The 2024 NFL Draft is getting close, making it an excellent time to highlight some of the class' best players with scouting reports. Each report will include strengths, weaknesses and background information.
Here's our report on Logan Lee.
In some ways, Lee is an old-school defensive tackle whose game is built on strength and power, although his athletic testing numbers suggest there might be more athleticism in his body than his tape showed. Overall, Lee’s tape showed a workmanlike, rotational defensive tackle without any special traits who grinded on every snap, flashing the point-of-attack strength to control and displace interior offensive linemen and make plays in the run game.
In his tape, I saw little burst or explosiveness off the ball, but I did see much more of a strength profile where Lee was able, at times, to press and extend and lock out offensive linemen, creating enough separation to play off the block and find the ball.
At this point entering the NFL, Lee does not bring much pass rush, although he did show an arm-over move that proved effective at times with the balance and body control to close with some burst to the quarterback. The question with Lee is whether he can develop with coaching and experience into a more meaningful pass rusher or whether he'll make the transition solely as a rotational base defense run defender who will project as a 12-20-snap-a-game defensive tackle playing on first down and selected other down-and-distance situations.
The more I watched Lee, the more I saw just enough flashes with his combination of strong hands and more-than-functional play strength to believe he could develop into an important piece in the 7-8 DL personnel deployments that have become more prevalent in the NFL. But there is no question he will need to generate more explosiveness off the ball, especially in the run game.
Lee’s traits will project better in odd fronts and likely in more 5-2 alignments, as opposed to 4-3 even fronts.
The bottom line with Lee is that he is a grinder who, on occasion, flashed the needed traits to be effective as both a run defender and inside pass rusher. But I did not see enough of those plays. He lacks the kind of explosiveness you’d like to see, but his athletic testing numbers suggest there might be more there as he develops with coaching and maturity.
He's a classic Day 3 pick with physical traits who has extensive college experience in a Power 5 conference.
Lee played four years at Iowa after coming out of high school in Illinois as a defensive tackle and tight end in addition to being a state wrestling champion. He was a 4-star recruit as a tight end, but Iowa made him an exclusive defensive tackle.
In 2022, Lee lined up on the right side of the defensive front on almost every snap playing 3-technique and working back inside to 1-technique. Lee was used as the penetrator in T/E stunt concepts (he was rarely used as the looper). The 2022 game against Wisconsin was a strong snapshot of Lee at his best both as a run defender and inside pass rusher — he showed a desirable combination of strength and short-area quickness; it was a dominant effort.
In 2023, Lee again lined up almost exclusively on the right side of the defensive front playing multiple defensive tackle positions including 3-technique in third-down situations.
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