Dohnovan West NFL Draft Overview
Position: Center/Guard
Height: 6′-3″
Weight: 296 pounds
School: Arizona State
Dohnovan West 2022 NFL Draft Profile
After three years at Arizona State, interior offensive linemen Dohnovan West decided to skip his final year of eligibility and declare for the 2022 NFL Draft. West is coming off the best season of his collegiate career, playing in 12 games at center while allowing just one sack and four hurries, per Pro Football Focus.
West initially joined the college football ranks as a three-star recruit. Signing with the Arizona State Sun Devils, West worked his way into the starting lineup and played 844 snaps as a true freshman. Primarily playing guard, West finished the season allowing six sacks, three quarterback hits, and 10 hurries.
After that relatively rough campaign, West showed considerable growth during Arizona State’s truncated 2020 campaign. Starting and appearing in all four games, West didn’t allow a single sack and allowed just one hit and one hurry.
Strengths
- Better at center, but has the positional versatility to play both guard spots;
- Quick feet with the ability to mirror opposing rushers;
- Smart player – takes most direct route to his assignment on move plays;
- Sound fundamentals in pass protection;
- Has been starting since his freshman year.
Weaknesses
- Notably undersized for the position – 5th percentile weight and 21st percentile height;
- Short arms and wingspan could be a problem against longer defensive tackles;
- Lacks strength to truly drive a man back in run blocking situations;
- Not the strongest guy in the world – will need to add NFL strength;
- Struggles to pick up twists in pass protection;
NFL Comparison: Billy Price
Teams With Need at Position: Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, Carolina Panthers, Washington Commanders
Projection: Round 3-4
Bottom Line on Dohnovan West
Dohnovan West is no superstar, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have a valuable role on an NFL roster. The Arizona State product will probably be at his best at center, but he has experience at both guard positions and can be an ideal backup, if nothing else. However, while it’s far from certain, he’s shown enough on tape to potentially develop into a mid-level starter.
From a fundamental perspective, there is a lot to like about West. The center is great at the little things, is quick on his feet, and excels at finding his assignment and getting to said player at quickly as possible. Additionally, the fact that he’s been able to start every year since joining the collegiate ranks speaks to his maturity and football IQ.
The biggest problem with West is his relative lack of size and strength. Put simply, he’s smaller than most of the college competition he faced off against, and that problem is only going to get worse at the next level. You can have flawless technique, but it simply won’t matter if the opposing defensive lineman can just power right through you, or if a linebacker is too strong to get knocked back on a run block.
West is definitely a below-average athlete by NFL standards, but that’s not a kiss of death for a center. Centers can get by with mediocre athleticism if they do everything else right, and West is pretty good with the intangibles. Chances are, he’ll either be one of the NFL’s better interior backups or a replacement-level starter.
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
