Green Bay Packers: 4 Tackles to Know at Pick 29 in NFL Draft
By Paul Bretl
Alex Leatherwood, OT, Alabama
Standing at 6’6″ – 312 pounds, Alex Leatherwood, was the starting right guard for the Crimson Tide during the 2018 season, but since then, he has been the left tackle. Over the last two seasons, which has spanned 944 pass-blocking snaps, he has allowed three sacks and 26 pressures. It’s also worth noting that Leatherwood has been called for 18 penalties during that time as well.
As a run-blocker this past season, Leatherwood was the 22nd highest graded tackle in college football by Pro Football Focus, and his overall grade of 80.7 ranked 44th. I know these grades aren’t the be-all, end-all by any means, but they can be a useful barometer for success.
In his pre-draft scouting report of Leatherwood, this is what Jordan Reid had to say:
"“His aggressiveness is a key ingredient to success in the run game, as he can completely overpower targets that he’s able to square up and land his body cleanly on. As a pass protector, Leatherwood has a clean pass set that’s able to gain ground up the field in order to stymie rushers that simply attack him vertically. His issues come against wise rushers that have the flexibility to alter and change their thought processes mid-rep. Leatherwood has stiffness in his lower half that doesn’t allow him to match the quick movements from twitchy edge defenders, which forces him into performing panic techniques by lunging and placing all of his weight forward.”"
Again, like Jenkins, the athletic testing and how the Green Bay Packers view Leatherwood from a position standpoint are going to be crucial in determining whether or not he is on thier board at pick 29. Reid mentions that Leatherwood’s ceiling may be higher as a guard, although teams should still try him out at right tackle.
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But if Gutekunst and company are comfortable with his NFL projection at the tackle position, the Green Bay Packers will be landing a player with excellent size, experience, and someone who has been effective both against the run and the pass.