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2019 NFL Scouting Combine: Offensive Line Notes

Trey Daubert / College Football, NFL, NFL Draft / March 2, 2019

It’s finally here! The 2019 NFL Scouting Combine kicks off with the offensive line and running backs. We’re going to focus on the offensive line for this one. The offensive line, in my opinion, is all about movement skills. I want to see guys be able to bend their knees and shuffle their feet with ease. Show some power in the bench and in drills. Have some nasty to your game. Finish the drills with the thump.

2019 NFL Combine Offensive Line *General Overview:

A lot of the verbiage in this section may be difficult to understand but I will simplify it as best I can. When watching the offensive lineman during the on the field drills I take a different approach than more draft experts would. For example, one player may be a natural knee bender while the other bends at his back instead. Does a player show fluid hip movement? It’s things of that nature that I care about. The normal arm length measurables that people look for is 32″ arms for guards and 34″ arms for tackles. I will break the offensive lineman into groups to give the viewer a better understanding of what kind of offensive lineman each player is.

Okay, here we go. Let’s take a look at the offensive lineman that stood out for better or worse at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine!

Highly Rated Tackles

Coming into the day, I was under the impression that Jonah Williams was leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else. I was dead wrong. I was super disappointed. His arms were shorter (33 5/8 inch) than you wanted to see but that’s fine. His 40 time was fine (5.12). It was just everything else. His movement skills were maybe above average. He stumbled a few times getting into pass rushing drills.

The biggest concerns have to deal with power. Upper body and Lower body. His jumping numbers were weak. For an athletic tackle, 28 inch vert and 8-4 broad is not great. You could see that in the drills as well. Just a really weak base with zero anchor. The upper body was also apparent. 23 reps for 225 is okay. This clip says it all and provides an excellent transition. The back half of that clip has Williams taking on a down block (number 57). Does that scream first round left tackle?

The first half of that clip introduces us to Jawaan Taylor. Compare (number 55) Taylor’s punch on the bag compared to Williams. Those are the top two tackles according to most people in the draft. Which leads me to Taylor. The Florida tackle won the day. He has what you’re looking for. Huge punch and can move people with ease. He had one more bench rep than Williams but his arms are also significantly bigger (35 1/8 inch). Taylor didn’t run the 40 because he’s been dealing with a hamstring injury which you could see hampered his drills but this dude fought his ass off. Taylor’s kick slide was more polished from the right side which makes sense considering he was a right tackle for Florida.

This last clip was the highlight of the day. Dalton Risner goes crazy as the rabbit. Taylor keeps up with him step for step. Taylor’s feet were solid. Hand positioning in check but could have been slightly better. This guy just won the day.

I do want to give some credit to Risner. I got on him for his lackluster Senior Bowl performance but he had a good day today. He’s a bit stiff and his hand movement in the drills is odd but you can just tell he’s a grinder. His 23 bench press reps were even better than I expected. Here’s the bad news. His 1.93 10-yard split time was by far the slowest of any offensive lineman. For someone who isn’t an oversized tackle, that’s a horrible sign. Not athletic and not overpowering. YIKES.

If Jawaan Taylor didn’t win the day I thought Andre Dillard may be the other candidate. He was awesome. Just such a polished pass protector. Dillard is an easy mover and super smooth. I think the thing that stood out with Dillard was his first step. Super explosive get off. Check out this clip. The Washington State product fires out of his stance. It’s awesome.

Dillard ran fast at 4.96. His 10-yard time was the second best of any lineman. He benched 24 reps which is fine. He had the second best 3-cone drill. This is just a really athletic plug and play left tackle. The only downside to his day was he got fatigued later on in the day and his stance got narrow. Maybe you want to check into that but Dillard is just damn good. He carried the momentum over from the Senior Bowl.

Speaking of Senior Bowl, Chuma Edoga is also in the latter half of the clip above. His feet are just so sweet. Edoga won the Senior Bowl practice MVP because of his pass protection. His kick slide is just a thing of beauty. The only downside to his day was when he had to flip his hips, he got a little high in the one drill. I don’t think that’s going to be a problem at tackle which is good.

