{"id":59204,"date":"2019-03-06T09:30:14","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T14:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=59204"},"modified":"2021-05-30T21:01:20","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T01:01:20","slug":"connor-mcgovern-2019-nfl-draft-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2019\/03\/06\/connor-mcgovern-2019-nfl-draft-profile\/","title":{"rendered":"Connor McGovern 2019 NFL Draft Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Overview<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Position: <\/strong>Center\/Guard<br \/>\n<strong>Height: <\/strong>6\u20195\u201d<br \/>\n<strong>Weight: <\/strong>312 pounds<br \/>\n<strong>School:<\/strong> Penn State Nittany Lions<\/p>\n<p><strong>Combine Performance Data<br \/>\nBench press<\/strong>: 28 reps<br \/>\n<strong>Broad jump<\/strong>: 9 feet, 4 inches<br \/>\n<strong>Three-cone drill<\/strong>: 7.66 seconds<br \/>\n<strong>20-yard shuttle<\/strong>: 4.57 seconds<\/p>\n<h1><strong>Connor McGovern 2019 NFL Draft Profile<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>There\u2019s about to be another <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/M\/McGoCo00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Connor McGovern<\/a><\/strong> playing offensive line in the NFL. Despite not having a blood relation to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/broncos\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Denver Broncos<\/a> guard, the two McGoverns have a lot of similarities. The Penn State product spent three years in the collegiate ranks, starting 34 of a possible 39 games. Boasting the versatility to play guard and center, McGovern provided a steadying presence along Penn State\u2019s offensive line. McGovern\u2019s play was so impressive that he earned Third-Team All-Big Ten honors at the conclusion of the 2018 season.<\/p>\n<p>McGovern hails from the small town of Larksville, PA. After playing for his hometown Lake Lehman High School football team, McGovern stayed in state to play for Penn State\u2019s football program. Playing guard as a first-year, McGovern became the first offensive lineman in history to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Week. Following his successful 2016 season, McGovern moved to center and spent the next two seasons in the middle of the offensive line.<\/p>\n<h2>Strengths<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Ideal quickness and footwork for getting to second level and operating as a pull blocker;<\/li>\n<li>Versatility to play center and guard;<\/li>\n<li>Ideal height and length for the NFL;<\/li>\n<li>Strong core strength allows him to push around defenders when he makes first contact;<\/li>\n<li>Above-average run blocker capable of moving his man and opening holes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Weaknesses<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Fundamentals could use improvement, especially his handwork;<\/li>\n<li>Oftentimes fails to knock away defenders hands and allows chest contact;<\/li>\n<li>Far more developed as a run blocker than a pass blocker;<\/li>\n<li>Struggles to pick up stunts;<\/li>\n<li>Uses strength to overcompensate for fundamental weaknesses, which could be a problem at the NFL level.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Player Comparison:<\/strong> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BoliCl00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Clint Boling<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Teams With Need at Position: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/dolphins\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Miami Dolphins<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/vikings\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Minnesota Vikings<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/raiders\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oakland Raiders<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/jets\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New York Jets<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/bills\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Buffalo Bills<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/texans\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Houston Texans<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/cardinals\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Arizona Cardinals<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Projection: <\/strong>Fourth to fifth round<\/p>\n<h2>Bottom Line<\/h2>\n<p>Connor McGovern has the tools to be a solid starter along the interior of any offensive line. He\u2019s got solid size and has shown flashes of being a starting-caliber lineman. His quickness and agility allow him to be a good pull blocker and he consistently clears lanes in the run game. He has the build for the NFL and his plus strength lets him push defenders around when he gets his hands on them.<\/p>\n<p>That said, McGovern is still a work-in-progress. His fundamentals have a long way to go, especially as a pass-blocker. He oftentimes allows defenders to get their hands on his body and push him back. While he uses his strength to overcome this contact, this strategy might not work out against the stronger NFL defensive linemen. On top of that, McGovern struggles to recognize stunts and oftentimes gets too locked in on a small portion of the field.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s in McGovern\u2019s best interest to spend 2019 as a backup. The right offensive line coach should be able to iron out his fundamental shortcomings and get him ready to compete for a starting role in 2020. His versatility can make him an ideal backup in the short-term while a team grooms him to be a long-term answer at either guard or center.<\/p>\n<p>Main photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"aJn1lZl9RwhTNhhqZcj2Jw\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1049154886\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'aJn1lZl9RwhTNhhqZcj2Jw',sig:'SvJGZCmRJ7p1b12zME-tBf1H-s-HjOjfR8KAiXBXMK8=',w:'594px',h:'377px',items:'1049154886',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Connor McGovern enters the 2019 NFL Draft after spending three years shoring up the interior of the Penn State offensive line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2376,"featured_media":59206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1647],"tags":[4825,61,40,1173],"class_list":["post-59204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-draft","tag-connor-mcgovern","tag-football","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-draft"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}