Few offensive tackles literally and figuratively tower over their counterparts like 2024 NFL Draft prospect and Houston star Patrick Paul. A long-time starter and a dominating presence, does Paul have the scouting report to command early-round capital?
Patrick Paul’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’7 1/2″
- Weight: 331 pounds
- Length: 36 1/4″
- Wingspan: 86 1/4″
- Hand: 9 3/8″
- Position: Offensive Tackle
- School: Houston
- Current Year: Redshirt Senior
Sometimes, a player’s build is so dominating that he immediately sees the field at the collegiate level. That was the case for Paul, starting three games as a true freshman at Houston in 2019.
Paul’s insertion into the starting lineup would yield adversity — none greater than a season-ending lower leg injury in 2020 — but now, Paul can look back on an incredibly fruitful four-year starting career.
Paul was a first-team All-AAC honoree. And once Houston moved to the Big 12 for his final season, he was a first-team All-Big 12 performer in his lone year at the Power Five level. He also earned the title of captain late in his career. Now, he’ll follow in the footsteps of his brother, Chris Paul, to the NFL.
A first-generation Nigerian-American who lived in Nigeria for almost three years as a child, Paul has never shied away from an opportunity or a chance to hone his skills. Now, the NFL will be the ultimate test — for a mixed martial artist, a boxer, but most prominently, an offensive tackle.
Patrick Paul is a OT prospect in the 2024 draft class. He scored a 9.67 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 46 out of 1377 OT from 1987 to 2024. https://t.co/4HnHMvele8 pic.twitter.com/wUTNdqeTkU
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 19, 2024
Paul showcased his talent at the Reese’s Senior Bowl, and later, his physical skill set was displayed at the NFL Combine. At his size, he ran a 5.13 40-yard dash with a 1.77 10-yard split over the 80th percentile, and he also logged 30 bench reps with over 36″ arms.
With his composite athletic profile, Paul logged a Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.75, good for 34th all-time among almost 1,500 offensive tackles to have testing data. The potential with Paul is through the roof — but what does he need to improve to reach his ceiling?
Paul’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Tall, looming blocker with great mass, hyper-elite length, and a dominating wingspan.
- Length allows him to reach most rushers and anchors while keeping his frame clean.
- Sheer width and wingspan can make him difficult to get around at both adjacent gaps.
- Effortlessly generates elite power, with length functioning as a hammer on extensions.
- Frequently wins the race to first contact and can bury EDGEs with overwhelming torque.
- Flashes smooth linear lateral mobility and control when matching rushers to the apex.
- Shows glimpses of good initial explosiveness and lateral burst off the snap.
- Has the core strength and heavy frame to absorb power rushes after making contact.
- Visibly improved his efficiency of motion and lateral matching technique in 2023.
- Has shown he can start reps square with rushers, then realign his base to seal off lanes.
- Can violently anchor outside the shoulder and has the grip strength to suffocate rushes.
- Patient and disciplined processor with good angle awareness, vision, and blitz ID skills.
- Can pick up stunts and shock them with full extensions before rolling his base back.
- Able to weaponize his length with violent snatch-and-trap moves once anchored.
- Tenacious finisher who relishes the chance to lock down and plow defenders into the dirt.
Weaknesses
- Functional athleticism on tape doesn’t always match the testing numbers provided.
- Doesn’t have the burst to close gaps consistently against wide-alignment rushers.
- Inconsistent quickness and foot speed inhibit his ability to recalibrate his base at times.
- Is not a malleable or adaptable short-area athlete and struggles to recover positioning.
- Struggles to redirect when opponents wrench down anchors and grab to compensate.
- Naturally plays very tall with his frame, which can induce lurches and lapses in balance.
- Bends at the waist relatively often and doesn’t have great functional knee bend.
- Isn’t always able to shift to lateral mode while extending, which can shorten the corner.
- Taller pad level can make him relatively easy to work lopsided by power rushers.
- Non-elite flexibility makes it difficult for him to get consistent kick depth versus speed.
- Too often exposes his torso when matching vertically, causing susceptibility to power.
- Load-and-launch technique with hands is far too slow and winding at times.
- Still growing as an independent hand fighter and doesn’t always take control of reps.
- Over-reliance on raw size when extending and grabbing at rushers can risk penalties.
- Can be more consistent at fully loading his base to channel power in the run game.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
On my board, Paul grades out as an early Day 3 prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft. However, with his elite size, length, power, and athletic profile, NFL evaluators will likely hold him in higher regard. The frame is there to mold if Paul can develop in a few key areas.
At 6’7″, 331 pounds, with arms safely over 36″ long, and a wingspan over seven feet, Paul passes the eye test with flying colors. He’s a dominating force of obstruction who can win simply by enveloping and outmuscling opposing rushers in pass protection. Each snap becomes a war of attrition because of his smothering profile.
MORE: 2024 NFL Draft Offensive Tackle Rankings
Particularly in pass protection, there’s a decent functional floor with Paul as well. He improved his footwork and efficiency of motion in 2023 and knows how to leverage his base to manipulate rushing paths. He’s alert, a good processor, and his anchor can suffocate power rushes.
However, while Paul has a few strong foundational elements, he struggles to channel his testing athleticism at his larger size consistently. Additionally, he plays relatively tall and stiff in recovery, lacking the malleability to regain leverage and positioning when required.
Paul is a very good athlete for his size when it comes to linear explosion, but the recovery elements are lacking in his game. Likewise, he doesn’t have the elite operational floor to compensate. While he flashes with his hand usage, his hands are often too slow, too wide, and too inefficient when loading and exerting.
Paul’s lack of recovery capacity and suboptimal leverage profile reduces his window of viability within reps. Against more explosive and more opportunistic NFL rushers, he could be beaten rather quickly. Meanwhile, as a run blocker, he doesn’t have great range or leverage acquisition, which limits his versatility and block sustain.
If Paul can improve his hand efficiency and precision, and expand his counter work, he has enough in his toolbox to be a solid starter in a pass-heavy offense. But it may take some time for him — an almost 24-year-old rookie — to get there, and his margin for error is smaller without great functional recovery athleticism.
Ultimately, Paul might project best as a swing tackle early in his career. Whether he can grow beyond that depends on his development moving forward, but he does have the size, power, and physicality to become a starter eventually.
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