Overview
Position: Center/Guard
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 307 pounds
School: Alabama Crimson Tide
Combine Performance Data
40-yard dash: 5.20 seconds
Bench press: 20 reps
Vertical jump: 22.5 inches
Three-cone drill: 7.83 seconds
20-yard shuttle: 4.70 seconds
Ross Pierschbacher 2019 NFL Draft Profile
When a team investigates a prospect before the NFL Draft, they value qualities such as explosiveness and consistency. A stout inside offensive lineman like Ross Pierschbacher doesn’t carry much weight in terms of a dominant blocker. He was, however, a four-year starter with the Alabama Crimson Tide. In his first three years, he played and started at left guard. When Bradley Bozeman graduated from the University of Alabama, Pierschbacher made the transition to center. Outside of Jonah Williams, Pierschbacher was one of the most consistent offensive linemen for the Crimson Tide. He’s a high-I.Q. player and as an aggressive blocker matches the ability to play center.
There are many traits that can make Pierschbacher a valuable prospect for any team that potentially drafts him in the 2019 NFL Draft. However, there are also other attributes that can depict him as a lower-echelon caliber offensive lineman in the NFL. This is despite his high amount of success at Alabama. His stock has been rising due to the continuing need of interior offensive linemen. More interior linemen have been projected to get selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Perschbacher serves a great purpose as a backup and later as a developmental project for the future of the team selected by. Pierschbacher might be a surprise starter sooner than later for his selected organization.
Strengths
- a great first step at the point of contact;
- can play interior offensive lineman as a guard and center;
- great continuous push on run plays;
- sharp, high-football I.Q.;
- great instincts on recognizing blitzes;
- disciplined and rarely makes pre-snap mistakes;
- efficient as a reach blocker;
- a tough and consistent blocker in the running and passing game.
Weaknesses
- lacks overall quickness despite great first-step;
- has poor balance especially in his knee when pass protecting;
- possesses shorter arms than other prospects;
- can get pushed back while pass protecting;
- not highly explosive at the point of contact;
- lacks overall athleticism to play consistently fast;
- underwhelming in terms of play strength.
NFL Comparison: Weston Richburg
Teams With Need at Position: Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Washington Redskins
Projection: late second to the fourth round
Bottom Line
Now, Pierschbacher can be a prospect that sneaks up and could be selected as early as the late second round. This is because of his consistent blocking ability. Pierschbacher’s ability to hold any defensive lineman or blitzer will be an attribute that teams will draw towards. Along with his driving ability, reach blocking, and high-I.Q., he possesses the attributes to be at the next level. However, his lack of ideal strength and agility will be a negative indication on far he will drop in the 2019 NFL Draft.
The need for a reach blocking guard/center hybrid position player makes his draft stock continually rise. There are many teams like the Texans and Packers that will need to acquire talented offensive linemen as a result of their star quarterbacks getting injured. As more offenses become more diverse and complicated, more high-I.Q. linemen who can play in more spread offenses will be needed as well. Now, Pierschbacher can be a sleeper pick if he is developed correctly with his new NFL team like Bradley Bozeman was for the Ravens.
