Carlos Basham is a pass rusher from the University of Wake Forest and he’s certainly one of the bigger edge rushers in this class. At around 275 lbs Carlos Basham is certainly a big dude and he plays like it, with a lot of physicality, and he’s very good in the run game. He projects best as a strong side 4-3 defensive end. 

Strengths: 

  • Good Functional Strength

Carlos Basham is certainly going to be a bigger guy so theoretically he should be able to win with power and he is. He possesses strong hands and he has the strength to drive offensive lineman backwards.

  • Technician With His Hands

Carlos Basham really magnifies his strength with his great hand work. His hand placement is great, and his hands pack a real punch. He understands how to use his hands to manipulate offensive lineman and he’s truly a technician with his hands, it’s a shame his arms aren’t longer.

  • Surprisingly Pretty Explosive

For a guy as big as Carlos Basham is he has quite a bit of explosiveness to his game. His first step quickness is very good and he does a good job converting that quickness into speed and then into more power.

  • Great Swim and Spin Moves

Carlos Basham has quite a few moves in his toolbox although none are quite as effective as his swim and spin moves. He uses his hands incredibly well on the swim move and he has surprising agility to pull off a spin move as well.

  • Quality Run Defender

Carlos Basham is not only a guy who holds his gap but can also get into the backfield to make plays in the run game. He understands gap responsibilities and he does a good job identifying quickly and reacting accordingly when he sees run blocking techniques.

  • Motor Always Runs Hot

Carlos Basham has a motor that’s revved up throughout the entire game. On any given play Basham is going to be in pursuit of the quarterback or running back and he moves great for his size as well. 

Weaknesses: 

  • Doesn’t Beat Guys Off the Edge

Carlos Basham really has almost no ankle flexibility and an even bigger reason that he’s unable to get around the edge is that he doesn’t drop his hips, and this inability to beat guys off the edge makes him one dimensional and will make him easier to stop in the NFL.

  • Terrible Pad Level

Carlos Basham plays so incredibly upright all the time and that’s an issue that he’s going to need to fix if he wants to be a consistent pass rusher in the NFL. He’s going to be outleveraged too often if he doesn’t fix his pad level.

  • Low Ceiling

Carlos Basham is going to be a solid player the second that he enters the league because he’s already very technically refined but he has never going to blossom into one of the game’s pass rushers because of his average athletic profile.

Player Comp: Carlos Basham is another guy who doesn’t have a clean player comparison because he has a pretty odd skill set. He’s a bigger guy who is very explosive and great with his hands, but can’t turn the corner at all and plays with bad level. I think Frank Clark might come the closest because similarly he’s a big pass rusher who’s very good in the run game and also very explosive. He also has great hands similar to Basham, although Clark certainly has more upside because he had longer arms to use those great hands more effectively, as well as having the ability to turn the corner which Basham doesn’t really have.

Final Thoughts: Basham doesn’t have the highest ceiling in the world but overall I think I like him a bit more than others do because you know what you’re going to get with Basham. He’s going to be a good run defender who can set a hard edge and get into the backfield, and occasionally his great hand work will be able to beat offensive tackles a few times. It’s kind of a niche skill set but he’s a very reliable guy and I’d take that kind of player in the middle of Round 2. He fits best as a 4-3 DE and if played at OLB or 3-4 DE he might not be utilized to his fullest capacity. A team like the Colts would really value his skill set and they don’t have a great group of guys at defensive end right now so Basham would fit well with them.