Emil Ekiyor Jr. NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for Alabama IOL
HEIGHT: 6'2½"
WEIGHT: 314
HAND: 9½"
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ARM: 33⅞"
WINGSPAN: TBD
40-YARD DASH: TBD
3-CONE: TBD
SHUTTLE: TBD
VERTICAL: TBD
BROAD: TBD
POSITIVES
— Utilizes natural leverage to work underneath defenders and cover them up at the point of attack with solid power to displace and dig them out of the hole on angle-drive and double-team blocks.
— Works hard to strain on run blocks to wall off and create alleys late in the rep.
— Used extensively as a puller with adequate quickness and body control to align and wall off smaller targets.
— Shows a solid anchor against the bull rush with a low center of gravity and strong base to create force through the ground when rushers work down the middle of his frame.
— Looks for work with jolt in his hands to put a dent in the ribs of adjacent rushers and deliver effective body blows.
— Brings a physical, aggressive mindset to the echo of the whistle.
NEGATIVES
— Consistently late and low with his hands leads to getting stacked and shed with ease by bigger run-stuffing interior defensive linemen.
— Hands get swiped and knocked down in pass protection due to erratic, tardy strike timing.
— Overly reliant on the two-hand strike, which leaves him vulnerable to losing quickly across his face against rushers who know how to tempo their rushes with stutters and hesitations.
2022 STATISTICS
— 12 starts at right guard
NOTES
— First team AP and coaches' All-SEC selection.
— Former 4-star offensive guard recruit out of Cathedral High School in Indianapolis, per 247Sports' composite rating.
— His father Emil Sr. moved from Nigeria to America at 15 years old, earned a scholarship to Central Florida and played five years on the defensive line for the Atlanta Falcons.
— Has missed extensive time during the last two offseasons with various injuries, including a sports hernia surgery and knee scope.
— Ekiyor has lost nearly 25 pounds since arriving on campus in 2018 at 338 pounds.
— 41 career starts, all at right guard.
— Was part of a rotation for a bulk of the season at right guard with true freshman Tyler Booker.
— Accepted an invite to the 2023 Reese's Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, where he took extensive reps at center.
OVERALL
Emil Ekiyor Jr. is a three-year starter inside Alabama's balanced offense and multiple run scheme with 41 career starts at right guard. Ekiyor has a compact, stout build with a low center of gravity, good arm length and adequate athletic ability.
Ekiyor wins as a pass-protector when he can get his hands on rushers quickly using a double-under technique and his grip strength to end the fight before rushers can set up their moves with stutters and hesitations He diagnoses line games and stunts quickly, effectively passing off and picking them up, and packs heat to dent and secure adjacent rushers when uncovered. His struggles come against skilled rushers who know how to set up their moves with tempo and timing. Ekiyor has erratic, unreliable use of hands that are often late and combined with being reliant on the two-hand strike dramatically shrinks his margin for error, resulting in too many quick, clean losses.
Ekiyor is a solid run-blocker with the natural leverage to establish his fit underneath most opponents with solid power to deliver jolt on contact. He wins primarily with effort, strain and active feet to use momentum in his favor and steer defenders further than they want to go. Ekiyor is used extensively as a puller and does a solid job of lining up and running through second-level targets when he connects.
He will struggle to create leverage on base blocks and as the point man on double-teams when facing bigger, hulking interior run defenders with a bad habit of exposing his chest and dipping his head into contact that results in him getting stacked and shed too easily.
Overall, Ekiyor has been a functional longtime starting guard in the SEC, bringing a consistent physical presence to the field with quick processing and the natural leverage to get inside defenders, steer in the run game and make snap decisions when uncovered. His middling athletic ability, smaller stature and struggles landing his punch will be difficult to overcome against NFL 3-techniques and should be helped with a move inside to center where he had some quality reps in Mobile at the Senior Bowl.
GRADE: 6.5 (Potential Role Player/Round 4)
OVERALL RANK: 135
POSITION RANK: IOL13
PRO COMPARISON: Pat Elflein
Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn
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