Chiefs 2026 scouting report: Northwestern Wildcats DE Anto Saka
Northwestern's Anto Saka battled an injury during the second half of last season, but he posted several eye-catching performances in September and October. Saka is an undersized but explosive and powerful rusher capable of posting quick wins around the edge or beating offensive tackles with inside counters.
Saka's pass rush plan includes speed rushes, converting speed to power, chops, long-arms, rips, spins, swims and two-handed swipes. He uses speed to power to force the B-gap open and punishes offensive tackles for oversetting by crossing their faces. Saka is aggressive and punches above his weight as a pass rusher.
Saka's rush plan is still developmental. He relies heavily on a few moves and doesn't have a polished bag of hand counters or secondary rush moves to deploy once his initial attack stalls. With under 400 career defensive snaps, it's not surprising that Saka's rush plan is a work in progress. His career snap total should more than double in 2025, giving him essential experience to carry into his rookie season.
Many explosive edge rushers in the 2026 NFL draft project best as designated pass rushers who rotate in on late downs. Saka might begin his career in this role, but he possesses true three-down potential to become a full-time NFL starter.
Saka's burst and motor make him a threat to chase down ball carriers as a backside run defender. His gap integrity and block shedding are still developing, but Saka's violent and powerful upper body makes him difficult for blockers to contain. He stacks blocks with a long-arm and drives his legs to force offensive linemen backward, compressing interior run lanes.
This coming season determines Saka's final draft positioning since he doesn't have much tape from previous seasons to fall back on. However, his previous flashes, including sacks against Graham Barton, Julian Pearl and Caedan Wallace in 2023, hint that he's a future second or third round selection.
This article originally appeared on Chiefs Wire: 2026 NFL draft scouting report: Northwestern Wildcats DE Anto Saka
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