Asim Richards NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for North Carolina OT

HEIGHT: 6'4"

WEIGHT: 309

HAND: 10"

ARM: 34"

WINGSPAN: 82 3/4"

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40-YARD DASH: 5.18

3-CONE: 7.76

SHUTTLE: 4.89

VERTICAL: 29"

BROAD: 8'11"

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POSITIVES

— Strapping, well-rounded build with plenty of length and sand

— Lighter on his feet than he tested with his basketball background showing up on film

— Plays long in pass-protection with excellent grip strength to stay locked onto the block once latched

— Very good play strength makes him a chore to work through with power

— Functional zone run-blocker who comes to balance on the move before contact and understands how to pivot and shield defenders to create lanes

— Can flush and clear out DL on angle-drive blocks when his hat and hand placement is on point

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NEGATIVES

— Slow to refit and re-leverage himself on blocks, leaving him scrambling to recover late in the rep

— Lags and steps under himself when redirecting and power-stepping to cut off moves across his face

— Can work too flat and underset wide alignments to create a short corner

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2023 STATISTICS

— 14 starts at LT

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NOTES

— Former 3-star offensive tackle recruit out of Haverford School in Pennsylvania where he was also a four-year letterman in basketball

— Began playing offensive line midway through his senior season at Haverford, moving from defensive end and tight end

— 38 career starts at UNC (37 at LT, one at LG) including 34 consecutive

— Invited to the 2023 Senior Bowl

— Turns 23-years old on October 2nd

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OVERALL

Asim Richards is a three-year starter with 38 career starts (34 consecutive) primarily at left tackle, including 14 starts at LT during the 2022 season in UNC's balanced offense and multiple-run scheme. Richards has a strapping build with plenty of length, sand and adequate athletic ability.

Richards is a powerful run-blocker on angle-drive blocks with a big body and girth to shield and wall off rush lanes. When his hat and hand placement are in sync he can create major displacement on down blocks and he takes coordinated, under-control tracks to the second-level meet backers with balance. Richards will struggle to refit and re-leverage himself when he's initially stalemated or off-target (Ex: vs. Myles Murphy in 2022), leaving him scrambling and discombobulated.

In pass-protection, Richards maximizes his length and girth to engulf rushers on jump sets and play long against wide alignments with vice grips for hands once latched. Richards can mirror rushers up the arc and stay balanced at the top of the QB's drop to protect the corner when the QB is strict about pocket depth (which Drake Maye was in 2022).

He has very good anchor strength and is an obstacle for power rushers to work through. When Richards is square in his set, his length and catch hand can protect against inside counters. But NFL rushers will be able to get his hips opened sooner and expose middling redirect ability inside where he lags and steps under himself against moves across his face. Richards will also set too flat and short on some wide alignments, creating a short corner and quick path to the QB.

Overall, Richards is a powerfully built, durable blocker with very good length, lower half strength and vice grips for hands that make him an obstacle to work around or through. Richards has mediocre quickness but is nimble enough on his feet to compete for a swing backup role at tackle or guard with starting potential within his first contract if he lands in the right situation.

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GRADE: 6.7 (Potential Role Player/Round 4)

OVERALL RANK: 117

POSITION RANK: OT10

PRO COMPARISON: Jordan Mills

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn