Paris Johnson Jr
Ohio State
Grade: 1st Rd
AP Photo/Jay LaPrete
Ohio State offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. has had a successful transition from guard to offensive tackle for the 2022 college football season. This has positioned him to be the first Buckeyes offensive tackle to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft since 2016. Johnson graduated from Princeton High School as a five-star standout and the top OT in the 2020 recruiting cycle. Despite never playing the position, Johnson began the 2022 campaign as a highly-ranked OT prospect for the 2023 NFL Draft. He played over 800 snaps and gave up just two sacks, earning first-team All-Big Ten and AP second-team All-American honors.
Johnson is not just a talented football player but also an academic and philanthropist. He speaks Chinese and added Portuguese to his linguistic talent in 2022. Johnson has worked tirelessly since being a high school student to raise funds to support veterans and disadvantaged children. Since its inception, the “Paris Johnson Jr. Foundation” has raised over $10,000 through various fundraising efforts.
Johnson’s strengths include his built-in-a-lab physique for the offensive tackle position, impressive measurable length with 36 1/8″ arms, powerful punch, and athletic ability. He is a high-level pass protector for Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud and impacts the ground game too. His ability to generate displacement as a mauling, punishing finisher is commendable. Johnson’s high football IQ allows him to identify defensive tricks, routinely picking up stunts and twists and understanding when his help is required.
Johnson needs to work on consistency with placement and timing, and while he has the athleticism and fluidity of movement to handle speed rushers with ease, power rushers cause some issues for him. His demonstrated ability to anchor in pass protection should be expanded upon, and he needs to be more consistent with his hand placement to be even more dominant. Despite these areas of improvement, Johnson's combination of size, length, athleticism, competitive toughness, and multi-phase technical ability should prove alluring for NFL teams. He is a day 1 starter and is likely to be considered in the first round of the NFL draft. Don't forget, he's going to be a future Walter Payton Man of the Year candidate.
Broderick Jones
Georgia
Grade: 1st Rd
Steph Chambers/Getty Images
Broderick Jone is generating buzz as a potential early-round pick in the NFL Draft. Standing at 6'4" and weighing 315 pounds, Jones possesses an impressive combination of size, athleticism, and power. Despite limited starting experience with just one full year as a starter, Jones has shown tremendous upside and potential throughout his career.
One of Jones' greatest strengths is his athleticism. He is a quick and explosive mover, able to widen and match opponents off the line of scrimmage in both the run and pass game. Jones also demonstrates excellent lateral agility, allowing him to quickly recover on inside and outside moves, and track across the formation as a pulling blocker on run plays. His range in space and ability to get out ahead of running backs downfield is another asset that makes him a versatile and effective blocker.
In addition to his athleticism, Jones possesses impressive power and strength. His length and rotational freedom allow him to torque and hold defenders in place with one-arm extensions, and he generates additional power through hip rotation. Jones consistently moves edge defenders off the line in run defense and is able to adapt his power generation to quickly redirect and drive defenders downhill. His core strength and grip strength also aid in his ability to handle power rushes and maintain his balance in various situations.
While Jones' technique may need further refinement, he has shown flashes of solid technique and has the potential to continue to improve in this area. His overall flexibility and alignment control are also noteworthy, allowing him to quickly adjust his hip and torso alignment to seal off rushers and linebackers. With his physical traits and upside, Jones is viewed as a player with a high NFL ceiling, and his potential as an early-round pick has garnered attention from scouts and mock drafts alike. As he continues to develop and refine his skills, Jones has the potential to become a valuable asset for an NFL team in need of a talented offensive tackle. Overall, Jones' combination of size, athleticism, power, and potential make him an intriguing prospect to watch in the NFL Draft.
Darnell Wright
Tennessee
Grade: 1st Rd
Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Tennessee Offensive Tackle Darnell Wright has gained attention as a potential first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. As a five-star recruit, Wright has been on the NFL radar since high school, and he has continued to impress since arriving at Tennessee. He started seven games as a true freshman, was a full-time starter at right tackle in 2020, and moved to the left tackle spot in 2021, starting all 13 games. In 2022, Wright earned first-team All-SEC honors for his play at right tackle. Wright's size, length, athleticism, and power make him an attractive prospect, and he showed impressive growth in 2022, improving his hand usage and footwork. Wright has room to maximize his potential in these areas, but he has the goods to become an impact starter in the NFL.
