Jordan McFadden NFL Draft Overview
Position: Guard
Height: 6′-2″
Weight: 303 pounds
School: Clemson
2023 NFL Draft: Jordan McFadden Scouting Report
Jordan McFadden begins college football career at Clemson University in 2018. During that season, he played in a total of three games, while redshirting. In his second season with the Tigers and 2019, McFadden saw action in 14 of Clemson’s 15 games, that season. McFadden became the starting right tackle during the 2020 season. He started all twelve games that season for the Tigers. During the 2021 season, McFadden started all 13 games for the Tigers, again at right tackle. In his final season at Clemson, McFadden (once again), started all 14 of Clemson’s games as their right tackle.
Strengths
- Is an effective drive blocker;
- Gets through first-level defenders quickly and efficiently, in route to engaging second-level opponents;
- Has NFL-ready hand-fighting skills;
- Is well-built and physically strong overall, with lean body mass;
- Is a highly effective run blocker.
Weaknesses
- Difficulty with slide-step footwork;
- Has a tendency to get to a high as a blocker in both run-blocking and pass protection;
- Has trouble getting his hands on his opponent’s numbers and keeping them inside their shoulder pads; which leads to penalties;
- Needs to maintain hands out in front of his body; tends to let his arms drift outward;
- Has had instances of being beaten by a defender almost instantaneously.
NFL Comparison: A lighter, less athletic version of Will Hernandez
Teams With Need At Position: Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans, Washington Commanders
Projection: Rounds 3-4
Bottom Line on Jordan McFadden
Jordan McFadden played for one of the top college football programs in the country and did so effectively. He has a lot of upside that teams will definitely be intrigued by. He is an effective drive blocker who gets through the first-level opponent and engages the second-level opponent, with astute timing and efficiency. His hand-fighting skills are NFL ready and he is well-built physically; very strong with a lot of lean muscle mass. Teams who liked her on the ball a lot will be especially enticed to use a pick to draft McFadden, as he is a highly proficient run blocker. Where McFadden can improve is his footwork. He has difficulty with his slide step, especially.
McFadden also has a tendency to get too high during both running and passing plays. He also needs to work on keeping his hands in front of him which would help enable him to get his hands on his opponent’s numbers and keep them inside of their shoulder pads; something that has been a challenge for him, to this point in his football career. There have also been instances of McFadden getting beat, almost instantaneously at the snap of the ball, by his opponent. McFadden has some work to do, but his weaknesses appear to be easily fixable. His strengths are going to entice teams, more than his weaknesses are going to deter teams from using a pick on him in the upcoming draft. Look for McFadden to be drafted in either round three or four, during this upcoming weekend’s draft, in Kansas City.
Main Photo Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
