David Gusta DT Kentucky |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Scouting Report: Weaknesses

• Sack numbers simply are not there despite all the pressure. 2.5 sacks in 44 career games tells you he creates disruption but cannot finish at the quarterback.
• Shorter arms make it tough for him to keep offensive linemen from latching onto his chest, and once they get into his frame, he struggles to disengage.
• Tackling is a legitimate concern. His missed tackle rate spiked in 2025, and too many of his attempts end with arm grabs instead of wrapping through the ball carrier.
• Double teams swallow him up. He will fight and compete, but he lacks the length and anchor to consistently split combo blocks or hold his ground when two linemen get to his body.
• Base tends to narrow when he gets into his pass-rush moves as a penetrator, which costs him balance and leads to him ending up on the ground more than you would like to see.

Scouting Report: Summary

Gusta is a tricky evaluation because the effort and hand violence are real, but the production and measurables raise questions about his ceiling. His best tape came during that 2024 season at Washington State, where he looked like a completely different player rushing the passer. He generated pressure at an impressive rate that year, and the film backed up the numbers with violent hands, a quick first step, and a willingness to work through blocks rather than just absorb them. The problem is that his 2025 Kentucky tape showed some regression, particularly in the tackling department, and the sack totals across his entire career suggest he is more of a pocket pusher than a quarterback-getter.

At the next level, Gusta makes the most sense as a rotational 1-technique or 3-technique in an odd-front scheme that values interior disruption. He is not going to be a two-gap nose tackle who eats blocks and holds the point. That is not his game. Where he fits best is in a defense that lets him attack upfield, use his hands, and create some chaos in the B-gap. A team running a Vic Fangio-style system or a penetrating one-gap front would get the best version of this player. His run defense grades have been consistently solid throughout his career, and he showed he can hold up against SEC offensive lines, which counts for something.

The reality is that Gusta profiles as a developmental interior defender who will need to earn his way onto a roster through special teams work and preseason flashes. His lack of length and below-average testing numbers will scare some teams away, and the tackling issues are not something you can ignore at the pro level. But there is a tough, physical football player in there who plays with his hair on fire every single snap. If a coaching staff can clean up his base, teach him to finish as a pass rusher, and get him in a scheme that accentuates his strengths, he has a legitimate shot at carving out a role. He is exactly the kind of under-the-radar interior lineman that good defensive line coaches turn into useful NFL pieces.