Prospect Profile: Kingsley Suamataia, OT, BYU

Pass Protection

He has remarkable upper body strength that shows up at times but is far too inconsistently applied due to deficiencies in his technique. In vertical sets first, which he uses most often as a pass protector, his hand placement is wildly inconsistent. When he shows patience and waits for the right moment to intersect the pass rusher, he can fire his hands and either knock the defender out of the rep, or latch on and stay engaged through the entirety of the rep. However, this optimal usage of his hands is far too infrequent on his film. What happens most often is that his hand placement is way off in vertical sets, usually wide and sometimes high, and his timing is off as he makes his move far too quickly. When facing edge rushers with good hand usage and solid play strength, they can throw his hands off the block, sometimes emphatically and then he struggles to fight with his hands to re-engage his opponent. What often happens at this point is that his pad level rises, and he gives savvy defenders a few options for routes to the QB. The most concerning of which for a guy with such upper body strength is the way he gives up his chest and gives himself no chance to drop anchor and protect the pocket. He will give up pressure in these instances.

His hand placement is much better in 45 and jump sets but he can still struggle to engage initially with defenders who deploy good rush moves that involve swipes and chops. His hand fighting also improves on 45 and jump sets though, when he doesn’t have to engage his feet as much at the same time as his hands, he is able to stay engaged. If a hand is not placed well, it is normally his inside hand. When he faces rushers with good lateral quickness, he is liable to give up his inside, the challenge for him to recover with a power step when he does is that the poor hand timing and placement make it difficult for him to effectively deploy his upper body strength. He often chases inside moves so his feet are not rooted to give him maximum play strength. His upper body strength, is so ridiculous that he will often compete in these scenarios when his technique is lacking, but his play strength could be far greater than it is. He doesn’t currently process at a high level, doesn’t see stunts and blitzers coming.

Run Blocking

As a run blocker he is solid as a Gap blocker. He’s a really good linear athlete so when he is pulling and kicking out defenders or turning the corner to hit a LB close to the line of scrimmage, he excels and can unleash his strength in a phonebooth. That’s true of other Gap blocks including Drive blocks and Down blocks where he positions, fits and finishes these blocks well, meaning he gets to take advantage of all his play strength. The only exception to this is when he faces a defender who tries to penetrate against his drive block and uses lateral quickness to do so. When this happens, he stops his feet and lunges and his block can be easily defeated. In space, he can line up a defender and hit them in the open field but only when he has a corridor to operate in, if he’s truly in space, he can’t react as well to lateral movement and can whiff on blocks where this happens. In Outside Zone he works well on the back-side on pre-determined bend reads to clear out one side of the line but he wasn’t often asked to genuinely reach block anyone lined up inside of him.

SUMMARY
High-potential LT candidate due to remarkable upper body strength and speed. Technique deficiencies in pass protection with hand usage and never maximizes his play strength.

PRODUCTION
JR: 644 snaps at LT
SO: 687 snaps at RT
INJURY: Minor right leg injury, missed 1 game (’23)

RAVENS FIT
Toughness 4
Intelligence 2
Versatility 4
Grit 3
Scheme 4