NFL Analysis

10/28/24

5 min read

Ashton Gillotte 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Louisville Cardinals EDGE Defender

Louisville’s Ashton Gillotte sacks Boston College’s Thomas Castellanos Saturday afternoon in L & N Stadium. Sept. 23, 2023

Height: 6030 (unofficial)

Weight: 275 lbs (unofficial)

Year: Senior

Pro Comparison: Olivier Vernon

Scouting Overview

Louisville edge defender Ashton Gillotte is a powerful, versatile defensive lineman with the potential to impact all three downs at the NFL level. Gillotte has been a disruptive presence for the Cardinals for multiple seasons, showcasing the ability to collapse the edge with power, implement hand counters around the edge, or twist inside and attack interior gaps.

Gillotte has been productive against the run while continuing to improve his effectiveness in pressuring opposing passers. At the next level, teams that desire the ability to compress the pocket and are willing to play twist games on long and late downs will get the most out of his hot motor and functional play strength. 

2025 NFL Combine Results

TBD

Positives

  • Understands how to attack pass sets and implements a variety of counters without delay at the point of contact
  • Inside versatility on passing downs to rush over guards
  • Motor runs hot on second and third effort rushes

Negatives

  • Lacks the ideal, prototypical length to play the point of attack with separation
  • As a power end, he lacks the high-speed cornering abilities that force more margin for error by opposing tackles
  • Can battle for leverage at the point of attack at times despite playing with a compact and low-built frame

Background

Ashton Gillotte is from Boca Raton, FL, and played high school football for Boca Raton HS. There, he was ranked as a 3-star recruit (247 Sports) while playing on both sides of the ball as a defensive end and tight end. Gillotte enrolled at Louisville over other programs such as Maryland, Pitt, Syracuse, Duke, and Kansas. 

Gillotte appeared in 12 games as a true freshman in 2021 and became a starter ahead of the 2022 campaign. He was named All-ACC honorable mention that season while finishing third on the team in sacks with six. By his junior season, Gillotte was first-team All-ACC while also earning CSC Academic All-American honors off the field. He’s become one of the most refined technical pass rushers in the class of 2025. 


Louisville edge defender Ashton Gillotte
Louisville Cardinals defensive lineman Ashton Gillotte (9) brought down Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Devin Leary (13) for a sack in the first half on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023.

Tale of THe Tape

Gillotte has an NFL frame and the kind of functional play strength that should allow him to sustain his style of play at the NFL level. This dense, powerful player is afforded natural leverage thanks to his frame, allowing him to roll underneath the pads of blockers while maintaining a sturdy posture.

As a result, his center of gravity is strong, and he’ll apply ground force through his lower half into his challenges at the point of attack, giving him a strong jolt despite not having the ideal length to play the position on the edge. 

Gillotte has been a standout run defender for multiple seasons, and his pass-rush prowess and consistency have grown annually, even amid a sack reduction during the 2024 season. His pressure rate is still strong, and he’s showing more variety in how he can win, particularly around the outside.

Teams that look to loop their rushers and attack protection schemes will get the most immediate impact at the next level — Gillotte shows a strong feel for developing creases and carries his momentum through on T-E stunts with a burst-through inside gaps in order to uncover in the face of the quarterback. 

This is a savvy player with good football IQ as well; he’ll stay home on boot action or sense the opportunity to play upfield against horizontal action to cut the progress of the ball to the perimeter. And, with rush variety on interior gaps and the edge, there’s a case to be made that this can and should be a high-volume snap taker in schemes that allow their best players up front to stay on the field. 

However, Gillotte is not a perfect player. His length can be a barrier to block deconstruction at times, and larger tackles will have the opportunity to engulf him at the point of attack unless he remains disciplined with his hand placement. He is more of a gap control player than he is a chaotic penetration player — leaving him vulnerable in some matchups on account of his length. 

Ashton does have the frame to anchor, even against bigger tackles. But in quick disengagement opportunities at the point of attack, I do worry that he won't uncover enough to stop ball carrier progress unless he’s playing with anticipation of cuts.

In those instances, you do need to consider leveraging another defender outside of him to avoid forcing him into split decisions that risk losing the edge. As a result, some teams could grade him lower knowing they might need to deviate away from preferred front structure to keep him best positioned for consistent success. 

I’m not sure the ceiling for Gillotte as a pass rusher will ever be rooted in rushing four down organically and asking him to attack off the edge. Length hurts him here, too.

His ability to corner with speed and showcase the flexibility to overtake tackles is sufficient but not a standout ability. Teams must be willing to move him around to unlock his full potential, and if other personnel serve as a blockade to that, he could be a part of a rotation early in his career. 


Ideal Scheme Fit, Role

A hand-down defensive end who can reduce inside and rush on long and late downs. This is a potential high-volume snap taker at the NFL level, thanks to his run game anchor and hand counter variety. 


Grade: 81.50/100.00, Early Second Round Value

Big Board Rank: TBD

Position Rank: TBD


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