Strengths

• Delivers a strong punch and uses his hands to shed blocks to make plays in the hole or outside the box. Uses lower-body strength to anchor inside.
• Played with good leverage, even on the nose, despite average bulk. Hustle defender with a good bull rush inside that can close and get home when quarterbacks leave the pocket.
• Strong tackler. Has good power in hands and can anchor, shed, and chase.
• Has the ability to create a pile in the middle, even showing the ability to split the occasional double-team. However, is just as often blown off the ball due to his high pad level.
• Provides some secondary interior pass rush, getting most penetration when playing three technique.

Weaknesses

• Must improve hand use and read-and-react skills. Lacks the violent hands to shed and can be eliminated by double-team blocks.
• Plays upright and struggles with leverage. Too often stonewalled at the line and doesn't show the hand strength or technique to shed or redirect blockers.
• Lacks closing speed and inconsistent quickness off the snap prevents him from being an elite pass rusher.
• Isn't able to consistently shed blocks and makes plays in the hole.
• Short arms could lead to problems against NFL-caliber offensive linemen with longer arms able to get into his chest.

Dion Novil percentiles vs other Defensive Line's (NFL Combine historically - higher value represents better perfomance)