Andrew Donnal Scouting Report ~ 2015 NFL Draft

Offensive Tackle ~ Andrew Donnal ~ Iowa HawkEyes ~ 6060/312

Regarding Offensive Tackles

I consider Offensive Tackles no more crucial to a Team's Championship Chances than Offensive Guards or Centers, and that contrast of course flies in the face of conventional "Wisdom", but I would hardly consider the position of Offensive Tackle to be overrated: Far more Championships are won and lost in The Trenches than most would believe.

The Gutters are riddled with the Corpses of Teams that were built around so-called "skill" Players ~ teams that delighted their Fantasy FootBall Fans every Year, all the way until January...until The Only Games That Really Matter.

It is then, of course, that the Capacity ~ or lack thereof ~ to Move The Chains and protect the QuarterBack against PlayOff Caliber Defenses rears its ugly head. And another Team built for Fantasy FootBall bites the dust.

This is how I break things down, when I'm evaluating Offensive Tackles:

Power: Above all: Core Power. Torso Power is important, but Core Power, from the Knees to the Ribs, is absolutely crucial. All the upper body Strength in the world will still fail if you simply can't dig in your heels. But Core Power enables an Offensive Lineman to project Power in the Running Game and to reject Power in the Passing Game.

Agility: Launch Velocity, Acceleration, and above all: Fluidity or Core Agility. Core Agility is even more essential to sustained good Health ~ and to sustained good FootBall ~ than Core Power. The ability to react with Serpentine smoothness is a tremendous asset in all Aspects of the Game, and certainly in the Hand to Hand Combat that characterizes Trench Warfare. All the Power in the World goes only so far if you're stiff and lumbering out there.

Combat Skills: Paw Power, Mechanics ~ Hand Speed & Positioning ~ and of course: Frame.

Intangibles: Processing Speed and Motor. Processing Speed or Diagnostic Velocity is about how quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to how the Rapidly Roiling Tactical LandScape effects Blocking Schemes, and Motor is about Endurance and Drive: How much Work has been put into Conditioning, and how it manifests itself.

Run Blocking: Power, Agility, Combat Skills, Processing Speed, and Motor.

Pass Blocking: Power, Agility, Combat Skills, Processing Speed, and Motor.

Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:

Power

* Core Power ~ lower body Power. Core Power trumps Torso Power. Tyrannosaurus Rex had exceptional Core Power.
* Torso Power ~ upper Body Power. Important, but not crucial. T Rex had lousy Torso Power...yet was King.
* Anchoring Strength in the Passing Game. The capacity to Stand one's Ground.
* Drive Power in the Running Game. The capacity to drive your man back.

Agility

* Fluidity, above all things: Core Agility & Flexibility makes everything possible.
* Launch Velocity ~ Speed into Contact off the Snap.
* Acceleration ~ Short Speed or Quickness.

Combat Skills

* Paw Power ~ The Power & Speed of the initial Punch.
* Paw Velocity ~ How active the Hands are.
* Paw Positioning ~ It's all about Angles & Leverage.
* Frame ~ Above all: WingSpan.

Intangibles

* Processing Speed ~ Field Vision. Reading Defensive Schemes quickly and effectively, and finding 2nd Level Targets.
* Motor ~ Intensity and Duration.

Run Blocking

* Power ~ Drive Power to project Power in the Running Game.
* Agility ~ especially Acceleration DownField or to the Flank.
* Combat Skills
* Processing Speed
* Motor

Pass Blocking

* Power ~ Anchoring Strength to reject Power in the Passing Game.
* Agility ~ especially Fluidity to Mirror the Pass Rusher.
* Combat Skills
* Processing Speed
* Motor

Power: Mediocre Core Power and Mediocre Torso Power.

Agility: Mediocre. Impressive Launch Velocity but marginal Fluidity and mediocre Acceleration.

Combat Skills: Impressive. Excellent Mechanics but inhibited by Deficient WingSpan.

Intangibles: Impressive. Exceptional Motor. Adequate Field Vision.

Run Blocking: Mediocre.

Pass Blocking: Mediocre.

Andrew Donnal Scouting Report

Andrew Donnal Prospectus

Andrew Donnal doesn't bring much Power or Agility to the Field of Battle, and he's further hamstrung, I believe, by having a Tackle's Height but a Guard's WingSpan, but his Mechanics are Excellent and his Motor is Impressive.

I'd say he's got a Puncher's Chance of earning a Roster Spot and perhaps developing into a 4 Position Reserve.

I do believe that the Rams overpaid for'm when they spent a 4th Rounder, but that Price warrants a Scouting Report, even though a brief one, though the Market and I seemed to be in accord on'is Value prior to the Draft.

Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!

Yank Rank: Scrapper ~ Par Value!!

Market Value

6th/7th Round

Yankee Grade

6th/7th Round

Please do Note: This and all Evaluations issued by this Site are produced by a ludicrously unqualified Amateur, privy to not even the tiniest fraction of Coach's Tape, Scouting Expertise, Face to Face Interviewing, Experience, or Inside Information enjoyed by the Professionals. As such, anything put forth is certainly misinformed, euphonious, derivative Tripe, and should be rejected out'f hand and indeed shunned by all men and women of Good Will!! I'm trying to discern Power, Agility, Combat Skills, and far more abstract, esoteric Concepts such as Processing Speed and Motor, and I'm trying to do so based almost entirely on a fascinating fusion of Tape, Combine Numbers, and Pro Days, while trying to attenuate my findings based on Allowances for Competition Level, Scheme, Concept, Context, and, above all: Trajectory!!

This is not is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning: Caveat Emptor!!