Highly Touted Tackle Peter Skoronski Moving to Guard?

First Round Mock NFL Draft Analyst Ken Becks shocks the football world and takes highly ranked Northwestern left tackle prospect Peter Skoronski and puts him at guard instead.

#77 Peter Skoronski

POSITION: Offensive Guard (OG)
SCHOOL: Northwestern
HEIGHT: 6-4
WEIGHT: 315

Evaluated Games:

Nebraska ’22

Duke ’22

Penn State ’22

Strengths

From the research I’ve been doing, a vast majority of scouts and analysts have Skoronski projected to play left tackle on the offensive line. While I do feel he could be effective at right tackle, after watching him on game film, his skill set and playing style screams “OFFENSIVE GUARD,” where his talents can be BEST maximized!

That’s right, I am saying the highly touted Skoronski should be moved to guard

He possesses the ideal size, movement, toughness and mindset for the position. His bread & butter on the field is the physical toughness he unleashes on his opponent once he gets a hold of them. This is when he goes “MAULER MODE,” exerting his will.

In the run game, Skoronski quickly gets on top of his blocking assignments initiating contact. It is after that, he gets his hands on a defender and dictates him out of the play. He consistently drives defenders backward while showing good functional strength.

When asked to pull on lead blocks, he makes his way through traffic effectively, and quickly takes targets out of the play. He proceeds to move swiftly to the second-level of the defense (where the linebackers reside) and makes blocks there too.

Skoronski’s game as a run blocker reminds me of current Browns’ right tackle, Jack Conklin, who is tough, physical and to the point!

Projecting him to guard will only improve his results in pass protection. His game is ideal for tighter spaces where he is not isolated in space. At guard he wouldn’t have as much area to cover, and he could even “assist block” for fellow offensive linemen when needed.

Weaknesses

Skoronski lacks top-end athleticism for the position of left tackle

This is one of the reasons for my proposed position change from offensive tackle to offensive guard.

He needs improved arm extension versus opponents. At times, he leans into defenders while not maintaining proper distance, which allows opponents to get into his body and use his leverage/balance against him. This allows defenders a better chance at defeating him.

At times, he additionally tends to dip his head during the duration of blocks, which drops his effectiveness as a blocker.

2023 NFL Draft Prospect Value

First-Round: Guard (16 & Down)

Scouting Report Summary

Skoronski is a heck of a football player, period.

He embodies what the game is all about.

With his physical nature, he never lets his foot off the gas with his intensity and his will to win.

The position change could hurt his draft status due to positional value, but it would benefit his success as a player long term. The one question that won’t have to be asked…

If Skoronski was a guard, he would be a day-one starter in my books!

Ken Becks [TheScout] has been covering & scouting NFL prospects for over 30 years! Ken has worked with the Indoor Football Scouting Bureau and he’s been mentioned in publications such as Scout.com, ABCNews.com, and TheNewsStar.com. He covers the NFL Draft for FirstRoundMock.com and he is the founder and Director of 1stDownScouting.com. Follow him @1stdown_scout on Twitter.