The Patriots could always use depth and competition. The interior offensive line is no exception. Here are five interior prospects the Patriots could acquire from the 2021 NFL draft.
Creed Humphrey Oklahoma 6'5" 315lbs
NFL.com draft score 6.26
AJ Schulte of PFN wrote, "Humphrey was productive as well as durable for Oklahoma, and showed consistent progress in his game. He’s a mobile center with growth potential who comes with an upside. Humphrey should be the first player at his position selected in April and have a long starting career in the NFL."
Lance Zierlien or NFL.com wrote, "Savvy, game-wise center with below-average length, good core strength and a full slate of intangibles desired at that position. Humphrey is praised inside the building for his outstanding leadership and having the recognition to make all the calls up front. He's more of a positional blocker than fork-lifter but has the core strength to neutralize and stalemate blockers at the point of attack. He's not a plus athlete but he's athletic enough as a move blocker, with the ability to work his feet into position to finish blocks after contact. He plays with a nasty streak when needed, which will appeal to offensive line coaches, but his overall profile might be more "steady" than "star." Humphrey is a solid, safe selection and should become a longtime starter."
Sooners wire wrote. "Creed had excellent performance in the athletic testing portion of the Sooners’ Pro Day workout last week. , where he recorder unofficial times of 5.09 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 4.46 seconds in the shuttle, and 7.54 seconds in the 3-cone drill while posting a 33-inch vertical and a 9-feet, 4-inch broad jump with 29 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press.
Humphrey is the top center in this year's draft, and after a great workout at his pro-day is shooting up draft boards, and could even be the first interior lineman selected. We evaluate him as late a first-round talent but may fall to the second because he is somewhat undersized."
Josh Meyers OSU
Nfl.com draft score 6.23
Ian Cummings of PFN wrote, "Explosive blocker at the pivot who displays terrific strength in his game. Fires off the snap, turns defenders from the line, and keeps his feet moving. Gets movement run blocking, fires out to the second level, and seals linebackers from the action. Anchors in pass protection, gets a shoulder on defenders, and takes them from their angles of attack. Effective with the shotgun snap. Effectively quarterbacks the offensive line. Stiff and doesn’t play like a nimble or overly athletic blocker. Struggles to adjust. Myers was a terrific center for Ohio State and comes with growth potential. While he’s effective at the second level, I do not project him as a pure zone-blocking lineman. However, Myers could be a longtime starter in the NFL in the proper system."
Chris Pflum of Big Blue View wrote, "Josh Myers projects as a starting center in the NFL, particularly for a team that favors a power run game based on man-gap or inside zone concepts.
Myers seems to have the football IQ to start immediately at the NFL level and communicated well with his linemates at Ohio State. Likewise, he has the play strength and enough short-area athleticism to play on the offensive line at the NFL level. Myers has solid technique for a prospect entering the NFL, which should shorten his learning curve as well. Myers’ height could work against him at the NFL level, as he needs to be aware of and work to maintain his leverage throughout the rep. He can lose his knee bend and hip level on longer reps, forcing his pads up, which can expose the 6-foot-5 center to more compact defensive tackles. Myers also has a somewhat limited effective range as a blocker, as he can find himself playing out over his toes when asked to work to the second level and block in space, or be out of position on outside zone plays. In those circumstances he can be prone to lunging at defenders, losing his balance, or losing accuracy with his punch."
Lance Zierlien of NFL.com wrote, "Future starting center with proportionally broad frame and good lean mass. Myers is battle-tested and has experience in most run-blocking schemes. He's functional working into lateral positioning but is at his best on double teams and working up to linebackers to free the Buckeyes' interior rushing attack. He's not a natural bender and has trouble with contact balance when allowing defenders to get up under his pads. His size works to his advantage against power rushers but protection will become a little leaky when asked to slide and mirror against athletic edge attacks. Myers is solid but unspectacular with the talent to become an early starter."
Taaga Tuulima Hawaii 6'2" 310lbs
Nfl.com draft score unknown, likely 5-5.6
Drae Harris of TDN wrote, "Taaga Tuulima aligned at center for Hawaii’s offense. He is a marginal athlete with regards to agility and body control. He is a little undersized, with regards to ideal parameters for the position. He is physical in the run game and has very good block temperament. He is physically tough and competitive on the interior. In the passing game, he demonstrates good hand quickness to snap and get his hands ready to punch. He doesn’t redirect laterally well and will have problems with more athletic rushers inside."