Wright's size, length, and athleticism are what you would expect from a former five-star recruit. He has an impressive frame that stores ample amounts of power, and he frequently puts his length to use in his game. He shows off impressive athleticism for his size, with quickness out of his stance, lateral explosion off the snap, and range as a puller. Wright's athletic ability was reaffirmed at the NFL Combine, where he ran a stellar 5.01 40-yard dash with a strong 1.81 10-yard split. Wright's broad jump figure put him near the 98th percentile among offensive tackles, further demonstrating his athletic ability.
Wright's power is one of his most impressive traits. He stores devastating potential energy and knock-back power and can shock even larger defenders at contact. He has the ability to channel power through leg drive and move defenders off their spot, and he can lock out defenders with ruthless torque on run plays and control pass protection reps with that rotation. Wright also possesses excellent grip strength, which allows him to maintain his anchor even against resistance and redirect momentum when opponents lose their balance.
While Wright has room to improve his hand usage and footwork, he showed immense growth in these areas in 2022. He can effectively use independent hands and is active when gathering rushers. He's very violent in resetting his hands and can actively combat sequential rushing moves in rapid succession. Wright has the potential to become an impact starter in the NFL, and his size, length, athleticism, and power make him an attractive prospect.
Anton Harrison
Oklahoma
Grade: 2nd Rd
Photo credit: NFL Draft Bible via Sports Illustrated
Anton Harrison, a junior offensive tackle at Oklahoma, is on track to become another Sooners NFL offensive line talent, following the footsteps of Jammal Brown, Trent Williams, Lane Johnson, and Orlando Brown. With his physical traits and athletic abilities, Harrison is a first-team All-Big 12 blocker with good speed, agility, range in space, and operational power. Harrison's 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine was second-fastest among all Combine offensive linemen. He has great raw power, with the ability to quickly suffocate rushes from blitzing linebackers, and a core strength to hold the edge on running plays and wall off defensive ends. Harrison also has exceptional play strength and hand usage, with lightning-fast hand replacement and successive extensions to contain defenders powerfully.
Harrison has an excellent frame, standing at 6'4" and 315 pounds, with excellent length, functional athleticism, and excellent foot speed. He possesses great range in space, using his explosiveness to surge into contact as a pulling blocker, which translates into pass protection. His hip fluidity allows him to stack direction changes in close quarters and swivel around to redirect overhang defenders outside of plays. Harrison's hips are impressively fluid in pass protection, and he quickly recollects his feet and explodes into defenders after flipping at the apex.
Harrison's operational power maximizes power exertions with proper execution, and he can unleash devastating extensions on lighter defenders with his raw power and violence. He maintains balance even through lapses in synergy and plays beyond his center of gravity. Harrison is able to distribute his weight effectively to absorb and dilute opposing power and lean into blocks, using his lower body to shoulder the brunt of the force. He has shown to maintain grip strength while stressed laterally.
Harrison's natural raw power, exceptional play strength, and active hand usage make him a highly sought-after prospect for NFL teams in need of an offensive tackle. With his physical traits and athletic abilities, he is well-positioned to continue the tradition of Oklahoma Sooner's offensive tackle talent in the NFL. He grades out as an early second-round pick.
Dawand Jones
Ohio State
Grade: 2nd Rd
AP Photo/Jay LaPrete
Dawand Jones, a senior offensive tackle at Ohio State, is considered a prime prospect for the 2023 NFL Draft due to his unique size and power. Standing at 6'8" and weighing 374 pounds, Jones boasts an incredibly large frame that brings a generational mix of height, mass, and width, with arms over 36" long and a suffocating wingspan. Finding size like this can be incredibly difficult alone, yet even more impressive when you find it with better mobility, which Jones displays with good foot speed and decent lateral movement.
Jones brings solid initial quickness out of his stance and flashes impressive cylindrical twitch and energy in his movement in short ranges. In the run game, Jones fits a dominant, bulldozer-like mold, with quantifiably elite power capacity and the ability to bowl over opponents with his mass and power. His hands have devastating knock-back power, paving defenders out of lanes and clearing space at the line. With his frame, Jones brings elite functional strength to the fold, absorbing power rushes with his core strength and locking down smaller rushers with one-hand extensions.
