Tyler Smith

Pass Protection

His initial quickness out of his stance is solid but he can get into a chase situation quickly with more explosive rushers with elite get-off. He has great foot speed and can get to his set-point to intersect rushers, but he does it with inefficient feet. He picks his feet up and down too much, doesn’t maintain ground reactionary force and then gives himself challenges because of this when he builds his house. The inefficiency in his feet shows itself in both vertical and 45 sets, when he faces an edge rusher who is a good processor and has a good plan, they can use their own feet and hand timing to set him up to hit him when he comes down on his heels from kicking his feet up too high. When you combine this with the inconsistency he can have in his hand timing, and you get a rusher with effective speed to power moves he can be rocked back or even flattened against those with better play strength. He is a big hands outside guy, especially in 45 and jump sets, as mentioned his hand timing can be off but for what he’s trying to do his hand placement is good, and he plays with excellent leverage and play strength.

He will clamp his hands and the rep will be over. He has had some penalties as his clamp can sometimes be too far on the back of the defender’s shoulder, but as the year progressed he learned how to negate this by sliding his hand down and around the breastplate to secure a hands inside position that he would then use to leverage his upper body strength. He is a good processor and sees stunts, twists and counters coming, working well with teammates to pass off rushers and react to outside loopers. His second best trait is on show here as he has great hip mobility, athletic ability and most of all recovery ability. His balance is such that he can right himself from compromising positions and win reps that he seemingly has no right to win. His best trait though, and why he is able to pull off a hands outside approach, is his anchor, which is very good. He has such good play strength that he’s rarely challenged with power moves when he isn’t compromised by his inefficient footwork, he can also reset his feet and re-anchor under pressure.

Run Blocking

He is an excellent run blocker, his foot speed and athletic ability allow him to be position well on all types of blocks – both Gap and Zone. He fits his Gap blocks well and has good strike zone recognition and power in his hands. He especially good on down blocks when he can really ride defenders and collapse one side of the line.

As a drive blocker he can make the play functional with his upper body strength and he rolls his hips on contact, but he can stop his feet on contact. As a Zone Blocker he uses his hip fluidity to fit and finish on reach blocks as well as positioning, fitting and finishing in space. He has some nasty and physical toughness to him, playing through the whistle

SUMMARY
Lot of work required on his footwork in pass protection. Hands outside guy but placement is good. Excellent play strength, foot speed, recovery skills and anchor. Mauler.

PRODUCTION
N/A OL
2 Year Starter at LT
INJURY: None

RAVENS FIT
Toughness 5
Intelligence 4
Versatility 5
Grit 5
Scheme 5