Patrick Paul First Round ‘Wildcard’

Houston left tackle Patrick Paul is a tricky evaluation because his upside is seen in the realm of ‘invisible’ intangibles ⎯and it took background research on his school’s website.

I must consider what he’s looked like for two straight seasons for the Cougars.

I’ve evaluated seven games during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

While Paul’s athleticism, high football IQ, and aggressive nature are great ‘traits’ ⎯I must weigh in his raw technique and lack of polish.

In that way, Paul reminds me of former Bulldogs’ left tackle Broderick Jones who went No. 14 to the Steelers in the 2023 NFL Draft. I had Jones as a pre-draft projection between picks 25-32.

What are the issues in pass protection?

Left tackle is the premium position along the offensive line for teams with a right-hand starting quarterback. These are the guys who protect the franchise’s blind side.

Ideally, teams are looking for overgrown ballerina dancers in football pads. Left tackles need to slide up and down the backside perimeter of the pocket like they are being controlled by a video game joystick.

That’s not Paul.

This Houston left tackle’s footwork is inconsistent ⎯at best. On film, in the past two seasons, he has had some trouble effectively sealing off the backside edge while staying in front of pass rushers.

Paul tends to kick out and eventually get turned and open up the back door (back edge) of the pocket. He tends to lose blocking leverage. Sure, he’s a fighter. He still makes an effort to get it done and keeps battling and pushing, which is often enough to get the job done. It’s not always pretty though.

Per Pro Football Focus, Paul was in on 1,091 pass-blocking plays in the past two seasons, and while he gave up only two sacks and four quarterback hits, he surrendered 21 quarterback hurries, which spoke to him eventually yielding to the will of pass rushers at the college level.

What’s going on with his run blocking?

Paul consistently makes an effort to clear lanes for the running back.

The problem is that Paul is a pusher, not a sustainer.

In other words, he does a lot of shoving, but not too much controlling of his blocks. This frees up his man to often get in on run stops or end up right next to the pile.

Offensive tackles are a premium

Despite those ‘limitations,’ the reality is that Paul is a relentless street-fighter. He also demonstrated he is working on his footwork attempting to drop a little deeper in the pocket initially to establish more long-range pass protection leverage to better seal off the back edge.

The other thing I like about Paul is he appears to be smart and with smart comes realistic upside. Otherwise, he would slide into the second round without showing that characteristic.

I also can’t get it out of my head that despite how ‘unpolished’ Jones looked at Georgia (as a left tackle), he was Pro Football Focus’ third-highest-graded rookie in 2023 after the Steelers moved him to right tackle (steelersdepot.com).

Either way, whether a left tackle or a team moves him to the right side remains to be seen.

Regardless as we saw with Jones, an offensive tackle with a defensive mentality covers up a multitude of ‘football sins.’

#76 Patrick Paul 6-foot-7, 315 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s 2024 NFL Draft Grade: First-Round (I would select)

Projected by 18.0% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of March 17, 2024 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

Extreme Aggression: Offensive Tackle Patrick Paul (3 games evaluated)

2023 game film reviewed: Texas, Texas Tech, UTSA, and Baylor (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

Hidden talent: he’s a prodigy at martial arts (hobby boxing)

2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Tenacious and inconsistent pass and run blocker with an athletic overgrown tight end cut frame. Thinner lower. Top heavy. Long arms. Okay anchor. Good natural upper body strength. Strong arms. Different initial drop points in the shallow depth of the pocket. Quick feet. Inconsistent footwork. Physical. Excels at hand-to-hand combat. Average bend. Anticipated spin and “X” stunts. Inconsistent delayed blitz pickup. Below average sustain run blocking. Sometimes it’s enough. Sometimes it’s not. Best with positional leverage. It’s hit-and-miss downfield.

Final words

Paul is intriguing.

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. Follow on Twitter @firstroundmock.