LOOK: James Franklin pens heartfelt goodbye message to Arnold Ebiketie during 2022 NFL Draft

The 2022 NFL Draft is in full swing this weekend and the Penn State Nittany Lions have had a number of remarkably talented players selected during the first few days. The Atlanta Falcons sent picks No. 43 and No. 114 to the New York Giants for the No. 38 overall selection in the second round. Then, with that pick, they selected Penn State’s freakish defensive end, Arnold Ebiketie, one of the many gifted pass rushers in the 2022 draft cycle. Once he was selected by the Falcons, Nittany Lions’ head coach James Franklin posted a heartfelt message on Twitter.

🗣️ @CoachJFranklin pic.twitter.com/M6KsuOhdJf

— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) April 29, 2022

“We are extremely happy for AK [Arnold Ebiketie] to have earned this opportunity with the Atlanta Falcons. When people talk about player development, AK is one of the first guys that comes to my mind. He arrived in Happy Valley as a talented player with collegiate experience; however, his willingness to buy into our system and culture really allowed him to take his game to the next level. AK has an infectious personality and embodies our program’s core values. He always has a huge smile on his face and his positive attitude impacts our locker room on a daily basis. AK earned the respect of the staff and his teammates quickly through his maturity level and work ethic, which is something I expect will translate well at the next level. I am very excited to watch AK’s continued success for years to come with the Falcons.–James Franklin–Head Football Coach”

The 6-foot-2, 250-pound edge rusher gives the Atlanta Falcons a defender on the rise with a lot of good years of football ahead of him.

Ebiketie redshirted his first season with Temple before becoming a major contributor in 2019. He posted 42 tackles with four sacks and three forced fumbles in 2020, which put him on the path to transferring to a top-25 program. He chose Penn State and in his one Big Ten season, racked up 9.5 sacks and 62 tackles with 18 tackles for loss over 12 games.

Coming out of high school in Kensington, Maryland, Ebiketie was a three-star prospect, according to the On3. Consensus. Temple was one of just eight D-I programs to offer the defensive end.

Ahead of the NFL Draft, Ebiketie was a late first-round, early second-round projection.

What NFL draft analysts are saying about Arnold Ebiketie

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein broke down what Ebiketie can bring to the NFL in his recent scout of the defensive end’s draft profile.

The prospect analyst credited the Penn State mauler for his consistent pressure, however, he knocked him for his size.

“Purposeful rusher with good length,” Zierlein wrote. “Ebiketie is quiet to the edge with accurate, active hands and a pressure percentage worthy of projection. He’s not bendy and loose but uses body lean and skilled hands to grease the edge and access the pocket. He will need to keep adding to his bag of tricks as a pocket hunter, as he lacks the base and body type to hold his ground and plug up run games on a consistent basis. Ebiketie could see action as a sub-package pass rusher early in his career. He has the potential to find starting reps as a 3-4 rush linebacker in the future.”

The former Temple Owl has been a favorite of NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper.

“I liked him at Temple, loved him once he got to Penn State,” Kiper said. “He put it all together as a sack artist coming off the edge. He’s got speed, he’s got power and he’s got a relentless approach flying off the edge. Plays the run better than people give him credit for.”

On3’s Nikki Chavanelle also contributed to this article.