The Las Vegas Raiders are widely expected to add a nose tackle to the roster during the 2026 NFL draft, but where they take one is still a big mystery. As a result, Silver and Black Pride has been working through this year’s draft class, and Cincinnati’s Dontay Corleone is an interesting Day 3 option. The former Bearcat ranks 123rd overall and owns a fourth-round projection, according to NFL Mock Draft Database’s consensus big board, as of April 13.
Nicknamed “The Godfather” as a tribute to Vito Corleone
from the iconic 1970s movie, the defensive lineman can do the Raiders’ run defense a favor. Granted, he didn’t have much production this past season, recording just 13 tackles in 10 games. However, he’s the type of nose tackle who can be trusted to plug up gaps and take away rushing lanes to set up other defenders to make plays, evidenced by recording the fifth-best Pro Football Focus run defense grade (80.9) among Big 12 defensive tackles.
In other words, the tape better tells the story of what Corleone could bring to Las Vegas, so let’s dive in.
We’ll start with an example of the Cincinnati product setting up his teammate to make an impact tackle.
The offense is running split zone out of 11 personnel with the tight end on the short side of the field, as the defense responds by having the defensive line slant to the strong side of the offense’s formation while the two linebackers in the box slide in the opposite direction. That puts Corleone, lined up as a 0-technique nose tackle, into the strong side A-gap, where he’ll take on the center since the offensive line blocks in the same direction.
The running back’s first read is to the strong-side A-gap. However, Corleone does a great job of getting penetration and showing off some impressive upper-body strength to reset the line of scrimmage by using a long-arm against the center. That effectively cuts the field in half and forces the running back to attack the backside A-gap, where the SAM linebacker is waiting for him with the defense’s post-snap rotation.
Now, the right guard chasing the MIKE linebacker also helps the defense get an unblocked defender in the hole, but that doesn’t matter if the playside read isn’t taken away from the running back. Luckily, the nose tackle did his job and allowed the defense to dictate where the ball goes and win the rep as a unit.
Here, we’ll see a similar rep, only the offense is running outside zone with the split flow action instead of trying to hit the run up the gut. Also, the defense is in a five-man front with two linebackers on the line of scrimmage instead of the 3-2 look seen previously. But the defensive line has a similar assignment, slanting to the strong side of the formation.
Corleone, aligned as a 0-technique center again, slants into the playside A-gap and takes on a combo block from the center and backside guard. While he can do a better job of staying in his gap, what he does do well is get his hands on the center to disrupt the center’s path to the second level. Granted, No. 22 can be more aggressive to take advantage, in my opinion. But the linebacker at least has a better chance at defeating the offensive lineman’s block with the defensive lineman’s efforts.
Regardless, that becomes irrelevant because Corleone manages to gain ground vertically while moving laterally to get penetration. So, when the center releases to the second level, the nose tackle is already in the backfield. Also, he does a good job of getting skinny by turning his shoulders to split the combo block and prevent the guard from getting a clean hit on him.
As a result, Corleone cuts the field in half by taking away the playside gaps/read from the running back, forcing the cutback into the backside defenders for a short gain.
We’re going back to the 2024 season in this clip, as Caleb Rogers is in at right tackle and has a solid block. Obviously, that’s beside the point, though, as our subject has a dominant against a base block.
With a five-man box from Cincinnati, Texas Tech tries to get a hat on a hat with a man-blocking/running scheme to take advantage of the light box. The Red Raiders manage to execute the majority of their plan, as the offensive line gets some push on the defensive ends (shoutout Rogers) and works up to the second level. However, the center is going in the opposite direction.
Corleaone manages to use his strength and leverage at the point of attack to stand up the center and reset the line of scrimmage. He’s also two-gapping here, meaning he’s responsible for taking away rushing lanes on either side of the center. So, Corleone initially shows color in the A-gap toward the wide side of the field to take away the running back’s initial read, and has enough control of the block to force the back to dance in the backfield. That gives the safety more than enough time to get into the backfield and make a tackle for loss from depth.
This time, The Godfather is going to do the dirty work himself, AND get the glory.
With the Bearcats in another five-man box against 11 personnel, the nose tackle is going to two-gap again, and this rep ends up looking pretty similar to the last one. He beats the center at the point of attack and resets the line of scrimmage before peeking into the playside A-gap.
Since there is penetration in the middle and the backside defensive lineman stays in the B-gap, the running back is quick to bounce backside. That’s where Corleone gets his moment, working down the line of scrimmage and escaping the block just enough to get involved in the tackle for a short gain.
Now, this also brings to light a potential concern with the former Bearcat. He has short arms, measuring in under 32 inches at the NFL combine, which falls into the 10th percentile for a defensive tackle, per MockDraftable. That can make getting extension and shedding blocks difficult, which shows up here as the center stays engaged with him through the tackle attempt. This is part of the reason Corleone doesn’t show up on the stat sheet much.
We’re hopping in the time machine one more time for our final clip, and going all the way back to the 2023 season. Yes, this clip is so old that it has Dillon Gabriel at quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners when Oklahoma was still in the Big 12. But it highlights how effective Corleone can be with his combination of lateral movement skills and power when he keeps his weight down. For reference, Corleone was 340 pounds at the Combine and was listed at 318 pounds on the Bearcats’ 2023 roster.
Cincinnati is slanting its defensive line strong again, putting the nose tackle in the playside A-gap as the Sooners run duo. His initial quickness is the first thing that stands out, as he manages to move laterally and get his base set before taking on the block. Then, the strength and leverage take over, winning at the point of attack to reset the line of scrimmage against the guard before escaping the block just enough to get another tackle near the line of scrimmage.
If the Raiders wait or don’t address nose tackle early in the draft, then Corleone is a solid candidate on Day 3 of the draft. However, part of the reason for the weight gain mentioned above is that he was diagnosed with blood clots ahead of the 2024 season. That limited how much he could practice heading into the campaign, and might have lingering issues that scare teams off of him.
So, depending on his medicals, this could be a situation where Corleone slides further down the draft board than the public is expecting and potentially causes him to go undrafted. In other words, keep tabs on the Cincinnati prospect during draft weekend, but don’t be surprised if Las Vegas stays away from him, given the potential medical red flag.
