Ashton Gillotte 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Prospect: Ashton Gillotte
Position: Defensive End
School: Louisville
Year: True Senior

Background

Born October 30, 2002 (age 22). A native of Boca Raton, Fla., Gillotte was a four-year letterman in football for Boca Raton HS, playing multiple positions and both sides of the field. His saw the most time as a defensive end, with his most productive season coming as a junior, when he finished with 87 tackles, 22 for loss, 16 sacks and three forced fumbles. He also lettered in both weightlifting and track, earning First-Team All-County honors with a 545 pound total lift, then setting a 41' 1" personal best in the shot put.

Even with all the experience and production in multiple sports, Gillotte was only regarded as the No. 1,281 prospect in the Class of 2021. A handful of FBS programs extended him offers, such as Duke, Kansas, Maryland, Pitt and Syracuse, but he ultimately chose Louisville.

Once on campus as an early enrollee, Gillotte's frame exploded, going from 220 pounds as a senior at Boca Raton to 260 pounds by the end of spring ball. Because of this, he was able to earn a role in Louisville's two-deep, and was one of their top linemen as just a true freshman. Playing all 13 games and making a pair of starts, he collected 8.0 tackles for loss and four sacks - both of which were second on the team to Yasir Abdullah - as well as 19 tackles overall.

Gillotte became a regular starter for the Cardinals as a sophomore, and continued to progress in his abilities as a pass rusher. Missing only one game due to injury while starting the other 12, he posted 24 tackles, eight for loss, seven sacks, two fumble recoveries and one forces. This was enough for him to earn an All-ACC honorable mention.

Even after head coach Scott Satterfield left for Cincinnati and former Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm took over, Gillotte stayed with Louisville. Playing in a defensive scheme under Ron English that is more tailored towards defensive ends, Gillotte then flourished into one of the best edge rushers in the nation.

His best season came as a junior in 2023. Starting all 14 games, he collected 14.5 tackles for loss, 11.0 sacks, three forced fumbles and 45.0 tackles overall. His sack total led the ACC, was good for eighth in the FBS, and was ninth on the single-season sack list in Louisville history.

As you can imagine, Gillotte collected plenty of accolades for his standout junior campaign. He earned First-Team All-ACC honors and was the runner-up in ACC Defensive Player of the Year voting, while also earning multiple Second-Team All-American nods.

Instead of declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft, Gillotte opted to come back for his senior season. While he had a little bit of a slow statistical start, he still managed to be incredibly impactful. Starting all 12 regular season games, he finished with 43 total tackles (23 solo), 10 for loss and 4.5 sacks to earn a Second-Team All-ACC selection. But even with the dip in sack/TFL production, he still generated 57 total pressures (per PFF), which was just one fewer than his junior year in two fewer games.

Gillotte would later opt out of the Sun Bowl to start the pre-draft process. He also declined an invitation to the Senior Bowl. He departed the Cardinals as one of their top pass rushers in program history, with his 41.0 career tackles for loss ranking fifth in school history, and his 26.5 sacks coming in at sixth.

Measurements

At the NFL Combine, Gillotte measured in at 6 feet and 2 5/8 inches (6025) and 264 pounds, along with 8 1/4" hands and 31 7/8″ arms. Additionally, he leapt 10 feet (120″) in the broad jump and 36.5″ in the vertical, and did 24 reps on the bench press. At Louisville's Pro Day, Gillotte ran the 40-yard dash in 4.65 seconds (with 1.59 and 2.54 10- and 20-yard splits, respectively), ran the short shuttle in 4.35 seconds and the three-cone drill in 6.94 seconds.

Based on these measurements and numbers, Gillotte earned a Relative Athletic Score of 9.75 out of 10, ranking 52nd out of 2,028 defensive ends from 1987 through 2025 (97th percentile).

Scouting Report

Strengths

• Possesses fantastic strength and physicality/athleticism overall. First step off the ball is well above average, and he operates with a motor that never, ever slows down.
• Has incredible speed-to-power on his initial moves. Gillotte consistently uses his hands to deliver a violent first strike that can knock tackles off balance. This can both collapse the pocket quickly on pass rushes, as well as take down running backs fairly quickly
• Can play both at true outside end or a little inside, and has both good pad level and bend overall no matter where he lines up.
• Gillotte consistently either takes good pursuit angles, or makes good reads when expecting what blocks are coming. He also can just use his pure power to force his way through.

Weaknesses

• Gillotte is a 3-4/4-3 edge rush 'tweener, that doesn't have the height or length that clearly fits either role. While his game speed is good, it could be better.
• His burst and motor is a great combo, but it sometimes produces a somewhat reckless approach that needs to be reigned in.
• Is good at initial strikes, but his overall pass rush tool box could use some more effective counters against lineman who aren't immediately overwhelmed by his bull rush.
• Can sometimes be taken out of a play completely by angle and kick-out blocks. Also can be swallowed up by tackles with longer arms due to his average wingspan.

NFL Comparison

• DeMarcus Lawrence (Boise State - 2012-13, Dallas Cowboys - 2014-24, Seattle Seahawks - 2025)

Highlights