Matthew Kenerly of Mountain West Wire wrote, "Taaga Tuulima received only an honorable mention from the Mountain West media in 2019, but you could make a pretty convincing argument that he was underappreciated. For one, he was named the team’s offensive MVP in December. On top of that, he enters 2020 as one of college football’s most unique players, according to Pro Football Focus: 'The only player returning to college football with 700+ pass-blocking snaps and 0 sacks allowed in 2019.' "
Mike Whitmann of MWConnection wrote, "Tuulima was one of 67 athletes recently nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy, given to the nation’s most outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on. The Ewa Beach product began his career at Hawaii as a defensive tackle, but ultimately turned out to be a standout offensive lineman. He’s earned accolades both as a scholar-athlete and all-conference in the Mountain West. Tuulima started three seasons for Hawaii at center and anchored an offensive line that launched the success of recent seasons, keeping quarterbacks Cole McDonald and Chevan Cordeiro upright."
Taaga Tuulima only got better as a pass blocker and had one of the highest pass blocking grades in the nation but will need to sit and develop as a run blocker. Might be the best pass blocker in the draft. Tuulima can play guard, center, or tackle. Behind David Andrews, Tuulima could be the next star drafted and developed by Bill Belichick
Tommy Kraemer Notre Dame 6'6" 310lbs
Nfl.com draft score 5.65
Oliver Hodgkinson from PFN Wrote, "Tough, durable blocker who is best in a small area. Explosive, strong at the point, and always looks for someone to hit. Quickly sets up off the snap, stays square, and works his hands throughout the action. Anchors in pass protection, turns defenders off the line on running downs, and seals them from plays. Gets leverage on opponents, possesses outstanding size, and easily controls opponents once engaged in a block. Lacks agility and struggles to adjust. Not light on his feet and ineffective blocking in motion. Must do a better job sinking his butt at the line of scrimmage. Except for missing a few games late in his Notre Dame career due to an appendectomy, Kraemer was a terrific college blocker and is an underrated guard prospect for the NFL. He has athletic and scheme limitations but could start in a power-gap offense."
Lance Zierlien of nfl.com wrote, "Four-year starter from a school that has produced a steady stream of offensive line prospects over the last few years. With Kraemer starting, Notre Dame's offensive line took home the Joe Moore Award in 2017 and was a finalist in 2020. He possesses an NFL frame with strong hands to help sustain and finish. He's strong and works well with double-teams, but is just average staying centered on athletic opponents. Any time he starts to lose control of the rep in pass protection, his default is to lean and lunge -- but his feet stay behind, causing his balance to give way. He might have the size and ability to hang onto a backup role for a little while, but the waist-bending will be tough to correct and could become too easily exploited in the pros."
Cole Curasi of Game of Wisconsin wrote, "From a run blocking standpoint, Kraemer is an amazing prospect, he does everything right, he has the power and brains in his arsenal and he uses them extremely well. As a pass blocker, he has a lot of potential but his technical skills aren’t close to where they need to be for the NFL. Kraemer needs to get quicker hands, his feet can get quicker and need to stay moving, and he needs to get more bend and hand accuracy. If he can do that he can end up being a great late round steal. At this point Kraemer can be serviceable starter on a good offensive line that can make up for some mistakes that would be made."
Gene Pryor Hawaii 6'3" 315lbs
NFL.com draft score n/a
Tony Pauline of PFN wrote, "Two-year starter at tackle who projects to guard at the next level. Wide-bodied blocker who is best in a small area. Quickly sets up off the snap, shows strength at the point, and out-positions opponents from the action. Keeps his feet moving, stays square, and makes good use of angles. Sets with a wide base, effectively uses his hands, and has better-than-average footwork off the edge. Lacks balance and is ineffective blocking in motion. Gets tall as the play proceeds and does not consistently block with leverage. Pryor displayed consistent development in his game the past two seasons but was out of position at tackle. He comes with short arms and limited upside but has enough skill to grab a spot on a practice squad next fall."
Interior offensive linemen is more of a depth piece need at the moment but the Patriots should be keeping an eye out to improve at the position if possible and these guys could be just that.
No comments:
Post a Comment