Chiefs Draft 2025: Will Darius Alexander’s physical profile be enough?

During the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, it was reported that the Toledo Rockets defensive tackle Darius Alexander had a formal meeting with the Kansas City Chiefs.

A long and explosive physical specimen who wins with his first step and heavy hands, Alexander’s athleticism was on full display at the Combine, where he posted a RAS score of 9.72.

This is an impressive score when you consider that Alexander has been knocked for his weight. At the Combine, he checked in at 6 feet 4 and 305 pounds, with 34-inch arms and 10-inch hands.

Background

In the classic film “Tommy Boy,” Chris Farley famously says, “Hey man… a lot of people go to college for seven years.”

While Alexander isn’t quite Tommy Boy, he’s not far off. He will be 25 in his rookie season, which means if that if he is a first-round pick, he might not hit free agency until he’s 30.

This is mostly because it took time for him to develop. Coming out of high school in 2019, he was a two-star, 216-pound defensive end prospect who was ranked 126th nationwide among weak-side defensive ends. Toledo was the only school to make him an offer.

Since then, Alexander has gained 90 pounds and grown into his frame. For a player like him, the main concern is how much further he can go until reaching his ceiling.

Film evaluation

On tape, Alexander’s athleticism jumps off the screen. He has a quick first step, great lateral agility for his size, adequate power and active hands.

Just the same, Alexander can sometimes be inconsistent. If he does not win early in the rep, he tends to stall out or get washed out of the play. He can also struggle with gap discipline in the running game. And there’s one more problem: a lot of his film is against lower-level competition. There is a very big jump from the MAC to the NFL.

That being said, Alexander plays the game with fire in his gut — and when he’s on, he can set the tone for the entire defense. But his production tends to come in bunches. His game against Miami of Ohio was the season’s only matchup where he tallied more than three solo tackles. Yet against Bowling Green, he put up goose eggs across the stat line.

At Senior Bowl practices — with all of the NFL’s eyes upon him — Alexander dominated his one-on-one reps, showcasing the power of his club and swim moves. While these one-on-ones are fun to watch, they’re still just practice; they aren’t necessarily an indication of whether a player will make the transition to the NFL.

How he fits with the Chiefs

With Tershawn Wharton leaving in free agency — and Mike Pennel getting a little long in the tooth — the Chiefs need another dynamic playmaker next to Chris Jones on the defensive interior. But Alexander doesn’t get to the quarterback with any consistency — and this draft is very deep at defensive tackle.

The bottom line

You have uncles who are younger than Alexander. His age — mixed with his inconsistent production against less-than-elite competition — makes me wonder if he’s close to maxing out his potential. If we’re talking about Kansas City’s first-round pick at 31, I think I’d go a different direction. But based on his athletic profile, I wouldn’t mind taking a swing on him if he’s still hanging around at 63.