On up-the-middle runs, he would bring defensive ends to a standstill; on wide pitches, he would speed out toward the sideline and wallop a linebacker. In all, he notched 67 pancakes in his last season at North Carolina State.
“Teams knew what we were going to run,” Ekwonu said. “That just made me want to beat them even more. Anytime you can run the ball on someone who knows what’s coming, it just feels good.”
Leading up to the combine, Ekwonu worked with trainers from the biomechanics company Sports Academy. He had two main goals: to lock in a reliable 40 time — he hadn’t run one in more than five years — and to prep for the even bigger demands for N.F.L. linemen. His trainers likened Ekwonu’s burst to that of a skill position player more than 100 pounds lighter, a quality that might once have been a luxury and is now almost requisite.
“You have to be more athletic and able to carry on a play for a longer duration,” Taylor Ramsey, a Sports Academy trainer, said. “It’s not three to six seconds anymore, it’s five to eight, being able to make one play at the line and then another one downfield.”
Ekwonu’s N.F.L. idol is Trent Williams, a 2021 All-Pro for the 49ers who ran a 4.81 40-yard dash at the combine in 2010. As part of San Francisco’s intricate schemes, which can involve fullbacks splitting out to wide receiver and wideouts taking handoffs, Williams sometimes lines up away from his normal left tackle position. When Williams shifts into the backfield, ready to hurry to some surprising spot and knock over whomever he meets there, Ekwonu sees a blueprint for how his future team might use him.
“I feel like the N.F.L. is really good at playing to the personnel they have,” Ekwonu said. “Really playing to their strengths.” His next team will have a few to choose from.