BYU Offensive Tackle Kingsley Suamataia is Aggressive but Raw

BYU right tackle (RT) Kingsley Suamataia showed up on my radar recently when I saw this from CBS Sports which had him going No. 17 overall in the first round.

What?

They weren’t alone in their assessment either as Walter Football, NBC Sports Chicago, Bleacher Report, Draftwire, The Athletic, Pro Football Network, 247 Sports, Fox Sports, Rotowire, Clutch Points, Sporting News, Pro Football Focus, and Draft Kings also put a first-round grade on Suamataia (nflmockdraftdatabase.com).

While I absolutely love Suamataia’s high aggression level and raw athleticism on 2022 game film, he’s far too unpolished in these four games to be considered as a first-round talent.

He projects better to guard where he can be far less exposed in space.

Violent run blocker

Suamataia is a hyperactive street-fighter in this department.

He aggressively battles, pushes, shoves, and pancakes defenders. He also can really run for a player his size and there is no quit in him. In fact, the above highlight reminds me of this scene from The Blindside which depicted offensive tackle Michael Oher running a defender right off the field.

Now sustaining run blocks consistently and long enough?

That’s a different story as Suamataia gets so overly aggressive he can get out of control and it often keeps him sustaining blocks just barely long enough or he doesn’t get it done.

I’ll take that though because he’s a fanny-kicker who sets the tone in the run game.

Doorman

Starting at left or right offensive tackle in the National Football League is about footwork. Teams at that level can’t have waist benders starting – – guys who stop moving their feet and desperately lunge at pass rushers while losing control of their blocks.

Suamataia waist bends too often in pass protection.

He has a tendency to get out of control in space. Granted, he keeps battling, but he’s too vulnerable with footwork that has a ways to go. He needed help from backs or a tight end to chip block to help him compensate for this a couple of times against Notre Dame and once against Oregon.

The other issue in pass protection

The more I watched these four games, the more I noticed how much the opposing teams were blitzing and stunting regularly in his area.

He had low-level success against either, and giving up pressure was the result.

Suamataia is so tunnel-visioned with who he’s blocking that he loses awareness of anything else going on around him.

Tough evaluation

No question Suamataia is the first person a team would want walking off the bus at opposing stadiums. He’s a mean bully who gives everything he has to give, and I love that about him. However, I have to temper that love with a valuation that matches his actual talent level.

Could he develop?

Sure, I’ll circle back on him from his 2023 film and check, but based on what I saw in these four games he would get an NFL QB knocked out at right tackle if he doesn’t.

#78 Kingsley Suamataia 6-foot-6, 325 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Fall 2023 Grade: Fourth-Round (I would select him)

Projected by 56.8% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of September 26, 2023 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2022 game film reviewed: Notre Dame, Oregon, Baylor, and Arkansas (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

2022 stats: 0 sacks, 3 hits, 8 hurries (pff.com)

2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Muscular frame and long arms with below-average footwork in pass protection, but an awesome run blocker. Subbed in #74 at times in the lineup. Boxy-looking stance pre-snap. Sets up in pass pro, locks up, and battles, but has a tendency to stop moving his feet. Remains active and gives top effort to compensate. Decent anchor vs. bull rushes. Susceptible on inside gap pass rushes too. Attacking on run blocks and can pull and get to the second level with mixed results. Super aggressive. Wins a lot more than he loses in the ground game.

What to watch for during the 2023 college football season

1. His feet in pass protection

2. Opponents having success on blitzes and stunts on his side?

3. Giving up pressure through inside gap?

4. Sustaining run blocks?

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, contributes at Yardbarker, and has written for Sports Illustrated Lions, Jets, and 49ers, as well as a featured guest on ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.