2023 NFL Combine Notes: Jose Ramirez, EDGE, Eastern Michigan

Jose Ramirez, a former JUCO product, was a known quantity in MAC circles prior to his explosive 2022 campaign. He won a rotational job quickly in 2020, and his knack for backfield penetration earned him a starting spot fairly quickly by 2021.

2022 is when Ramirez became a household name, finishing as a third-team Associated Press AP All-American after an incredible 66 tackle, 19.5 tackle-for-loss and 12 sack season. His ability to convert those previous pressures into results was a large part of that, picking up eight more TFLs and six more sacks than the season prior to help steer EMU into a competitive division race.

Coming into Indianapolis, Ramirez’s pedigree and frame, combined with a stellar performance at the East-West Shrine Bowl, has made him a product of intrigue which will be fascinating to follow.

Official Combine measurements (Difference from East-West Shrine Bowl in parenthesis):

• Height: six-foot-two
• Weight: 242 lbs. (lost seven lbs.)
• Hands: 9 inches (lost one-quarter inch from Shrine Bowl)
• Arms: 32 and three-quarters inches (lost three-eighths of an inch from Shrine Bowl)
• Wingspan: As of Shrine Bowl, recorded at 78 and three-eighth inches

Official Combine workout numbers:

• 40-yard dash: 4.73 seconds
• 10-yard dash: 1.63 seconds
• Vertical jump: 34.5 inches
• Broad jump: nine feet, 10 inches
• Three-cone drill: 6.95 seconds (fastest in position class)
• Shuttle drill: 4.3 seconds (fastest in position class)
• Bench press: Did not participate

What did we see?

Ramirez is perhaps one of the most explosive and smooth prospects in the pool. What really sticks out when watching him move around is how easy it is; Ramirez takes advantage of his arm length to create separation and keep his body balance under control to engage through his various moves as a pass rusher.

He excelled in any drill involving such control, bending and spinning around practice without looking rushed or hurried. Such confidence likely comes from his natural agility, as he topped all defensive ends in both the three-cone drill and the shuttle drill, being the onbnly prospect to get below seven seconds in the former drill.

All that said, there are still some areas to work on for Ramirez. His high motor can be the death of him at some points, most notably in overpursuit in the open field as seen during the change-of-direction drills, where he slipped several times either trying to anticipate the next move or overcorrecting.

Pass coverage drills were also a bit stiff for Ramirez, who wasn’t asked to cover the middle of the defense terribly often. He dropped a sure-fire interception in the zone breaking drill, and was late coming to the man coverage drill before catching that ball.

All considered, however, he largely confirmed what many scouts and media had seen in las Vegas last month: a pure speed rusher with a workable frame and the potential to develop run stopping moves in the right environment. He’ll likely need some time to stew and grow if he wants to hold up to NFL competition, but the tools are there.