Name: Dominic Nichols
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 255 lbs.
High school: Frederick (MD) Oakdale
Position: Defensive end
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #33
Last year: I ranked Nichols #71 and said he would be a backup defensive end (LINK). He played in five games and made 3 tackles with 1 forced fumble.
TTB Rating: 79
Nichols fell in the middle range of the countdown last season, lodged between "solid contributor" and "redshirt" status. He played in four regular season games, including a couple competitive ones, and the bowl game against Alabama; because bowl games don't count against the redshirt limit, he was able to preserve an extra year of eligibility. He looked like he belonged on the field, and the coaching staff is very high on him going into the 2025 season.
I expected Nichols to be in the 260-270 range by the time fall rolled around, so I'm a little surprised he's only up to 255 pounds this season after being 251 last year. But it appears he will be in the second group of edges, along with Cam Brandt. It should be a bit of a breakout year for Nichols, and I expect him to play well. Starters T.J. Guy and Derrick Moore will be gone in 2026, and Nichols has a chance to stake his claim for the mantle of pass rush extraordinaire going into his third season.
Prediction: Backup defensive end
I'd be more concerned with his weight if he were a starter. But as a backup, he should hang in there
ReplyDeleteThe guy Nichols is probably replacing out of the top 4 is Stewart who was 245 so I doubt being too small is a concern. With less organic pass rush coming from inside, the edges are going to have to get after the QB more this year. So if anything I would worry if we had too many bigger guys (i.e., SDE sized instead of WDE/RLB sized).
ReplyDeleteThe bigger guys last year (Moore and Brandt) only combined for 7 sacks while the smaller guys (Stewart and Guy) combined for 14 sacks. Year before that the smaller guys (Stewart and Harrel) combined for 12 sacks to the 9 from the bigger edges' (Moore and McGregor). So I think you want those smaller bendier guys out there for pass rush purposes.
Moore and Brandt bring the thunder who got the lightning? TJ Guy is one but who is the other guy who can rush the passer like Stewart, Uche, Ojabo? That's what the team needs.
Guy had 5.5 sacks which is good for a backup but he's stepping into Stewart's starting spot. So if it is Nichols stepping up into a much bigger role (i.e., replacing TJ Guy) can he rush the passer in a similar way. Or is he too big?
To me that's the bigger question. The coaches love him so I'm not too worried about this but I do wonder if he's going to deliver on what the team needs. If not, will he cede snaps to a linebacker sliding down to edge like Barham 243 or a perhaps swifter option like Marshall 240 or Baxter 247.
Probably splitting hairs here but I'd just say that Nichols dropping a bit of weight might be good news. perhaps A sign that he sees an opportunity to be a guy who delivers what this team needs -- getting after that QB off the edge.
And since I'm here pointing out the potential benefit of weight loss I'll note that Hutch's sack explosion in '21 came with him losing 13 pounds from his peak weight in '19 and he's maintained that lower weight at the NFL level. Ojabo held pretty steady from 245 to 250 in the same timeframe.
With this Raven's system the recipe seems to be to have a bigger stronger guy in the 260-270 range and a smaller speedier guy in the 240-250 range. Long live the SDE/WDE dichotomy! even in the era of of DE/OLB "edge" hybridization
-IYKYK