Simms' DT draft rankings: No. 4 Domonique Orange
Chris Simms and Connor Rogers unpack why Domonique Orange, aka 'Big Citrus,' is the final DT to make Tier 2 thanks to his low center of gravity, strong anchor and stout build with nose tackle flexibility.
Video Transcript
This might surprise some people.
Yeah.
In tier two, one more player, defensive tackle for Big Citrus, Dominique Orange from Iowa State.
I, I mean, I just Again, another guy I had no idea about.
6'2", 322, long arms, almost 34-inch arms.
For a guy that's not, you know, maybe as big as some of the other guys we talked about.
More of a stout, squatty look from Orange, right?
Looks like he'd be like this square, immovable object.
Doesn't look 6'2".
Actually looks shorter when you see him in his uniform.
But he looks shorter because he has incredible, powerful, thicken, thick looking legs.
I mean, to me, it's like they're, they're phenomenal.
And then as I got here, again, to be 6'2", 322, the first thing that jumped out to me was I went, "Okay, I was expecting run stuffer," but this is another guy that's way more than just a run stuffer.
Yep.
He's explosive.
I mean, really can get off the ball, and really can give a strong initial blow to blow back interior offensive lineman.
The dude's got quicks and twitch too.
Can sidestep blockers, you know, moves well laterally, holds his block, kind of shuffles down the line of scrimmage, makes tackles that way, has kind of that, like, play balance that you saw with Kayden McDonald- Right that you referred to.
That's a squattier guy.
Because he's a squattier guy- Yeah with those big legs, that center of gravity, he can get hit and doesn't lose his balance or do anything from the side that way.
So yeah, I was amazed.
Has incredible balance.
And the a- and, and, and anchor 'cause of his stout, low center of gravity.
So not only the balance, but the anchor I thought was incredible too.
And, you know, you see that sometimes with those shorter, squatty guys.
They actually can end up t- at times have, you know, better anchors than the guy that's 6'5", 340.
They drop their hips better.
Just, they can drop their hips- Yeah better.
Right.
Exactly right.
You know?
But as a pass rusher, I mean, I was really impressed.
Pushes the pocket, yes, but can win with quicks.
Another guy that I would say is not stiff, and a loose, pliable, bendable athlete that way, can get on the edge of linemen and kinda turn the corner that way.
so that's awesome.
He can recover when the body's in awkward positions that, I'm big on.
And then he's a d- he's a good two gapper.
He's another guy I look at and go, "Yeah, he could play true nose tackle, hold you up and do whatever he wants."
He's really good in that way.
He's a f- ideal, I think, 4-3 shade nose tackle, but got a little m- more versatility than just doing that all the time.
I was really impressed.
And again, another guy that I would tell you that I liked him better than some of the guys that drafted in the first round last year.
Yeah.
And I would go, "Yeah, this is end of the first round, early second round talent," is what I wrote here for him.
And he was pretty banged up this year.
I mean, you look at 2024, I, I thought he was near dominant at times.
He was just a little banged up this year.
Yeah.
So he ran a little bit more hot and cold.
But like you said- He had moments- rip, rip strength of domination.
Without a doubt.
For sure.
Yeah.
he's a really, really impressive player.
I also like you said this, they play him almost at every lineman.
Yes.
Like, y- you'll see him all the way out from a five down to a zero, and he, and he ha- He does he does whatever you ask him.
I mean, they let him go D end on a few plays.
Right.
He gets to rush from out there, because he has good enough get off and quick, so you just go- Right "All right, we'll do it.
Let's me- you know, let's mess with their protection here."
I know you love this.
Yeah.
And it's something I've kinda learned from you.
Uh-huh.
I thought some of his best tape is in 2024 in the conference championship against- Yeah Arizona State.
Yeah, yeah.
That, like, that means something.
Running scheme.
This is the biggest game of your life.
Scatabo.
Yeah.
They know how to run.
They know how to coach the run.
Arizona State, if they're playing somebody, I usually watch their D tackles against them, because I just go, "They know how to coach the run.
