How Ruke Orhorhoro fits in with the Atlanta Falcons

A Clemson product, Ruke Orhorhoro was the Falcons’ second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, which left many Falcons fans wondering why the Falcons traded him for, say, Johnny Newton, who is went to the Washington Commanders a pick later.

Well Falcons fans, here’s why Ruke fits the Falcons defense and may or may not be worth the trade:

Good points

Athletic makeup

The Clemson product weighs 6’4 294 lbs with 34 inch arms, runs a 4.89 and has completed 29 bench press reps. When you look at Ruke, his slim figure draws you in as he carries his nearly 300 pounds incredibly easily. He also has some length with him, which gives him the ability to play with some leverage. The main athletic appeal is Ruke’s tic. He takes an incredible first step and explodes on the ball, causing chaos for the opposing offensive lineman.

#9 Ruke Orhorhoro (2/10)

Pros: Good size at 6’4″, 295 pounds, excellent strength, leverage acquisition and length, has twitch, this allows him to play down the line.

Cons: Would benefit from improved lower body strength, has difficulty anchoring at the point of attack pic.twitter.com/424IbSGtV2

-MRCROCKPOT (@mrcrockpot) November 26, 2022

Negative points

Hands

Ruke is an incredibly raw player, it seems, with bad habits in movies, very fixable habits, but bad nonetheless. He struggles with consistent hands during his play, leading him to get hit and knocked out of the game. His issues with his hand shots later lead to him turning around and giving up his back and shoulders .

Liability gap

There are genuine moments during Ruke’s recording where you wonder what space he’s actually supposed to be in. Is this partly due to the ploy? I’m sure it’s one of them. But there are also times where he seems to overcommit and get lost in a bad swerve as you see him trying to overcorrect and get back to where he’s supposed to be.

Schema adjustment

The cool thing about Ruke is that with his athletic makeup, he gives you an insane variety of things he can do right off the bat. He can play penetrating nose tackle, looks like he could hold his own as a 3T or 4T in the mint and tite fronts we expect to see this season with Raheem Morris coming from the Rams.

Conclusion

Ruke Orhorhoro was within reach, but he also has untapped potential that Raheem Morris and company would benefit from if they can get him going. The problems are there, but they can be solved if you are willing to be patient with him and develop him. If you want/expect Ruke to play a lot early in the season, I would be cautious.