Alohi Gilman Overview
Position: Safety
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 201 pounds
School: Notre Dame
NFL Combine Performance Data
40 Yard Dash: 4.6 Seconds
Bench Press: 17 repetitions
Vertical Jump: 32 inches
Broad Jump: 119 Inches
3 Cone Drill: 6.81 Seconds
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.08 Seconds
Alohi Gilman 2020 NFL Draft Profile
In 2017, the Department of Defense issued an order that all service academy athletes must serve at least two years of active duty before moving to professional sports. The order pushed rising Navy Midshipman Safety Alohi Gilman to take a transfer to Notre Dame, sitting out the 2017 season. Thereafter, he became a leader for the Fighting Irish, starting all games in 2018 and 2019 for a combined 169 tackles and six forced fumbles.
Gilman plays with the power and relentlessness that have become expected from both Navy and Notre Dame. Although he is a safety, he plays downhill with ferocious speed that is special even among the “blue-collar” athletes in the NFL. That work ethic along with NFL quality fundamentals may allow him to expand into a dynamic second-team role.
Strengths
- Elite of the elite in competitiveness and relentlessness;
- Will identify the run and play downhill;
- Can bully bigger tight ends, despite shorter height;
- Already has several years of special team’s experience;
- Powerful tackler when he squares up on the ball carrier.
Weaknesses
- Coverage skills need some help both in technique and route recognition;
- While he identifies the run, he has the potential to overcommit to a lane;
- Shorter height will limit him in pass coverage against bigger wide receivers;
- May have to move down to a hybrid linebacker/safety spot to cover up inadequate coverage skills;
- Often will try to aim for the football or pull away the football instead of squaring up.
NFL Comparison: A.J. Moore
Teams with Need at Position: New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders
Projection: Fourth Round
Bottom Line on Alohi Gilman
Alohi Gilman’s power, will, and aggressiveness will increase his height in the draft – he is just that uncanny. His power being such a skill is one of the great disappointments that his tackling is so sloppy at times. He must learn to be a more secure tackler in the open field if he wants to be a consistent defensive contributor.
One of the most exciting aspects of Gilman’s play is not necessarily that he is a pure safety, but that he can could move up to play a linebacker or hybrid position. The special teams play is also very impressive, and if his defense does not pan out – or needs more than three years of work – he can stay around on a team by turning into a special teams captain. There is a lot to be very excited about in Gilman; there is also a lot to be skeptical about. In the end, the exciting parts of his play should outweigh the downsides and land him with a team ready to put him to work.
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