Alex
Wright.
Alex
Wright.
UAB· 6'5"· 271 lb
Wright is an oversized edge defender who wins first with length. At 6-7 and 270 pounds he lines up as a five-technique or wide nine, gets his hands on a tackle's chest before the tackle can land, and locks out to control the edge in the run game instead of running himself out of the gap.
The second trait is the inside rush. UAB kicked him down on passing downs and he was more disruptive there, where long arms and heavy hands translate quicker than the bend he does not have. He is stiff turning the corner and his get-off is average, so the sack production came from power and relentlessness rather than speed. The separator is a frame that can carry another 20 pounds without losing anything.
The Cleveland Browns run a modified 4-3 defense, which emphasizes a strong pass rush from the defensive ends and seeks to create disruption.
Wright projects as a Day 1 rotational 4-3 strong-side defensive end with the potential to develop into a full-time starter who can set the edge and generate interior pressure.
He would struggle in a 3-4 two-gap scheme that requires him to consistently hold his ground against double teams and read-and-react to the run.
Wright's size, length, and power make him a natural fit for a one-gap 4-3 system where he can primarily function as an edge setter and occasional interior rusher.
Alex Wright Scouting Report ~ Cleveland Browns Edge ~ 2022 NFL Draft
Draft-cycle breakdown of his UAB tape, focused on the length, edge-setting and the bend limitations.
Alex Wright - D Line/Edge 2022 NFL Draft
Cutup of his junior season showing both the five-technique work and the inside rushes on passing downs.
Film Breakdown: Alex Wright
Post-draft film study explaining what Cleveland saw and how the rush plan projected to the NFL.
Wright arrived at UAB from Elba, Alabama as a lightly recruited prospect and left as one of the more physically striking defenders in the class. He is enormous for an edge player, and the evaluation was always about whether that size came with the athletic traits to rush the passer or only the leverage to set an edge.
Three seasons produced 90 tackles, 20 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks in 34 games, with the best year coming last: 45 stops, 8.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, 12 quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles in 2021. The tape matched the numbers in a specific way. He controlled tackles with length and effort, held up against the run without help, and was at his best when UAB slid him inside on obvious passing downs. The flags were bend and burst, the two traits that most separate NFL edge rushers, and neither was there.
The board saw a developmental five-technique with tools rather than a finished rusher, a Day 2 name whose grade swung on scheme. To a team wanting an every-down 4-3 end who can play heavy, he was a value. To a team needing a 10-sack edge, he was a project. Taking him here meant the front office believed length and motor would be enough while the technique caught up.
- 01
Length
A 6-7 frame with 34-inch arms that lets him land first, lock out tackles and control the edge before a blocker can get into his chest.
- 02
Run defense
Sets a hard edge without needing help, holding ground against down blocks and forcing plays to bounce back inside to pursuit.
- 03
Inside rush value
Was most disruptive when UAB kicked him down to three-technique on passing downs, where his power hit guards immediately.
- 04
Steady production growth
Improved every healthy year, closing with 8.5 tackles for loss, six sacks and 12 quarterback hurries as a junior.
- 05
Untapped frame
At 270 pounds he still had room to add weight, giving a defense flexibility to build him into a heavy every-down end.
- 01
Bend
Stiff through the hips and ankles, so he cannot flatten around the arc and tackles can simply ride him past the quarterback.
- 02
Get-off
Average first step for an edge player, which erases the length advantage against tackles who get out of their stance cleanly.
- 03
Pass-rush plan
Wins on power and effort with few developed counters, and his hands work better to control than to defeat blocks.
- 04
Competition
Three years in Conference USA with limited reps against Power Five tackles left real doubt about how the length would hold up.
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| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | UAB | 14 | 28 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 | UAB | 8 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2021 | UAB | 12 | 45 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Career | — | 34 | 90 | 11.5 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
cfbstats confirms 2020 and 2021 exactly, including the 12 quarterback hurries in 2021; 2019 comes from Sports-Reference. Tackles sum exactly to the 90 career total. Cleveland's team site lists 31 games and 91 tackles for his UAB career, against the 34 and 90 in the season-by-season sources used here.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
A long, high-effort rotational end who holds up against the run and gets a handful of sacks without ever becoming a feature rusher.
The ceiling: a huge, long edge who never bends but produces for a decade on power, length and batted passes.
Big-framed Day 2 edge whose lack of burst leaves him as a depth body bouncing between rosters.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Alex Wright has played two seasons as a defensive end for the Cleveland Browns. He has been a rotational pass rusher and run defender.
Cleveland used him exactly as a rotational, run-first end behind Myles Garrett. He played all 17 games as a rookie in 2022 with 28 tackles, five passes defensed and no sacks, then found real production in 2023 with 25 tackles, five sacks and two forced fumbles, including a sack in four straight games to close the year. 2024 was lost: he tore his triceps, played through it for four games, recorded a sack and a safety at Jacksonville, and had season-ending surgery in October. He came back in 2025 for his best season yet, nine starts, 37 tackles, 5.5 sacks and a forced fumble in 14 games.
The verdict is a fair, unspectacular third-round return. He is 11.5 sacks across four seasons, a real rotational piece on a defense that has had one of the league's best edge rushers taking the attention opposite him, and never the double-digit disruptor that would have justified a higher pick. The pre-draft flags were right: the bend never developed, and he wins now the same way he did at UAB, with length, power and effort. Solid value, no more, no less, with the triceps injury costing him what should have been his breakout year.
Data note: Imported from Wikipedia 2022 NFL draft player selections table.