plays and seems like the ideal run stuff defensive end for the NFL. He shows good technique when disengaging with his blocker and has even shot a couple of gaps at times.
Explosiveness (8.25/10)
While he’s not the best athlete by any means, Golston has shown the ability to get off the line pretty quickly. He’s no Levi Onwuzurike, but he gets the job done. His explosiveness has mostly shown when shooting gaps and getting sacks. When he’s at his best, he pops right into the tackle, goes straight into a swim or club move, and is on his way to the quarterback.
Length (5/10)
At 6’5″, Golston is obviously very long. However, he does not play as his size says. He’s often way too close to the tackle. This allows the tackle to dominate the rep, not allowing Golston to be able to disengage properly. This trait is very concerning. He should be so much better here but isn’t. The good thing is, he possesses the length, so NFL coaches can hopefully develop him to be able to use it a lot better.
Hand Usage (7.5/10)
As always, hand usage when discussing defensive lineman is twofold between the pass and run game. In the passing game, Golston is not very good, as mentioned before. But like everything with Golston, there are just good flashes. He’s shed some lineman easily and dominates some reps. In the run game, he’s a bit better. Seems to be a theme here. Even with his inability to utilize length, he’s been able to use his hands to disengage quite well. This allows him to blow up several runs, or at least fill the necessary hole. As for power, he can be seen using his raw strength to overpower the lineman. He only has about an average punch, however, and there’s not much to rave about here.
Bend/Flexibility (6/10)
His bend is pretty concerning. Obviously, with his big size, he’s not going to be able to bend well and attack the passer. He has shown good flexibility in filling holes in the run game and around the pocket. He’s best offsetting the edge instead of trying to bend around the tackle.
Athleticism (7.75/10)
Golston is not very fast, or agile, but he is pretty strong. He can be seen using strength to move blockers around and just creating a push on the line. He’s certainly no freak athlete but he has some nice pieces here and there that teams will look at positively.
Versatility (9.25/10)
Golston is very very versatile. He’s lined up all over the line at Iowa, in different stances as well. His versatility can be seen within the first 10-15 plays of any Iowa game. He’s played some on the inside and to a pretty good tune as well. He’s not going to be a defensive tackle in the NFL but just the fact that he’s lined up there is pretty nice. Another very surprising piece was that Iowa dropped him back in coverage in multiple circumstances. This situation seems to come into play in some cover-nine or quarters scenarios and not always on passing downs. His versatility is very fun to watch and guys who can move all over tend to work well in the league.
Football IQ (8.75/10)
Normally this would not be a 10-point category, but here it’s deserving because of Golston’s play style. To be a contributor in the run game at the next level, and not really impact the passer, a player needs a good football IQ and Golston has that. His eyes are very disciplined and he’s not quick to make the wrong decision. Instead, he feels things out and attacks the ball carrier. He also realizes that when he’s beat, he’s beat. This leads to him trying to figure out the best ways to disrupt the throwing window, which he does very well. This trait is a big plus for Golston and he always seems to know what he’s doing out there.
Competitive Toughness (4.75/5)
Golston plays with a very high motor and gets his guys on the front seven going. The Iowa defensive line played with really good chemistry and Golston was a huge part of that. The only reason he gets docked a very small amount of points is that he isn’t always involved in the play, but very rarely is this the case.
Injury (5/5)
Golston has had no known injury history to date
Player Summary
Golston is all over the place. He’s got tremendous upside if he’s able to get coach well. This seems like a player that may be all about landing spot in the NFL. He has so many flashes of great all over his game. Currently, Golston is getting projected to go in the late rounds of the draft. This simply should not be the case. In a weaker defensive line class, Golston should be going in the mid-day two range. He can provide instant run support for teams while still developing his pass-rush game.
Player Grade (78.25/100): Early-third round
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