They know how to block- Yeah to that."
And he was phenomenal in that game.
So that- Yeah meant a lot to me.
Uh-huh.
Where it's like, "Oh, this is what the NFL is gonna be like."
Exactly right.
And you're not just passing the test, you are flourishing.
Yeah, yeah.
So Big Citrus, Big Citrus- Big Citrus.
I like it big personality.
Yeah, he's I, I love that you have him ranked this high.
I, I, I, I, I just, again, when I look at a guy like that and that, that, athletic ability, the arm length, the versatility, he's more than just hold the ground guy.
He's disruptive and all that.
I just, I go, "This, this is rare to me."
It's just rare to see somebody like that.
And yeah, and then all that, and then I was like, "Man, who does he remind me of?"
Right?
I, I couldn't quite Grady Jarrett was one name I wrote.
But I think he's even better at, like, two gapping than Grady Jarrett.
Stronger.
He's stronger.
Yeah.
Kenny Clark was another name I wrote.
I see that one- Right?
for sure.
So, you know And again, some of the names you mentioned in last year's draft and some of that, I wanna go, "I, I don't know.
I'm sorry, I like Dominique Orange better than some of those guys- Right and other D tackles that have gone in the first round in the past."
I, I don't look at this to be a risky pick either.
You know, back into the high floor and high ceiling type of guy here where you just go, "Okay, if he's a first-round pick and it doesn't work," he's, he's still your starting D tackle for a bunch of years.
Like, that, that's, like, as- Yeah worse as it gets, with tremendous upside on top of that.
So yeah, I really liked, what'd they call him?
Big Citrus?
Big Citrus.
I like it.
His last name is Orange.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
I like it.
It's, it's perfect for him.
Yeah.
another good comment from Death Himself, "I wish the Dolphins didn't need an offensive guard, an offensive tackle, a wide receiver one, a wide receiver two, a corner one- a corner two- Yeah a linebacker two, a safety one, a safety two- Just the whole team, huh?
and an edge two.
Yeah.
'Cause I'd have loved to draft Citrus towards the back of the first or the top of the second.
Yeah, yeah.
Well, you know, I, I, I guess that's where I, I imagine him being.
But yes, I, I mean, I've seen some of the things out there that said, like, he was really looked at as a third rounder, and I just wanna I was just I kinda was like, "What?
There's no way."
Maybe he's there at pick 45, okay, but I feel like that's about as low as it gets.
And he'd be another guy that I would tell you, I mean, if somebody took him at the end of the first round, I certainly wouldn't be mad.
I wouldn't be like, "Oh, man, they reached on this one."
I think he's every bit worthy of that, and he's your starting D tackle on day one.
A part of me does laugh.
You and I, by like week 10, we're like, "Man, this team's dominating because they're big and fast, and everybody's trying to get bigger and more explosive."
And then months and months go by, we get to the draft, and we talk about 80% of the time small people.
Sexy, fast guy.
The, the, the- Sexy, fast- Yeah yeah.
Like sex appeal, like you said.
Exactly.
It's sex appeal.
Instead of like- Right "Hey, how do we get bigger, stronger, and tougher?"
Yes.
Because football is all about that.
Yeah, exactly.
And then we're all gonna sit there and go, "I can't believe this guy's still on the board in round two," and it's be like, there's only so many starting left tackles in the draft, or so many starting D tackles.
Right.
So they're gonna go.
And that's what can lend itself to a receiver or a DB that we thought would go at the end of the first.
We're sitting there going, "Oh my gosh, this team's gonna get him at pick 34 or 35."
But yes, the value of that in the league is still in that mode.
They're still in big people mode because of the Lions, because of the Eagles.
Again, the two teams this year believe in size as well.
They are big football teams.
We know the Patriots and Vrabel believe in that.
The Seahawks, they're big up front.
They got a good mixture, kind of what you need everywhere.
But yeah, I think that's what everybody's looking for right now.
And man, there's just not too many guys on planet Earth that this size that can move like some of these guys we're talking about
