Quinton Bohanna to Dallas Cowboys in NFL Draft

Kentucky Wildcats nose guard Quinton Bohanna just might be the sleeper of this year’s NFL Draft, as he was taken in the sixth round (192) on Day 3 by the Dallas Cowboys. He reunites with Kelvin Joseph, who went 44th to Dallas on Day 2.

The Tennessee native saw action in 45 games at Kentucky and finished with 59 career tackles, while making 33 starts. Bohanna was a three-star recruit out of high school and had 91 tackles (52 solo) as a senior.

During the 2020 season, Bohanna became a force on the defensive line and helped Brad White’s defense take another step forward to competing for a conference title.

The knock on Bohanna has been his weight and overall concerns related to durability, as he was previously listed at 357 pounds. However, Bohanna dropped weight prior to Kentucky’s Pro Day, and has shown the speed and agility up front to turn some heads the past few weeks prior to the draft.

Per John Owning of The Dallas Morning News, the Cowboys had been keeping a close eye on Bohanna this spring, so it’s no surprise to see him land there.

“Listed at 6-4 and 357 pounds during the season, Bohanna displayed surprising agility for a man that size, showing a pretty good first step, the ability to backdoor zone blocks and cross a blocker’s face to penetrate. In addition, Bohanna possesses outstanding length (34-inch arms), heavy hands and a strong upper body, which enable him to stack single blocks at the point of attack with ease. From there, Bohanna will use push-pull and shrug escapes to disengage blocks and get involved in the play.”

Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network had previously projected Bohanna as a true nose tackle.

“Kentucky nose tackle Quinton Bohanna is an old-school interior defender who will be best served in a traditional role as a two-gapping nose at the pro level. Bohanna offers looming size and power on the interior but struggles at times with leverage, pad level, and consistency in anchoring in the middle. Any team who invests in Bohanna will need to hope that he’s able to maintain his reduced size after he showed up at his Pro Day approximately 30 pounds lighter than his listed weight (357 lbs) on the Kentucky roster. The biggest barrier to success for Bohanna will be his antiquated role: he’s a scheme-specific player that most teams don’t really carve out an active roster spot for in the modern game, so he’ll need to thread the needle to find a home in the pros.”

Bohanna’s strength and toughness should get him a serious look at the next level where his uncle, Brian Ingram, previously played for the New England Patriots and Chargers.