Tonka
Hemingway.
Tonka
Hemingway.
South Carolina· 6'3"· 284 lb· 5.01s 40
"This squatty, powerful three-technique is a leverage monster who wins with relentless effort and a low center of gravity, projecting as a disruptive interior pass rusher despite an undersized frame."Pre-draft read
Hemingway plays with leverage as his whole identity. He is squatty and thick through the hips, and he uses that low center of gravity to get under the pads of guards and walk them backwards. The hands are quick and heavy, the get-off is decent, and he chases the ball down the line with a motor that never idles — five years of tape and almost no lazy snaps.
What he does not have is length or a plan. At 33-inch arms he lets blockers into his frame and gets stalled once they lock on, and his rush is more effort than sequence — bull, swim, repeat. He is not a penetrator who wins with first-step quickness, and the counter package never developed enough to make him a designed interior pass rusher.
The Raiders' defensive scheme is a Fangio-style two-high shell, emphasizing pressure from the defensive line with a one-gap 4-3 philosophy.
Hemingway could be an immediate rotational interior pass rusher, eventually developing into an impactful 3-technique with increased strength.
A true 3-4 two-gap scheme where he'd be asked to consistently anchor and hold double teams at the point of attack.
His athleticism and pass-rushing upside align well with the Raiders' focus on pressuring the quarterback from the interior.
Tonka Hemingway | Defensive Tackle
Game film cut-up of Tonka Hemingway's South Carolina tape.
Tonka Hemingway - South Carolina | 2024 Highlights
Game film cut-up of Tonka Hemingway's South Carolina tape.
Tonka Hemingway (2025-2026) Rookie Highlights | Las Vegas Raiders
Game film cut-up of Tonka Hemingway's South Carolina tape.
Hemingway was a five-year fixture in Columbia, playing 61 games and finishing with 108 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks. The best individual seasons came in 2022 and 2024, four sacks apiece, with a 2023 campaign that produced seven pass breakups from the interior — a tell about hand placement and awareness at the line.
The testing was solid rather than special. At 6-3 and 284 pounds he ran 5.01 with a 1.89 ten-yard split, jumped 32 inches and 9-4, and posted a 7.36 three-cone and 4.48 shuttle. That is a good short-area athlete for the position and a fair explanation for why he wins with leverage instead of length. No official RAS was published.
The projection is a rotational three-technique who plays 25 snaps a game and does not cost you anything. He can two-gap in a pinch because of the pad level, and he can rush on passing downs if the scheme gives him a one-on-one, but he is undersized for a nose and underpowered as a bull rusher against NFL guards. Las Vegas taking him in the fourth is a depth bet on effort and leverage.
- 01
Natural Leverage
Wins under the pads of bigger guards.
- 02
Heavy Hands
Shows real pop on contact.
- 03
Relentless Motor
Chases down the line and finishes plays.
- 04
Short-Area Agility
Posted a 7.36 three-cone and 4.48 shuttle at 284 pounds.
- 05
SEC Experience
Played five years in the SEC with 16.5 TFL and 11 career pass breakups.
- 01
Short Arms
His 33-inch arms allow blockers into his chest and stall the rush.
- 02
Effort-Based Rush
Has no reliable counter sequence in his rush plan.
- 03
Undersized Anchor
At 284 pounds, struggles to anchor against double teams as a nose.
- 04
Modest Production
Accumulated 9.5 sacks across 61 career games.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 5.01sp50
- Vertical
- 32inp50
- Broad jump
- 112inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.36sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.48sp50
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | South Carolina | 10 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2021 | South Carolina | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | South Carolina | 13 | 29 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | South Carolina | 12 | 32 | 1.5 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 2024 | South Carolina | 13 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | — | 61 | 108 | 9.5 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Rotational interior defender who plays a defined 25-snap role without ever taking the job.
Undersized leverage specialist who turns pad level into a decade-long starting career.
Effort-based tackle whose lack of length keeps him bouncing between rosters.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
The efficiency was the story. Hemingway played nine games as a rookie without a single start and produced four sacks — matching his best college season in a fraction of the snaps — plus nine tackles, a pass defensed and a fumble recovery.
That is a genuinely encouraging first year for a fourth-round interior lineman, and it validates the leverage-first evaluation. Rotational rushers who convert opportunities keep getting more of them, and Las Vegas has every reason to expand the package. The caveat is sample size: four sacks in nine games is a rate that regresses, and the run-down questions about length have not been answered because he has barely been asked. Year two, with a starter-adjacent snap count, is the real test.