The NFL Scouting Combine is in full swing in Indianapolis, Indiana, which means every team in the NFL is setting up both formal and informal meetings with players and agents.
In all honesty, this is probably one of my favorite parts of the offseason. It’s the first time that we get a glimpse at what players your team might have their eyes on, and who the front office is vetting. While the team may have met with some of these guys at all-star games like the Senior Bowl, for many of this draft class’s
top prospects, this might be the first opportunity to meet representatives of the team in person.
Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach spoke to reporters earlier this week about the team’s offseason plans, including the draft and free agency. As always, Veach spoke about the value of finding guys in the trenches, and to that point, the Chiefs have met with a lot of this year’s top defensive linemen — including Iowa State nose tackle Dominique Orange.
Background
On Thursday morning at the Combine, Orange measured 6 feet 2 inches tall and 322 pounds. His arm length was measured to be 33 3/8 inches and he showed off 10 1/4-inch hands.
The 21-year-old Orange, who is known to fans by the nickname ‘Big Citrus,’ is a Kansas City native who attended North Kansas City High School in Kansas City, Missouri. Coming out of high school in the class of 2022, the Hornet alumnus was a three-star recruit, the 99th-ranked defensive lineman nationally and the 16th-ranked player in the state of Missouri. Despite receiving offers from Power-5 schools like Ohio State, Missouri, Michigan, Oregon, Texas, and Georgia, Orange opted to play at Iowa State University.
An interesting note to point out about Orange, and something to keep an eye on when making draft predictions, is that he was recruited to Iowa State by the current Los Angeles Rams wunderkind offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase — another native of Kansas City who graduated from Rockhurst High School.
In 2025, Orange earned third-team All-Big 12 honors and was on the Academic All-Big 12 team in 2024.
My analysis
Orange is a traditional nose tackle, a body eater that can take on a double team and stand his ground. He shows a good ability to shed blocks while carrying his enormous frame well. He has pretty good agility and speed for being so massive as well.
He shows consistent effort on the line and does not take plays off. He is also a dog in pursuit and takes good angles to track guys down from behind or cut them off on the boundary, and is an overall menace to deal with in the run game.
As you can see in the clip above, Orange earns his nickname of “Big Citrus.” He is one of the physically strongest players in this draft and maintains good pad level at the point of contact to maintain forward momentum and leverage against the center.
Iowa State plays a lot of odd fronts (three down linemen), and Orange lined up at nose tackle for 74% of his snaps during his college career.
By default, there won’t be a ton of pass-rushing production out of that player profile. In an odd front, the primary job of the nose tackle is to collapse the pocket and take up the attention of as many linemen as possible. This prevents the quarterback from stepping up to make a throw, instead forcing a roll out to create favorable matchups for defensive ends and linebackers rushing the passer. Orange excels here and uses his swim move and bull rush to great effect.
His numbers may not reflect it, he had only one sack in college, but Orange is definitely a factor offensive coordinators have to account for regardless of their play call.
There is one part of Orange’s game that often goes unnoticed: he excels at getting across the face of the center and guards, setting up stunts so defensive ends and linebackers can loop around and attack through the vacated space inside.
Fit with the Chiefs
Fit: Very high
Round grade: Second or Third
Orange would be an immediate upgrade over the two veterans that have manned the nose tackle spot for years: Mike Pennel and Derrick Nnadi; he would also be the best run-stuffing defensive lineman the Chiefs have had in recent history.
That being said, Kansas City’s lack of pass rushers must be considered here too. If you want to earn the right to rush the quarterback on third and long, you have to stop the offense on early downs first; Orange helps you do that. Spending pick 74 on a guy like this would be a likable outcome.
