Ekwonu, tackle or guard?: NC State 2022 Draft Profile

There’s no question that NC State left tackle Ikem Ekwonu is one of the best offensive linemen in the 2022 NFL Draft. He’s been a consistently excellent performer for the Wolfpack for the last three seasons and took a step into stardom at the position this past season. The real question is, what position does he play in the future?

Standing at 6-4, 320 pounds, Ekwonu doesn’t have the dimensions of an NFL tackle on the surface. He played several games at guard in the 2020 season before moving back to the pocket perimeter for good. Is that where he belongs going forward? We’ll take a look at his film and come up with a determination of where he’ll best fit as he proceeds in his football career.

Ekwonu Draft Profile: Run Blocking

Ekwonu’s calling card as a blocker was his ability to eviscerate defensive linemen on down blocks on inside zone blocking.

It’s not the only type of block that the junior lineman excelled at. The junior tackle excelled at pretty much every type of block. The good news is that with his size and power, he’s not a system fit at the next level. He’s shown the skills necessary to block in any scheme.

Movement Skills

The Charlotte, NC, native stuck on the outside for the Wolfpack because he possesses an incredibly quick get-off at the line of scrimmage. He’s fit, lean, at 320 pounds, and looks excellent when asked to block at the second level or to reach on pulling plays where he’s the lead blocker.

That quickness, along with great awareness and good technique, allowed him to find his pass assignment and get into position. So while there are times his kick slide looks a bit clunky, the movement skills and agility aren’t the problems.

The bottom line is that Ekownu had the athletic ability to execute just about any blocking assignment, run or pass he performed.

Pass Protection

“Just about any” is the problem. We’ll start in pass protection, as that’s the essential element Ekwonu needs to play left tackle. It is pass pro where Ekwonu ran into most of his problems. There are two key elements that he seems to lack, based on his film; length and speed.

It’s important to understand that speed is not the same as quickness. How quickly you can accelerate to your top speed is different than how fast you can run. Ekwonu is very athletic and fast for his size, but he’s not abnormally fast, especially in pass protection. Nevertheless, through good technique and awareness, he could position himself to neutralize defensive ends that tried to run past him, and he was more than strong enough to anchor against heftier, power players.

But when speed rushers stressed him to the outside that had the mass to play through contact, he struggled.

Ekwonu doesn’t seem to have the arm length necessary to combat these types of rushers. He consistently struggled when asked to block this way. According to PFF, all three of his sacks and 10 of his 13 pressures came in true passing situations. When everyone knew it was a passing play, Ekwonu wasn’t quite athletic enough to set the edge of the pocket.

Ekwonu Going Forward

Never say never, though. Without knowing Ekwonu’s actual arm length, the door is still open for him getting a shot at tackle in the pros. He could stand to clean up some of his footwork, which would give him a chance to stick on the edge. With some work, he could be a quality tackle.

But he could step on the field tomorrow as an elite guard. His quickness and power on the interior would be a potent weapon for an NFL running game, and his pass protection skills are elite for a guard. Of course, NC State almost exclusively runs zone blocking, so he’d have to prove that he can pick up the nuances of gap and power schemes, but his level of exhibited football intelligence makes that an easy projection.

With his blend of size and speed, Ike Ekwonu is a first-round pick at guard with All-Pro potential down the line.