Domonique
Orange.
Domonique
Orange.
Iowa State· 6'2"· 322 lb· 5.17s 40
"Massive gap-plugging nose whose weight-cut arc (400-plus pounds in high school to 322 at the Combine) unlocked stamina and a legitimate 5.17 forty. Ceiling is capped by the pass-rush plan."Pre-draft read
Aligns primarily at 0-tech and 1-tech in even fronts, occasionally shifting to a heavy 2i in short-yardage. Engages low with a compact base and two-gap intent, using mass to anchor double teams and reset the line of scrimmage against interior combos. His hands extend to push and pull, collapsing the pocket, and snatch-and-toss against reaching centers. He shows occasional bull-into-swim moves on obvious passing downs.
Recognizes gap exchanges quickly and is rarely displaced by combo blocks or pulling guards. Movement skills at his size are notable; he effectively chases outside zone runs and finishes screens downfield rather than walking off the ball. His pass-rush involves stunts and short-yardage penetration rather than consistent one-on-one wins.
The Minnesota Vikings run a Fangio two-high scheme emphasizing pressure through disguised coverages and a strong interior run defense.
Rotational two-down run-stuffing nose tackle in Year 1, with a ceiling to develop into a full-time anchor.
A sub-package, gap-penetrating, one-gap 3-4 front that asks defensive linemen to win with speed and agility.
Orange's rare blend of size, strength, and surprising movement skills makes him an ideal fit for a two-gapping interior role.
Domonique Orange's College Highlights from Iowa State
Official Vikings-produced highlight reel from his Iowa State career.
Domonique Orange aka "Big Citrus" Regular Season Highlights | 2025 Big 12 Football
Senior-season Big 12 tape showing anchor reps and interior pressure.
Domonique Orange 2026 NFL Draft Tape | Iowa State DT
Big 12-produced draft tape package heading into the 2026 NFL Draft.
This prospect is a legitimate two-gap nose tackle, offering a defined base-down role for any defensive front. His body transformation and athletic profile suggest he can maintain a high functional playing weight, providing a scheme-versatile plugger capable of anchoring the interior run defense and influencing the pocket.
He arrived at 350 pounds and diligently rebuilt his body, playing at 322 pounds by the combine. Production ramped up, culminating in 24 tackles, 4.5 TFL, and a sack in 2024, earning him a spot on The Athletic Freaks List. His senior year saw him earn third-team All-Big 12 honors, solidifying his role and effectiveness in a Power Four conference.
Evaluators noted concerns about his limited pass-rush plan and bend, with a career production that, while improved, was modest for a full-time starter. There were also flags regarding his weight-management history and snap-count durability in early seasons. Consensus had him as a third-round selection, fitting the profile of a rotational-to-starting nose tackle.
- 01
True nose-tackle mass
Plays at a functional 322 pounds after topping 400 as a high-school senior, with the frame to two-gap centers and hold up on every base-down snap he takes.
- 02
Elite-for-size athletic testing
5.17 forty, 4.65 shuttle and 27 bench reps at 322 pounds put him on The Athletic Freaks List heading into 2024 and validate the movement flashes on tape.
- 03
Anchor and reset
Sinks his pad level on doubles, splits combos with hip torque and consistently squeezes running lanes back to the linebackers without ceding ground.
- 04
Physical arc from 2022 to 2025
Trimmed from 350 to 322, jumped from 15-20 snaps per game as a freshman to full three-down availability, and answered the stamina question by his senior season.
- 05
Signature run-game reps
Third-team All-Big 12 honors as a senior after honorable-mention nods in 2023 and 2024, with tape full of stalled outside-zone reps and blown-up interior counters.
- 01
Pass-rush ceiling
Career totals of roughly one sack per season speak to a limited pass-rush plan beyond bull rush and push-pull, with little counter menu once linemen recover.
- 02
Bend and disengage
Wins with leverage and mass rather than length or ankle flexibility, so he struggles to shed once the initial punch fails to displace the guard.
- 03
Snap-count durability history
Only ramped to full-time availability by his junior year, so the projection is capped as a rotational two-down anchor rather than a workhorse three-down NT.
- 04
Weight-management flag
The 400-pound high-school arc and the freshman stamina admissions mean pro staffs will monitor conditioning as a real risk factor early in his career.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 5.17sp50
- Vertical
- 31.5inp50
- Broad jump
- 104inp50
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- 4.65sp50
- Bench
- 27repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Iowa State | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Iowa State | 13 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Iowa State | 13 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | Iowa State | 12 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | — | 50 | 66 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Two-gap nose whose mass and anchor profile settles into a decade of rotational-to-starting run-down snaps with steady base-package production.
Massive true-nose plugger whose two-gap dominance in base packages carved out a decade-long career as a run-down anchor with occasional stretches of interior disruption.
Rotational nose whose weight profile earns base-down snaps but limited pass-rush menu keeps him off the field on obvious passing downs.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
[{"body": "Orange's recruiting-to-draft arc is essentially a weight-management story with football on top. He arrived at Iowa State in 2022 as a three-star Missouri product weighing 350 pounds after peaking above 400 in high school, admitted publicly he could only handle 15-to-20 snaps a game as a freshman, and slimmed to 325 by his junior year to unlock full-time availability. The production followed in step: eight tackles as a freshman, 16 with honorable-mention All-Big 12 as a redshirt sophomore, then 24 tackles, 4.5 TFL and a sack in 2024 with a Freaks List nod. His senior 2025 earned third-team All-Big 12 and cemented him as one of the more athletic true noses in the class. Combine testing—5.17 forty, 1.72 ten-yard split, 4.65 shuttle, 27 bench reps at 322 pounds—was legitimately elite for the position and hardened the third-round consensus on a defined two-gap nose profile.", "heading": "Pre-draft context"},
{"body": "Minnesota grabbed Orange at 82 to reinforce the base-down interior rotation with a true nose who fits any front the coordinator wants to run. The scheme match is clean: a two-gapping nose who can also hold up in even-front looks and slide to a heavy shade in short-yardage packages is exactly the archetype defensive coordinators want as their run-down anchor. Expectation for year one is 25-to-35 snaps a game on early downs and short-yardage plus interior field-goal block work, with any interior pressure production treated as bonus rather than baseline. The real determinant is conditioning: if he holds his 322-pound playing weight and keeps stamina where it was as a senior, he settles into a decade-long rotational role; if the weight creeps back toward his freshman number, the availability question resurfaces and the ceiling flattens.", "heading": "NFL fit — Minnesota Vikings"},
{"body": "Impossible to grade before the rookie season, but the profile writes cleanly for a third-round pick: verified athletic testing that is genuinely rare at true-nose size, four years of Big 12 tape against Power Four interior linemen, a documented body-transformation arc that signals real work ethic, and a defined NFL role that does not require projection. The realistic outcome is a Grover Stewart-type career—rotational-to-starting nose who logs 500-plus snaps a year on early downs, contributes on short-yardage and field-goal block, and re-signs on functional second contracts. The floor is a base-down NT who rotates out on obvious passing downs, which at pick 82 is still defensible value. The ceiling requires the pass-rush plan to grow beyond the bull rush.", "heading": "Retrospective"}]