With NFL training camps right around the corner, it is always fun to predict who will be available after the long-awaited final 53-man roster cuts.
Whether it is veterans, former early draft picks who did not pan out, or the average UDFA, teams are extremely busy looking at external options to complete their rosters. In this case, the Los Angeles Chargers are likely to look to improve one of their most unproven yet competitive rooms. The interior defensive line.
Former Combine Headliner Could Be Cut & Signed By Chargers
Adetomiwa Adebawore is still known years later for his incredible NFL combine performance in 2023. A performance that yielded him a 9.72 RAS score, only hampered by shorter and smaller stature for a defensive lineman.
Adetomiwa Adebawore was drafted with pick 110 of round 4 in the 2023 draft class. He scored a 9.72 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 46 out of 1620 DT from 1987 to 2023. https://t.co/6Jk3oywNzm pic.twitter.com/Wm9fnXPtqK
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 29, 2023
This score, coupled with flashes seen on tape out of Northwestern University, gave the Colts all the reason to draft him in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft. Unfortunately, Adebawore has yet to truly pan out in the NFL, possibly becoming a 2025 training camp cut.
But is this a fault of Adebawore? Or have the Colts not given him a fair shot?
Why Adetomiwa Adebawore Has Not Panned Out
The depth chart for the Colts has been quite stacked across the interior defensive line, having the All-Pro and Pro-Bowl talents of Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner starting, wreaking havoc on opposing offenses. Furthermore, other veterans (Tyquan Lewis, Taven Bryan and Raekwon Davis) played valuable snaps across the interior, disallowing Adebawore to truly get a run on the field.
Now going into year three for Adebawore, the Colts have yet to give him a clear opportunity to make plays on the field, now even endangering his roster spot by adding Neville Gallimore and Tim Smith this offseason.
All of this to say, it is a real possibility for the former fourth-round pick to find himself on a flight to Los Angeles to give the Bolts another piece across their defensive line.
Fit With The Chargers
The Chargers coaching staff is always about taking players who were miscast in their former roles and giving them new life. Just look at the wonders they did with Poona Ford, Teair Tart, Daiyan Henley, Tony Jefferson, Elijah Molden and so on.
Notice how all of those names are on defense. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter really knows what he is doing, allowing them to have confidence in taking a gamble on a guy like Adebawore, turning him into a true contributor.
The traits Adebawore possesses are still present and have flashed on tape. Adebawore brings major pass rush juice (exactly what the Chargers are missing on the interior defensive line), coupled with some impressive gap-shooting plays where he disrupts the offense.
Adetomiwa Adebawore has serious pass rushing juice, he just needs consistent snaps to showcase what he can do. I hope this can be the year that he can win a pass rushing role with the team pic.twitter.com/QRYVlNeJUK
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) May 11, 2025
Where Adebawore needs to continue to develop is his run defense and consistency on the field. Allow Minter to give Adebawore chances to succeed in his impressive defense, and the Chargers may have a gem on their hands.
Great, so Adebawore fits in well with the Bolts, but do the Chargers really need interior defensive line help? The Chargers have already openly said that they are going by a “by committee” approach after losing star defender Poona Ford in free agency. While this allows for the Chargers to replace his product in aggregate, this leaves the Chargers open for more things to go wrong.
What if guys like Naquan Jones & Da’Shawn Hand do not pan out in Powder Blue? Can Justin Eboigbe improve going into year two? What if Jamaree Caldwell does not immediately impress as a rookie? All of these are issues that arise, which is a reason for the Chargers to go take more swings on guys like the possible training camp cut, Adetomiwa Adebawore.
Main Image: Jim Dedmon – Imagn Images
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