Oklahoma

It seemed like every guy on the field was from Oklahoma. Ben Powers didn’t compete in the drills who would have made it 4 deep. The headliner is Cody Ford. My takeaway from Ford was just so so. I got what I expected. Average feet. Average athletic traits. BUT… a monster lower half. You can tell he has some thump in those legs. It was a weird day for Ford who injured himself in the bench press. I think he has some serious potential at guard but I’m not sure if he moves well enough to make it as an every down tackle. I don’t think Bobby Evans is getting enough love. He has some Orlando Brown vibes to him. Not as disastrous as a workout but his performance during the drills isn’t going to wow you but this is a good football player. Dru Samia was the other Sooner who I didn’t have a strong opinion about either way. Middle round flier.

Center

Garrett Bradbury was getting all the hype. The NC State center had a solid Senior Bowl but I thought he had a really up and down day here. 34 bench reps is crazy good. A 4.94 – 40 time is solid. I had a problem with the way he was losing his footing during the drills. It happened at least 3 or 4 different occasions. If you rewind his footage and really watch, Bradbury struggles with balance. His footwork is shaky. Slow it down and really watch the feet. he’s on his back heels way too often. His arms aren’t even on the way level. One usually drops to a side to help with balance. I think it could be an issue. It’s was eye opening for me.

Off The Board

Yodney Cajuste of West Virginia. I need to know where this hype came from. This guy stinks. Bad feet. Zero drive. Stiff in drills. Just bad. What’s up with the Denmark guy? Hjalte Froholdt via Arkansas looked lost. Roller skate city. Jackson Barton from Utah. God does he stink. Looks like a basketball player that never blocked a day in his life. All three Wisconsin guys blow. It’s unbelievable. Never thought that would ever happen. Michael Jordan couldn’t have been higher in his stance if he tried. Totally out. Paul Adams and Trey Pipkins… Welcome to undrafted free agency. Who would draft an offensive lineman who rips out 16 reps for 225? So embarrassing. Tyler Roemer from San Diego State got kicked off the team for behavior but it was probably for the best because he stinks too. Josh Miles is just an idiot. Couldn’t pay attention to what the drills were. Tyler Jones is a total sand bagger. Couldn’t have tried less as the rabbit in the drill. How about William Sweet of UNC. It looked like he was dealing with the stanky leg while blocking. It was odd. Jevon Patterson had some serious plumbers crack and was stumbling all over the place. Isaiah Prince needed a map. He was lost and flying in circles. All the guys I just mentioned, just cross them off now.

Worth The Risk

There are some lineman I like that aren’t total packages but they have something to work with. Greg Little tops that list. One second you watch him and he looks lost. Watch him flip his hips down the line. It’s awful.

The next time you watch him, he looks pretty good. Little had some good moments in pass pro and in the mirror drill. It depends on the time you watch him. Bad hips, bad feet, no depth perception? BUT… the tools are visible. It’s a tough one to explain.

How about Oli Udoh, too. He guy is a house. Udoh doesn’t move great all the time but considering how big he is, it’s pretty impressive. He clearly dropped some weight for this event. Udoh wears 17 size shoes and it’s so awesome to watch.

Just Flat Out Good

Max Scharping was impressive. He’s just a pro. Smooth operator, great hand work, and utilized a great kick slide. Chris Lindstrom rocks too. He lit up the Senior Bowl and continued the momentum. Somebody is getting a good one. I thought Tytus Howard looked good. You can tell he’s a bit raw but the high end plays are impressive. Ryan Bates from Penn State looks like the typical swing guy. He had a nice day. Erik McCoy needs more love too. Why can’t he be the best center in the class? I’m still not finding many reasons not to like him.

Finally, Nate Davis. Talk about a guy. The lower half is perfect. Awesome technique. Great knee bend. Never gets tired. It’s phenomenal.