Strengths: 

  • Insane Athletic Profile

Christian Barmore is 6’4 310 but he moves like he’s 280 lbs. The athletic profile has it all with good size, speed, body control, and even super long arms to outreach linemen and give him even more versatility.

  • Explosive Out of His Stance

Barmore is very explosive not just getting out of his stance but he also has great first step explosiveness which he doesn’t lose after the first step and does a great job converting into pocket penetration.

  • Moves Incredibly Well

Christian Barmore carries his weight extremely well and is a very mobile player. He’s great on stunts and in pursuit which is rare to see at a man his size.

  • Great Hand Usage

Christian Barmore has extremely long arms for an interior defensive lineman and he gets the most of them with great hand usage with well timed and well placed punches that are strong.

  • Can Play Anywhere

Not only is Barmore scheme transcendent in terms of 4-3 and 3-4 because of how strong his athletic profile is, but he also can play off the edge as well because of his arm length and how well he moves, and he’s great on stunts which means he’s going to be a chess piece for defensive coordinators.

Weaknesses: 

  • Inconsistent Play

The main problem with Barmore is the game to game inconsistency. Some games everything is working and he’s playing well and other games he just doesn’t have the same juice and energy level and Barmore will have to get that cleaned up, especially considering he didn’t play much in the first place in college.

  • Tackling Form Needs Work

For a guy as big and strong as Barmore who can control his body the way he does it’s surprising that he lets quite a few players slip from his grasp and he’s going to need to clean up his tackling form or that will be an issue.

  • Too Out of Control Sometimes

Sometimes Barmore can be full steam ahead at all times and as mentioned early this is another factor in him missing tackles and it’s also a cause for him reacting slowly to screens and misdirection runs.

Player Comp: Christian Barmore is a very similar prospect to fellow former Alabama player Marcell Dareus. I think this comp applies more for Dareus coming out of college rather than in the league. Coming out both guys are on the bigger side although Dareus is a bit bigger, and both guys have enough strength to eat up double teams in the run while also having pass rushing prowess. They succeed as pass rushers because of explosiveness and the ability to control their bodies well, as well as great arm length combined with effective hand usage in all facets to make them a dangerous threat rushing the passer. Dareus also had the consistency issue and didn’t play a lot of snaps like Barmore but he did come without the concerns of being out of control and having bad tackling form which is why Dareus went Top 3.

Final Thoughts: Barmore is a guy who public opinion vastly varies on because his ceiling is so high but the consistency issues are cause for real concern. A team with the right coaching staff could end up taking him very early but if teams think he can’t be coached up he can also fall quite a bit. He’s a risk I’d be willing to take in the early second round which makes him my IDL2 and makes me a bit lower on him than everyone else. Scheme fit doesn’t really matter although a defensive coordinator who would move him around to use his versatility is preferred and a team like the Lions who need to build their defense from the middle out could use a high upside guy like Barmore, and are in position to take a risk.