Ta'Quon
Graham.
Ta'Quon
Graham.
Texas· 6'3"· 292 lb· 4.89s 40
"A 6-3, 292-pound Texas defensive lineman with a 4.89 forty and 32 bench reps at his pro day, whose 23 career TFLs and 7 sacks flashed as a 3-tech disruptor — a Round-5 rotational interior projection."Pre-draft read
This defensive lineman operates as a base 3-technique and heavy-end, relying on length, effort, and pad level to win. He maintains active feet against down blocks, extending into the offensive lineman's chest with long arms to stack and shed during gap-scheme runs. While leverage can be inconsistent, his motor is constant, allowing him to pursue screens and cutbacks intensely.
As a pass rusher, his primary move involves a powerful long-arm to the guard's inside shoulder, which he can convert into a push-pull. However, he lacks a consistent counter move and his get-off speed is average, limiting his one-gap pass-rush potential. His change-of-direction and lateral agility are functional, not exceptional, which can hinder him against zone-blocking schemes.
This DL plays best in a one-gap 3-4 penetrating front or a Cover-3 match scheme that values a strong base three-technique with positional flexibility.
Ideal as a rotational early-down run defender in Year 1 with the ceiling to become a reliable starter who can play multiple techniques.
He would be a poor fit in a West Coast scheme that asks its defensive linemen to primarily win with quickness and finesse.
A high-effort, versatile defensive lineman with excellent measurables who projects as a valuable rotational piece capable of playing multiple alignments on early downs.
Ta'Quon Graham Texas Senior Year Highlights
Senior-year Texas cut showing 3-tech alignments, long-arm wins and gap-scheme run defense.
Ta'Quon Graham Rookie Spotlight (Falcons)
Rookie feature from Atlanta showing early rotational reps and motor traits on the interior front.
Ta'Quon Graham 2022 Falcons Highlights
2022 season cut before the knee injury: run-down wins, long-arm push, base-end reps in Dean Pees fronts.
This player projects as a rotational interior defensive lineman, offering teams a versatile body who can contribute on early downs. His length and motor provide the foundation for disrupting gap schemes and two-gapping, making him a valuable piece for a defensive front seeking depth and positional flexibility. His athletic testing profile, particularly his explosiveness and strength, supported these on-field traits.
A four-year contributor at Texas, he moved between 3-technique and 5-technique. His 2019 junior season was a highlight, showcasing his length and leverage in run defense with 12 TFL and 3.5 sacks. However, his senior 2020 season was abbreviated and uneven, leading to a projection that relied more on his physical traits and earlier film than consistent recent production.
Evaluators noted a limited pass-rush repertoire and inconsistent pad level as primary concerns, suggesting a player who would win with effort but not necessarily with refined technique on every snap. Consensus boards placed him in the Day 3 range, valuing his positional versatility and high motor as a rotational asset. The Falcons drafted him with the 148th pick, aligning with these expectations.
- 01
Length and reach
Utilizes a 6-3, 292-pound frame with long arms to extend into blockers, consistently stacking the point-of-attack against run plays.
- 02
Positional flex
Demonstrated ability to play 3-tech, 4i, and 5-technique across four years, making him valuable for multiple NFL defensive fronts.
- 03
Motor and effort
Displays high-end backside pursuit and chases to the sideline, notable for an interior player, particularly on screens and reverses.
- 04
Pro-day athletic profile
Recorded a 4.89 40-yard dash, 32.5-inch vertical, 113-inch broad jump, and 32 bench reps at 292 pounds.
- 05
Run defense against gap schemes
Shows anchor when hands are inside, walking back single blocks and beating down blocks with a strong inside arm.
- 01
Hand plan limited
Predominantly wins with a long-arm, lacking a consistent counter or secondary rush move, leading to stalled reps.
- 02
Pass-rush production light
Accumulated 7 sacks and 23 TFLs over 48 college games, with tape rarely showing clean wins against guards.
- 03
Pad level inconsistent
Can play tall from his stance, losing leverage against shorter guards and getting moved off spots by combo blocks.
- 04
Lateral agility average
Three-cone (7.31) and shuttle (4.68) times are ordinary, impacting play-side seals against reach blocks and zone cutoffs.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.89sp50
- Vertical
- 32.5inp50
- Broad jump
- 113inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.31sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.68sp50
- Bench
- 32repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Texas | 12 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Texas | 14 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Texas | 13 | 30 | 3.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | Texas | 9 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | — | 48 | 71 | 6.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Day-3 Falcons interior pick with a similar tweener profile, sticking as a rotational run-down piece without ever locking down a starter role.
Long-tenured rotational 5-tech/base end who monetized length, effort and positional flex into a long career as a run-first interior body.
Depth interior journeyman who bounced between rosters as a rotational body without a defined pass-rush trait, a realistic floor for a Round-5 tweener.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Solid rotational hit. Depth Year 1, rotational contributor Years 2-3 (~30% snaps), torn ACL in 2023. Returned in 2024 in a rotational role. Signed 1-year extension with the Falcons in 2024, on the roster in 2025.
Pre-draft context. Graham arrived at Texas as a Temple, TX prospect with a projectable 6-3 frame and moved between 3-tech and base end across four seasons in Austin. His junior 2019 (31 tackles, 12 TFL, 3.5 sacks) was the evaluation anchor — long-arm wins on guards, real anchor on down blocks, and enough range to chase to the sideline. A shortened, uneven 2020 as a captain (23 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 sacks in 9 games) muddied the stock, but a strong pro day (4.89 at 292, 32.5-inch vertical, 113-inch broad, 32 reps) confirmed the athletic base. Boards clustered him in the Round 4-6 rotational interior tier — length, motor and positional flex with a limited hand plan.
NFL fit — Atlanta Falcons. Dean Pees front needed cheap, versatile bodies in the interior rebuild, and Graham fit the exact archetype: a base 3-tech who could bump to 4i or 5-technique on early downs without giving up the leverage battle. He played 15 games as a rookie in 2021 in a pure rotational role behind Grady Jarrett, then pushed into a real snap-share role by 2022 as a run-down starter before a season-ending knee injury cut the breakout short. The pick made sense as a Day-3 upside swing on length and effort within a front that already carried its pass-rush burden elsewhere.
Retrospective. Graham's NFL arc landed inside the expected band — a functional rotational interior player, not a starter-quality piece. The 2022 knee injury derailed real momentum, and he returned in 2023 as a depth body before Atlanta moved on ahead of a full re-tooling of the front. Career output stayed modest (he bounced through the practice-squad market in 2024), but for a Round-5 pick banking on length, motor and pro-day athleticism, cashing multiple years of NFL snaps and one near-starter season is a fair, if unspectacular, outcome — a Day-3 hit on effort with the ceiling capped by the same limited hand plan scouts flagged in 2021.