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Rob Rang
NFL Draft Analyst
While the historic talent available at offensive tackle has understandably generated plenty of buzz in the build-up to the 2024 NFL Draft, their blocking brethren on the inside also include plenty of future starters.
This group is heavy on upside and position switches, though, and relatively lacking on sure things.
A year ago, seven interior offensive linemen were among the first 100 selections, with the Tennessee Titans making Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski the only blocker of the bunch to go in the first round.
It could be a similar story this year, with the best value at guard and center found on the draft’s second and third days.
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1. Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon: 6-foot-3, 334 pounds, Junior
Overview: Interior offensive linemen rarely leave for the NFL with just one year of starting action, but when that solitary season is as dominant as Powers-Johnson’s 2023 campaign, it is understandable. The Utah native signed with Oregon as a consensus four-star recruit three years ago and earned immediate playing time for a program that saw all five of its starting blockers either be drafted or signed as free agents by NFL teams.
He proved an invaluable swingman the first two seasons of his career — logging starts at both guard spots and even defensive tackle — before seizing the starting center role in 2023 and earning First Team All-PAC-12 honors and an invitation to the Senior Bowl, where he proved just as dominant.
Strengths
Has a prototypical build for the interior with a cinder-block-like torso and short, squatty limbs that help him win leverage battles.Broad as a barn door and complements this with impressive initial quickness and lateral agility for his frame, showing the ability to slide and mirror pass…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/2024-nfl-draft-interior-offensive-line-rankings-strong-group-of-guards-centers
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Publish date : 2024-03-06 18:08:58
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