Ole Miss’ Princely Umanmielen played four seasons at Florida before transferring to Ole Miss for his final year of eligibility.
Every season starting now and going forward, it could be the last year of Joey Bosa and/or Khalil Mack wearing the powder blue. However, the Chargers actually don’t gain anything in regards to cap space should they cut either before or after June 1st. Either way, sooner rather than later, the Chargers will have to lay the groundwork for their pass-rush past their two veterans. They invested a second-round pick in 2023 in Tuli Tuipulotu but he’ll need a long-term running mate at some point.
In a new 2024 NFL mock draft from CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso, the Chargers use their first-round pick on former Florida and current Ole Miss edge rusher Princely Umanmielen, a 6’4, 255-pounder with high athletic upside and many years of cutting his teeth in the SEC.
“The Chargers add youth to their outside pass-rushing group with someone with years and years of SEC experience and high-level production.”
Umanmielen played four seasons for the Florida Gators. In 45 career games, he posted 99 total tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, and three forced fumbles. Thus far through three games with the Rebels, Umanmielen has just four tackles, one tackle for loss, and one sack through three games. Those numbers are a bit behind his career-highs from the 2023 season, but it looks like there’s going to be some projection involved in his draft stock as these aren’t necessarily first-round numbers.
Keith Sanchez, a draft analyst for The Draft Network, believes that Umanmielen has the “first-step quickness and natural athleticism will allow him to develop into a consistently productive edge rusher in the NFL.” Princely’s ability to bend and flow around the edge is his best trait. That will win in the NFL. However, a traditional 3-4 outside linebacker/edge rusher also has to have the ability to hold up in the run game. This is an area that Sanchez believes Umanmielen has to work on in his final collegiate season to truly solidify his chance at being successful at the next level.
One more negative is Umanmielen’s ability to convert his speed off the edge into power moves when the time calls for it. Sometimes going around a blocker isn’t enough and you have to put a foot in the ground and go through them. If Umanmielen can consistently add this aspect to his pass-rush kit, you’re probably looking at a fringe first-round pick.
Ole Miss EDGE Princely Umanmielen may have one of the highest ceilings in the 2025 class. Albeit there’s a lot that needs to improve, the way this dude moves is rare. Very intrigued to see how a change of scenery helps him this season pic.twitter.com/NTRCAyWnxa
— Joe DeLeone (@joedeleone) July 9, 2024