While Jones isn't the most flexible lineman, he has enough hip flexibility to swing around in response to double moves and wall-off linemen inside. He visibly improved his knee bend and hip control in pass protection over the course of the season. Overall, Jones provides Mekhi Becton-like size without the athletic drawbacks. If he can become more technically sound, and become more smooth by loosening up some stiffness, Jones has an opportunity to be the best tackle in this class.
Tyler Steen
Alabama
Grade: 3rd Rd
Alabama Crimson Tide
Tyler Steen, a senior offensive lineman for the Alabama Crimson Tide program, transferred to the program after starting his career at Vanderbilt from 2018-2021. With over 30 games played at Vanderbilt, Steen came to Alabama as an experienced SEC starter with the expectation of winning the starting at left tackle. Throughout the season, Steen improved his game and finished as a reliable pass-protecting blind-side blocker. Although he showcases high-level play as a pass protector and run blocker, Steen also has technical inconsistencies that need improvement.
Steen's athleticism is his biggest upside as a prospect. In pass protection, he can mix up the tempos of his pass set and quickly get depth on pass rushers. He has quick hands to punch and counter-punch to defeat defenders, and he shows good foot quickness and reactionary athleticism to stay engaged. In the run game, Steen is effective as a cut-off blocker and can use his athleticism to get to second-level defenders.
Steen's areas of improvement come from his inconsistencies in technique. In pass protection, he sometimes opens his gate too soon, leaving him vulnerable to quick countermoves. In the run game, he can be overeager and lunges at defenders, putting him in an unbalanced position. Overall, Steen has the potential to be an NFL starter, but his lack of technique makes him susceptible to being beaten by pass rushers with high-level athletic traits. Despite his weaknesses, Steen's improvements in one year at Alabama give optimism for his future development.
Steen projects as a solid mid-round pick to provide depth to an offensive line with future starter upside. He has played his entire career at left tackle and has never taken a snap at any other position in college. That is not the type of flexibility you want, but the competitive nature to transfer from Vanderbilt to Alabama to compete for a starting position is. Alabama offensive line prospects always seem like a lock to be drafted early, so for Steen to make the move and bet on himself says something about the competitive nature in this man.
Warren McClendon
Georgia
Grade: 4th-5th Rd
(Sports Illustrated)
Warren McClendon is a redshirt sophomore from Georgia who was a four-star recruit and played right tackle for a College Football National Championship team last year. With a height of 6’4″ and weighing 306 pounds, McClendon has the size needed to be considered for the NFL. Additionally, he has offensive tackle length NFL teams want, with a measured 34.5-inch arm's length and a wingspan of 83 inches that ranks him in the upper 79% for his position.
He has developed significantly between his redshirt freshman season and now, particularly in his stance, which he now executes with good pad level.
Warren McClendon has exciting athletic potential with his quick snap-offs, allowing him to be aggressive in attacking. He is also able to demonstrate his vertical athleticism by frequently getting to the second and third levels in the run game, and his power and strength are evident in his pass protection. With fast handwork, he is able to quickly counter any attempts to take away his hands as a weapon.
McClendon is only 21 years old and without the same amount of college experience as other prospects in this class and it shows. He struggles the most against speed rushers and can overextend when blocking, leading to balance issues and eventually taking himself out of the play when he hits the ground. He has strong powerful hands, but they do not always land in the correct position, showing that there are technical aspects to his game he needs to work on. His mechanics can be inconsistent from snap to snap.
Being aggressive on the offensive line is generally looked at as a good thing, but being overly aggressive and playing out of control is McClendon's downfall. He could have raised his draft stock by returning for a year and refining his mechanics, though the thought of playing in the NFL seemed too enticing for the young player. McClendon has the talent to become an NFL starter, but he is much more of a project today than a high-caliber draft pick. He should find himself drafted in the mid-late rounds with PFF estimating between picks 180-220.
Blake Freeland - BYU
Jaelyn Duncan - Maryland
Jordan McFadden - Clemson
Jaxson Kirkland - Washington
Jake Witt - Northern Michigan
Carter Warren - Pittsburgh
Matthew Bergeron - Syracuse
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