Height: 6-4

Weight: 251 pounds

Year: RS Junior

Pro Comparison: Willie Young 

Pros for Boubacar Traore

• Traore has the requisite frame and length profile you look for in a starting EDGE defender 
• From a first step perspective, Traore can threaten the outside shoulder in a hurry 
• He showed a deeper pass rush repertoire in 2025, increasing his plan of attack and counters 
• Traore has experience playing from both a two- and three-point stance 
• There have been opportunities to rush from wider alignments, while also looping into interior gaps during his career
• With a good combination of explosiveness and closing speed, Traore still has some untapped upside to work with 

Cons for Boubacar Traore

• While he plays with good effort in the run game, Traore’s recognition and play strength are still a work in progress 
• His bend is just average working the outside track, can get washed around the pocket 
• Traore still needs to learn how to string counters together at a higher level 
• His explosiveness appeared to be compromised at times in 2025 after coming back from an ACL injury during the 2024 season 

Background

Boubacar Traore enters the 2026 season as one of the veterans in Notre Dame’s defensive line rotation after spending the past three seasons developing into a productive contributor. After seeing limited action as a true freshman in 2023, Traore’s role expanded over the next two years as he became a regular part of the Fighting Irish defensive line rotation. His first significant breakthrough came during the 2025 season, when he emerged as Notre Dame’s top pass rusher, finishing the year with 37 tackles, ten tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and two quarterback hurries while appearing in every game. Throughout his career, Traore has flashed the explosive first step and closing speed that made him a coveted recruit, and he enters 2026 expected to compete for a starting role while serving as one of the Irish’s most experienced edge defenders.

A native of West Roxbury, Massachusetts, Traore was one of the top defensive prospects in the 2023 recruiting cycle. The standout from Catholic Memorial was widely viewed as a consensus four-star recruit and ranked among the nation’s top edge defenders by every major recruiting service. On3 ranked him as the No. 126 overall player and No. 14 EDGE nationally, while the 247Sports Composite listed him as the No. 221 overall prospect, No. 27 defensive lineman, and No. 4 player in Massachusetts. His blend of length, burst, and athletic upside attracted offers from several national powers, including Penn State, Michigan, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, and Maryland, before he ultimately committed to Notre Dame. Although he arrived as a relatively raw pass rusher, his physical tools and developmental ceiling made him one of the highest-upside defensive signees in the Irish’s 2023 recruiting class.

Player Evaluation

Boubacar Traore possesses many of the physical tools NFL teams covet in an EDGE defender, boasting the frame, length, and athletic profile to develop into a quality starter. His first-step explosiveness allows him to quickly threaten offensive tackles on the outside, and he took a noticeable step forward as a pass rusher in 2025 by expanding his repertoire with a more diverse set of moves and counters. Traore has also demonstrated valuable positional versatility, showing comfort rushing from both two- and three-point stances while lining up in wide alignments or looping inside on stunts. Combined with his closing speed and overall athleticism, there is still plenty of untapped upside that suggests his best football could still be ahead of him.

There are still areas of Traore’s game that require refinement, however. Although he plays with consistent effort against the run, his block recognition and functional play strength remain inconsistent, limiting his effectiveness at the point of attack. As a pass rusher, his bend around the edge is adequate but not exceptional, causing him to occasionally get pushed beyond the quarterback’s launch point. He also continues to develop a more advanced pass-rush plan, particularly when it comes to linking counters together after his initial move is stalled. Additionally, there were stretches during the 2025 season where his explosiveness appeared diminished as he worked his way back from the ACL injury that ended his 2024 campaign, raising questions about whether he’ll fully recapture his pre-injury burst.

If Traore begins to regain even more explosiveness and improves his overall technique, he has a chance to develop into a future starter. There is still some substantial upside to tap into as a pass rusher.